US2401804A - Railway gate or stock guard - Google Patents

Description

.June 11, 1946. v. WARD.

RAILWAY GATE OR STOCK GUARD Filed Sept. '7, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l WllIllfkAIiJ I NVENTOR. 1

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' A rro/e/vw V. WARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 11, 1946.

I RAILWAY GATE OR STOCK GUARD Filed Sepi. 7, 1944 Patented June 11, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,401,804 RAILWAY GATE OR STQCK GUARD Virgenious Ward, Sikeston, M0.

Application September 7, 1944, Serial No. 553,005

4 Claims. i

This invention relates to railway gates or stock guards, and is designed particularly for mounting across a railway, to prevent the passage of animals along a track, and the chief object of the invention is to provide a gate or guard for positioning across a raiiway and so arranged as to normally stand in upraised position for barring the passage of animals along the track, but subject to being depressed by the approach of an engine or train, for permitting the passage of the same over the track.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a gate or guard for a railway of the kind referred to, a pit extended transversely beneath the railway, vertical supports or posts mounted in the ends of the pit outwardly at the sides of the rails and extended upwardly above the rails, the said supports being formed medially with aligned, elongated openings from top to bottom thereof but not opening out through the ends thereof, a gate supporting beam extended lengthwis within the pit, transversely of the railway, the ends of said beam being extended freely through the medial openings of the supports, suitably heavy coil springs within the upper portions of the said openings of the supports and connected at their upper and lower ends respectively with the upper ends of the supports and the outer ends of the gate supporting beam, for normally maintaining said beam in horizontal and operative alignment with said railway, the rails of the railway being parted in transverse alignment on a plane passed medially and vertically through the openings of the supports, and also being parted longitudinally on planes cutting the rails medially and vertically for substantial distances along the railway at each side of the said supports, at which transversely aligned points the rails are also parted and pivotally connected by heavy bolts, the inner portions of the rails being thus adapted to pivotally raise or lower, and gate operating arms pivotally connected at their ends with the adjacent ends of the parted and. pivotally movable rail sections and the ends of the gate supporting beam, at points located inwardly of the rails of the railway, there being a gate mounted at the upper side of the gate supporting beam, whereby an engine or cars moving over the railway and approaching the gate from either side, will through the impingement of the car wheels upon and over the parted and pivotally movable rail sections, depress the gate supporting beam and gate downward into the said pit, for permitting the engine and cars to pass thereover.

, A preferred embodiment of the invention and the structural features thereof, is shown in the accompanyin drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a section of railway, showing my proved gate or stock guard mounted transversely thereon, the said gate being in its normally raised or elevated position.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the assembly as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken on the line of Figure 1, showing the gate as raised.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line :i% of Figure 3, showing the gate raised.

Figure 5 a view similar to that of Figure 2, the gate however being shown as depressed into ti t under the railway, by the action of car w reels impinging and moving over the pivotally movable rail sections.

In practising this invention a suitable pit 5' is dug or constructed transversely underneath the railway 5, and is suitably reinforced at sides, ends and bottom by concrete or other forms of linings 2. Posts or uprights 8 of concrete or other suitable material, ar mounted at the ends of the pit 5 in transverse alignment, outwardly of the railway 6 and in spaced relation thereto at each side thereof. These posts extend substantially above the; railway, as shown in the drawings, and are formed with medial openings 9 extending from top to bottom of the posts, and are disposed in transverse alignment as shown. A gate supporting and operating beam i0 is disposed freely, lengthwise and horizontally within the pit 5, and journals II are formed on this beam at points inwardly of the rails of the railway. The railway 5 of course includes the cross-ties Ba laid in regular manner along the surface of the ground G, as shown. The railway extends through between the posts 8 and of course over the pit 5. At this portion of the railway however, and to a substantial distance at each side of the gate supporting beam H3 as may be found suitable for the purpose of the invention, the webs of the rails are thickened, as indicated at 617, upon their inner sides, and these sides are cut away along vertical longitudinal planes and angularly at the ends thereof at transversely aligned points as. indicated clearly at 60, thus providing gate operating arms 5d which are pivoted at their outer ends to the inner sides of the uncut portions of the rails as indicated at 66, by means of bolts as shown. The arms 6d are so formed and cut at their inner adjacent ends of, that when they are closed down upon the ties 6a, these ends will abut one another endwise and complete the rails of the rail- 3 way at each side for the passage of cars, and so that these ends will then lie at either side of a plane passed medially and vertically through the posts 8, transversely of the railway. The ends 6 of the arms 6d are offset or widened downwardly,

as shown at Go, and the outer sides of these downset ends are cut flatly away to form shallow and fiat recesses 6h, adapted for smoothly receivin the complementally dimensioned upper ends of vertically positioned gate levers l2 which are smoothly and pivotally connected to the ends 6 within the recesses 6h by means of bolts l3, the heads of which are beveled and countersunk into the outer faces or sides of the levers, so as to offer no interference to the smooth operation and downward closing movement of the arms 6d. The lower ends of the levers l2 are cut out in a semicircular form as shown at In and are thus adapted to seat upon the journals H of the gate supporting beam l0. Fence pickets M are erected in vertical alignment and transversely spaced relation along the upper side of the gate operating and supportin beam [0, and ar arranged to fallat either side of the ends 6 and levers l2, so that these elements may operate smoothly.

