US399792A - Railway-switch - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Shet 1. S. STEWART.

RAILWAY SWITCH. No. 399,792. Patented Mar. 19,. 1889.

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RAILWAY SWITGH.

No. 399,792. PatentedMar. 19, 1889.

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SI'IAIV STEIVART, OF STUART, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF TIVO-THIRDS TO J. G.

OROOKETT, OF SAME PLACE, AND SHA\V STEI/VART,

ILLINOIS.

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RAILWAY SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,792, dated'March 19,1889.

Application filed Kay 17, 1887. fierial No. 238,555. (No model.)

To all Lu/ 00772 it may concern:

Be it known that I, SHAW STEWART, a citi zen oi the United States of America, and a resident of Stuart, in the county of Adair and State of Iowa, have invented an Improved. Railway-SWitch, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore the adjustable end of each switch-rail has been made tapering by cutting the ball and flange away from one side to allow it to join the main or track rail while the body of the switch-rail was not in parallel position with the main rail.

My object is to prevent such cutting away and weakening of switclrrails; and my invention consists in the construction and combination of twisted switch-rails and operating mechanism with the main rails of a track, as hereinafter set forth, pointed outin my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan view of my complete switch; Fig. 2, a vertical and longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a view through the line 00; Fig. l, a view through the line y y; Fig. 5, a view through. the line .2' of Fi 1., and Fig. 6 a perspective view of a modified form of my twisted switclrrail.

A A are the rails of a continuous fixed track. One is bent laterally to connect with a branch track, as shown in United States Patent Jo. 157,395, issued December 1, 1874;.

B B are myswitch-1ails constructed by simply taking sections of common rails and twisting them, so that the side edge of the ball at the movable end of each switch-rail'will be on top and the bulk of the ball in a right-angled position to the same ball at the opposite end of the same switch-rail.

O O are fixed metal plates upon which the adjustable ends of the switch-rails slide.

(Z is a bar fixed to the adjustable ends of the switch-rails B and extended laterally to be connected with a lever in a common way, so that they can be jointly moved relative to the track-rails A.

d and d are additional connecting-bars fixed to the flanges of the switch-rails. To allow the balls of the movable ends of the switclrrails to come in close contact with the ends of the track-rails, I simply groove the upper edge of the balls, as shown in Fig. 3. To prevent the flanges of the car-wheels from striking the ends of the webs of the twisted switch-rails, I simply depress the centers of the ends of the webs, as shown in Figs. 1 and F F are sliding guard-rails formed from sections of common rails by cutting the balls and webs shorter than their flanges and then bending one end of each section downward and doubling their flanges downward and toward each other, as shown in Fig. 2, and as required to engage the ends of fixed plates upon which the guardrails slide in concert with the movements of the switch-rails B. 71, is a bar fixed to the parallel guard-rails.

J is a lever of the first order, pivoted to the center of a cross-tie in such a manner that its short arm can be pivoted to the center of the connecting-bar h, and its long arm with the cross-bar (Z at the movable ends of the switchrails, as shown in Fig. 1, and as required to move the switch-rails and guards simultaneously by means of the switclroperating lever connected with the cross bar (Z.

In place of twisting the entire switch-rails at their central portions, I simply twist the balls and webs of the ends, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the flanges will be bent laterally, but remain flat-bottomed, and the complete switch-rails thus only partially twisted and adapted to be applied and operated to accomplish the results contemplated by my invention.

In practical operation the twisted or partially-twisted switch-rails will transfer the flanged wheels of cars from a main track to a branch track, and vice versa, as readily and smoothly as any switch rails that are tapered at their ends, and in view of the fact that the twisted rails are not reduced and weakened they will be more durable and lasting than pointed and tapering switch-rails.

One of the flanges of each guard-rail F is cut away, as shown in Fig. 5, to allow the balls of the guards to be brought in close contact with the balls of switch-railsB to prevent accidents incident to misplaced switches. \Vhen the switch is set for the main line and z amt the guard-rails in position, as shown in Fig. 1 a train on the main track can pass the switch in either direction without incurring risk or danger, and if a train should approach the switch from the branch track the flanges of the wheels that tread upon the switch-rail B will engage the guard-rail that is in contact with -said switch=rail, and will be elevated on the guard *rail as they advance, so that the wheels on the switch-rail will be transferred from the switch-rail to the main-track rail outside of the switch-rail as the wheels on the opposite sides of the cars and track are advancing over the track-rail A. The cars are thus safely transferred from a branch track to the main track when the switch is set for the main line.

In order to elevate the wheels of a car or train at the point where their flanges would otherwise Wedge in between the switch-rail and the fixed rail when the movable end of the switch-rail is in contact with the fixed rail, I cut a groove in the side of the ball of the switch-rail, as clearly shown in Fig. 4:, to produe an inclined plane, in combination with a tapering plate fixed to the web of the switchrail, so that the flanges of the wheels advancing toward the switch-rail set for the siding will always rise upon the inclined plane thus formed, to be thereby prevented from wedging between the switch-rail and the fixed rail, and also thereby aided in passing from the outside of the switchuail to advance over the top of the twisted switch-rail until it passes the switch-point and assumes its place on the inside of the main rail; and while the wheel on one side of a car is elevated by the inclined plane the flange of its mating wheel will be in its normal position down on the inside of the main rail, and the switch-rail on the inside of the flange will serve as a guard to prevent lateral motion or deflection of the Wheel that is elevated and advancing over the top of the switch-rail.

I claim as my invention 1. A twisted switch-rail having a groove in the side of its ball anda tapering bar fixed to its web to produce an inclined plane, for the purposes stated.

2. In a railway-switch, the combination of twisted switch-rails with fixed track-rails, for

the purposes stated.

SHAW STEWART. WVitnesses:

S. R. MOMARRIGOT, J. R. BATES.

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