US537901A - Railway-signal - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' T. P. MODONOUGH.

RAILWAY SIGNAL. No. 537,901 PatentedApn- Zfi, 1895.

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NiTED TATEYS 'ATENT FFICE.

THOMAS P. MODONOUGH, OF .HUNTINGTON, VEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MICHAEL J. MORAN, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,901, dated April 23, 1895.

Application filed May 15,1894. Serial No. 511,378. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS P. MODONOUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Huntington, in the county of Cabell and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signals; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the IO art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and.

useful improvements in railway signals and means for operating the same, having for its I5 objects among others to provide a simple and compact device in which the semaphore arms will be entirely concealed when not thrown out to signal a train, a single light serving for use in connection with all of the arms, and

the arms and their operating means being so arranged as to serve for trains upon both tracks, or for trains running both north and south, or east and west, and all operated from the one station, the improvements herein disclosed being designed for use in connection with what is known as the block system, but of course applicable to any and all other uses to which it may be put, the semaphore arms being designed to be operated by means located at any required distance from the said arms.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a tower and my improvements, with a portion broken away to better disclose the operating levers. Fig.

' 2 is a side elevation of the arms and connections, with two of the arms extended. Fig. 3

is a similar view with the arms in a different position.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the housing which incloses the arms when in their closed position has been removed to better show the other parts.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates an upright located at the desired point and which is designed to support the arms and some of their connections. This upright may be located in proximity to the tower A or at any desired distance therefrom. To the upper end of the upright at diametrically opposite corners are secured the brackets or castings B which ex tend laterally beyond the sides of the upright and are provided with the upwardly-extending arms B in each set of which is supported a horizontal shaft 0 upon which the semaphore arms are pivotally mounted. On each of these shafts are mounted two arms D and D, the outer one of which is painted. red, while the inner one is painted red in the middle and green upon one side thereof and yellow upon the other side. These colors may however be Varied as may be desired. The outer end of the inner arm may be formed to readily distinguish it from the outer one. I

have shown it as having a substantially V- 'vided with two transparent plates, the one 61 beinggreen, while the other (1 is one half red and the other half green.

It is to be understood that the two sets of arms, one upon each side of the upright, are alike in all particulars, the one serving for the trains on the track running in one direction and the other for the trains running in the opposite direction. Each of the arms is operated in a similar manner. Therefore a description of the one will suflice for all.

E is a shaft supported in asuitable bearing on the upright A, and on this shaft are two bell-crank levers F mounted for independent movement, and one arm of each is connected 5 with an arm D or D by alink or rod F which is pivotally connected to the arm of the bellcrank lever at one end and to the extension or tailpiece of the semaphore arm at the other end. The other arm of this bell-crank lever Ioo is pivotally connected with a vertical arm or red G the other end of which is pivotally connected with the end of one arm of abell-crank lever G mounted on a horizontal shaft H supported on the upright and the other arm of this lever G is pivotally connected by the horizontal rod or arm I with the lower end of an operating lever J pivoted at j and located within the tower as shown in Fig. 1. This lever is of the usual form and is provided with a spring arm adapted to engage notches in the segment or quadrant J to hold the sema' phore arms in their adjusted positions. This spring arm and the notched quadrant forming no part of the present invention and its construction and manner of use being Well understood the details thereof have not been herein illustrated.

Bearing in mind that there are four semaphore arms and consequently four sets of the bell-crank levers, connections and operating levers just described, it now remains to describe only the manner of use thereof. In Fig. 1 the two outer arms are thrown open, indicating that there are train orders for the trains approaching on both tracks, and the red signal appearing the tracks are blocked both ways and both trains must stop and receive orders. Theinnerarms are closed within the housing which will be hereinafter described. In Fig. 2 the outer arm on one side and the inner arm on the other side are extended, the others being in their closed positions. This indicates that there are train orders for the train going east and block signal for the train going in the opposite direction. In Fig. 3 both of the arms on each side are thrown out indicating order and block for both sections, or for the trains moving in both directions.

For night service I employ a lantern or light K which is mounted on the top of the upright A as shown and having a lens on opposite sides so as to co-operate with both sets of arms. This shows at all timesa white light, but when the arms are thrown out the light seen by the engineer will of course correspond with the color of the glass in the tail piece or extension of the semaphore arms. For instance when the signal is set as shown in Fig. 1 the light upon both sides will be red. As set in Fig. 2 the light on one side will be red and upon the other side it will be green. With the arms in the position in which they are shown in Fig. 3 thelight will be red and green upon each side, the arms being in such position that the combined red and green glass of the tail-pieces of the arms will be opposite the lens of the lantern on each side of the upright.

In order to protect the semaphore arms and also to prevent them from being seen when in their closed position I provide a housing L which is removably supported over the upper end of the upright A and covering the lantern as well, being provided upon its opposite sides with the lenses L one of which is carried by a movable door I as shown in Fig. 1 to permit access to the lamp without removing the housing. This housing has slots in its opposite walls through which the semaphore arms work and is supported in position in this instance by the horizontal arms M secured to the upright and extending from four sides thereof, or less and terminatingin the upwardly-extending ends Z as shown which embrace the lower end of the housing and which may be secured thereto if necessary. This housing may be omitted without materially affecting the operation of the other parts of the invention,but its presence is de sirable.

Other modifications in details of construe-- tion may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a railway signal, the combination of a support or upright, a semaphore arm having a tail piece, and two lenses arranged in the tail piece one of which is a divided lens having two different colors, substantially as described.

2. In a railway signal the combination'of a support or upright, a lantern, two sets of semaphore arms, a colored lens in the tailpiece of one member of each set of arms, a plurality of colored lenses in the other member of said set, a housing for normally inclosing the lamp and the arms, lenses in the housing coincident with the lantern and with which any of the lenses in the tail pieces may be made to register and means for operating the arms whereby two signals at the same time, either day or night (as a train order and block signal) may be given to trains on parallel tracks whether moving in the same or opposite directions.

3. The combination with an upright, a lamp thereon arms on said uprights, and having upwardly extending ends, and arms mounted on the upright for independent movement, of a housing removably supported upon said arms with upturned ends and having slots for the passage of said arms and lenses coinciding with those of the lamp, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS P. MCDONOUGH.

Witnesses:

WM. M. STOCKBRIDGE, W. AUGHINBAUGH.

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