Eye bolts l5 are extended in vertical alignment medially through the upper ends of the posts 8 and through the outer ends of the beam Iii, the eyes of these bolts being turned inward as shown, and suitably heavy coil springs 16 are positioned within the openings 9 of the posts 8, and have their ends connected as at 16a to the eye bolts I5. These springs are tensioned so as to normally pull the beam i9 and pickets l4 mounted thereon, upwardly to the level of the railway B. The 'depth of the pit 5 substantially corresponds to the desired height of the gate, that is to say to the overall height of the beam I0 and pickets l4 thereon.

In operation the beam 50 and pickets l4 there on will normally Stand in their raised position, and thus serve as a gate or stock guard, but as the wheels of a car (not shown), indicated at H, impinge and'pass over the anus 6d, these arms will depress the beam l0 into the pit 5, carrying along 'of course the pickets I l, and thus clear the way for the passage of the car or train, after which the gate will of course automatically rise again through the pull of the springs 16.

While I have here shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, and specific structural features thereof, it is to be understood that the embodiment as shown may be changed and modified in respect of the details of construction, within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1'. In a railway stock guard of the kind described, a pit extended transversely beneath the railway, posts mounted in the ends of the pit outwardly at the sides of the rails and extended upwardly, above the rails, the posts being formed medially with aligned, elongated openings from top to bottom thereof, a gate supporting beam extended freely lengthwise within the pit and transversely beneath the railway, the ends of the beam being extended freely through the medial openings of the posts and being formed with journals at points located inwardly of the rails of the railway, a series of fence pickets erected vertically in transverse alignment along the upper side of the gate supporting beam, the same being spaced apart at the rails of th railway to clear the same, heavy coil springs disposed within the upper portions of the openings of the posts and connected at their upper and lower ends respectively with the upper ends of the posts and the outer ends of the gate supporting beam, for normally maintaining the beam in horizontal and operative alignment with the railway, the rails of the railway being parted along vertical, longitudinal planes to substantial and equally spaced distances at each side of the said posts, the ends of the inner cut away portions of the rails being parted in transverse alignment in a vertical plane passed transversely and medially through the said posts and the outer ends of these cut away portions being cut and parted angularly in transverse alignment, bolts passed through the angularly parted ends and through the outer uncut sides of the rails, thus forming gat operatin arms, and vertically disposed gate levers pivoted at their upper ends to the inner free ends of the gate operating arms and at their lower ends to the journaled portions of the gate supporting beam.

2. In a railway gate or stock-guard of the kind described, a pit formed transversely beneath the railway and extended laterally at the sides thereof, posts mounted in the ends of the pit and extended upwardly above the rails, a gate supporting beam extended freely lengthwise of the pit ad beneath the railway, fence pickets erected vertically in spaced alignment along the upper side of the said beam and so as to clear the rails of the railway, heavy springs connecting the upper ends of the posts with the ends of the gate supporting beam outwardly of the rails, for normally supporting the beam in horizontal and opererative alignment with the railway, pairs of gate operating arms incorporated in the inner sides of the rails of the railway at each side of the posts and gate supporting beam, these said arms being pivoted at their outer ends in transverse alignment to the rails proper and when closed down alongside the rails proper serving to complete the same, the inner ends of the arms meeting when closed down in a vertical plane passed transversely through the said posts, and vertically disposed levers pivotally connecting the inner ends of the gate operating arms with the gate supporting beam, whereby th wheels of railway cars passing along the track and approaching the gate from either side, will imping and depress the gate operating arms and gate formed as described, for the passage of the said cars.

3. In a railway stock guard of the kind described and wherein is embodied a pit extended transversely beneath the railway and posts mounted in the ends'of the pit outwardly of the sides of the rails and extended upwardly above the rails, said posts being formed medially with aligned elongated openings from top to bottom, and wherein is embodied a gate supporting beam extended freely lengthwise within the pit and transversely beneath the railway, the ends of the beam being extended freely through the medial openings of the posts at either sid and being formed with journals at points located inwardly of the rails,'and wherein is embodied means for at the opposite sides of the gate formed by splittin the adjacent rail ends on vertical and longitudinal planes to substantial and equally spaced distances at each side of the gate, the outer ends of the split off inner portions of the rails being pivotally connected to the main rails by means of bolts 6e, the separated inner portions of the rails being thus adapted to pivotally raise or lower, and relatively short gate operating arms pivotally connected at their ends with the adjacent ends of the parted and pivotally movable inner rail sections and the ends of the gate supporting beam at points located inwardly of the rails of the railway, whereby an engine or cars moving over the railway and approaching the gate from either side, will through the impingement of the car wheels upon and over the parted and pivotally movable rail sections, depress the said gate supporting beam, for permitting the engine and cars to pass thereover.

. 6 4. In an apparatus according to claim 3, a, series 01S fence pickets erected vertically along the upper side of the said gate supporting beam, said pickets being spaced apart at the inner rail ends of the parted rails so as to clear said rails as they are depressed to track level.

VIRGENIOUS WARD.

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