US317282A

US317282A - Street-railway switch

Info

Publication number: US317282A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1885-05-05
Anticipated expiration: 1902-05-05

Description

(No Model.)

0. BANGS.

STREET RAILWAY SWITCH.

No. 317,282. Patented May 5,1885.

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UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFIC OLIVER BANGS, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

STREET-RA! LWAY SWITCH.

SEECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,282, dated May 5, 1885.

Application filed February 2, 1885. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER Barres, of New Haven, in the county of NewHav'en and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Street-Railway Switches; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a plan View of the switch, showing its relation to the main track, the switch in its normal condition:or as forming a continuous main track; Fig. 2, the switch as turned automatically by the cars coming from the approaching track onto the main track.

This invention relates to an improvement in the switch such as employed in turn-outs on street-railways.

As more generally constructed, the rails are made rigid at the switch, the wheel on one side running over the rail as it comes from one track onto the other, and so as to drop down when it reaches the track it is approaching, which produces not only an unpleasant jolting to the car, but brings great wear upon the flange of the wheel as well as upon the switch.

The object of my invention is to overcome these difficulties; and it consists in leaving a space between the end of the outside approaching rail and the end of the corresponding rail on the main track, the continuation of the main rail from the said end of the main track made elastic, and constructed with a block to fill the said recess between the end of the approaching rail and the said end of the main rail, the upper surface of the said block constructed with a longitudinal groove corresponding substantially to the flange of the wheel, combined with a guard-rail inside the opposite rails, as more fully hereinafter described.

A represents the inside rail of the main track, and B the outside rail of the same track; C, the outside rail of the switcher turn-out, and D the other rail of the switch or turn-out. In theillustration I show a switch or turn-out as the main track coming from the left and the switch comin g from the rightan arrangement common in single-track street-railways, the

approach being indicated by arrows. The term inside is applied as indicating the left-hand rail from the direction of the approach. Between the end of the approaching rail 0 and the end of the inside rail, A, of the main track I leave a recess.

E represents a continuation of the rail of the main track. It is fixed at a point distant from the end of the rail A-say as at abut from that point to the end of the rail A it is free, and is elastic, so as to be moved transversely, and return. At its end next the main rail it is constructed with a block, F, which fills the recess between the end of the approaching rail C and the corresponding end of the main rail A. On the uppersurface this block is constructed with a groove, 2), into which the flange of the wheel may run without bearing upon the bottom of the groove. The rail D terminates alongside the rail B, but so as to leave an opening,d,between them, and through which the flange of the wheel may run. Inside the rails D and B, at their intersection, a guard-rail, G, is arranged, curving toward the opposite side. As the cars approach from the left, one wheel will follow the rail A and readily pass onto thespring-rail E as a continn ation of the said rail A, while the otherwheel on the rail B will follow that rail, and the cars readily pass along the main track without interference, or effect from the switch, the rails'being practically continuous, and as seen in Fig. 1. Coming from the opposite direction on the rails CD, the one wheel follows the rail D, its flange striking the guard-rail G to hold it against the rail D and lead it onto the rail B. This guard draws the opposite wheel against the outside of the springrail E, and because the other wheel is held by the guard G and cannot be drawn toward the opposite side the wheel upon that opposite side,bearing against the outside of the springrail E, turns that rail inward, bringing the groove inward, and so that the part of the block F outside the groove comes into line with the approaching track C and the main rail, and practically forms a continuation of the same, as seen in Fig. 2, so that the wheel on the track C passes along the block F and onto the rail A, as if upon acontinuous track. So soon, however, as the wheel passes from the spring-track E, the elasticity of the said spring-track forces it back into its normal position, and into line with the main track, a

" switch is automatically brought into line with the approaching rail and the main rail, so that the cars come from the switch onto the main rail again as if upon a continuous track. It will be understood that a like switch is provided at the opposite end of the turnout. By

, this construction the jolting experienced in the usual construction of the turnouts and switches is avoided. This representation of the switch as applied to a turn-out will be suf cient to illustrate the application of the invention to switches at other points. It will be understood that the spring-rail is to be made fast to a metal plate,which extends to form a support for the ends of both the rails A and O, and upon which plate the spring-rail will move, and as shown in the drawings.

The hereindescribed switch for railroads, consisting in the transversely-elastic rail E, forming a continuation of the main rail A, constructed with a block, F, at its free end, to abut against the end of the said main rail A, and set into a space between the end of the main rail and the approaching rail 0, the said block F, constructed with a groove, b, in its upper surface, combined with corresponding opposite rails, B and D, and the guard-rail G at the intersection of the said rails B and D,

substantially as and for thepurpose described. 0

OLIVER BANGS.

\Vitnesses:

Jos. O. EARLE, J H. SHUMWAY.