US233605A

US233605A - Wilson p

Info

Publication number: US233605A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1880-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 1897-10-26

Description

l(No Model.)

W. P. DODSON. Railroad Switch. No. 233.605. Patented Oct. 26,1880.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILSON P. DODSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO ALEXANDER H. EGE, OF MEGHANIOSBURG, PA.

'RAILROAD-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,605, dated October 26, 1880.

Application tiled March 17, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILSON P. DoDsoN, of

the city of Philadelphia, and State of Penn-l sylvania, have invented a Safety-Switch for Railroads; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and correct description of the same, reference being' had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specitication, which is a plan of my switch.

[o The nature of the present invention consists in an improvement in railroad-switches, as hereinafter more fully set forth, the object of the invention being so to construct a switch that a train running in either direction will r 5 not run off the track, no matter how the switch may be set.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation ot' the zo same.

For convenience of description, I shall designate the course toward the siding as-down, and the contrary up, and the lateral directions right and left, as shown in the draw- A B show the rails of the main line of the road, which, at the sidin g, diverge, one following the course of the road, the other the line of the siding.

G D show two frogs inserted in and between these rails, from which extend the rails E F. These parts are all permanently fixed in position, and constitute the carrying-rails of the switch.

Gr H show guard-rails, placed between the rails of the main line which are attached together at each end, and which are connected, by rods I K, to the bar L, which has cranks in opposite directions, so as to give opposite 4o motions to the opposite ends of the guardrails.

Such being the construction, the operation is as follows: It is plain that Without the guard-rails a car going up the main line or 45 the siding will either continue on or pass onto the main line, and that a car coming down the main line will pass on direct or onto the siding, according as its leading wheels (No model.)

may bear upon the one or the other of the track-rails, and that in either case it will pass 5o without shock and will remain on' the rails.

If the bar L be turned so as to move the upper ends of the guard-rails to the left and the lower ends to the right, as shown in the drawings, a car-truck passing down the track will have its leading wheels drawn to the right by the lower end of the right-hand guardrail and its following wheels drawn to the left by the upper end of the left-hand guard-rail, and its direction thus so positively deterlnined 6o by the movement of both its ends that its leading left-hand wheel will be caused to bear hard upon the rail on that side and the truck will certainly pass upon the siding. A change of the positions of the guard-rails by a halfturn of the bar L will reverse this action and cause the truck to pass upon the main line, while a car going up either the main line or the siding will pass on without obstruction by the guard-rails. 7o-

Of preference, I use both the connections to the guard-rails as forming a more secure fastening, using, also, a pivoted fastening, il' desired, for greater firmness, of which an instance is shown at M 5 but I can operate the 75 guard-rails by a connection attached to either end, moving the other ends by means of the pivots.

As there will be some wear upon the points of the frogs these parts may be made in sepa- 8o rate pieces,so that they can easily be removed and replaced; or, if preferred, the intermediate rails may be pointed and themselves form the frogs.

I claim as my invention- In combination with fixed carrying-rails, a pair of guard-rails arranged to be vibrated horizontally upon centers at or near their middle part, whereby an operative adjustment of both ends of the same is attained, substan- 9o tially as and for the purpose specified.

WILSON P. DODSON.

Witnesses SAME. P. HANsoN, GEORGE Ho'UsE.