US61475A - calkins - Google Patents

Description

' B. SHIVERIOK T. L. GALKINS.

RAILROAD SWITCH.

No. 61,475. Patented m. 22, 1867.

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BENJAMIN SHIVERICK AND THOMAS-LQGALKlNS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 61,475, dated January 22, 1867.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that we, BENJAMIN Survsmcn and THOMAS L. CALKINS, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Apparatus for Operating Switch and Frog Rails; and we do hereby declare the following to !be a. full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

' Our invention consists, first, of a switch-lever, or its equivalent, contained within a building or enclosure, and so arranged, in respect to the door of the some, as to obstruct its opening, and prevent the egress of the switch-tender until he has moved the lever to a given position, thereby restoring the main track to a proper condition for travel, and preventing the accidcnts.which frequently occur through neglect to restore a switch to its proper position after it has been used for directing cars from the main track to a. turn-out or vice versa; second, of a peculiar arrangement of switch and frog rails, in combination with devices described hereafter, for operating the same simultaneously.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will now proceed to describe its construction and operation. On reference to the accompanying drawing, which forms a'part of this specification- Figures 1 and 2 are plan views of ourim-proved switches and mechanism for opei'ating the same; and

Figure 3 a vertical section on the line 1 2, fig. 1.

A and A are the permanent rails of the main track,-and' B and Bthe permanent rails of the turnout.

-D and D are the frog rails, so connected to the track at a a that their outer ends can be moved to the position seen in fig. 1, where therail D coincides with the rail A of the main track, or to the position' seen in fig. 2, where the frog rail D coincides with the rail A of the main track. E and E are the switch rails, so connected to the track at b b that their outer ends can be moved to the position seen in fig. 1, where they coincide with the rails of the permanent main track, or to the position-shown in fig. 2, where they coincide with the ,rails of the turnout. Thc frog rails D and D are connected together and to a bar, F, which fits in and is guided by slots in the plates G and G, and has near its outer' end an elongated'slot for the reception of the her H. The forked end of the short arm of the leverI fits over a projection, 2', on the said bar H, which is continuethto the guiding-plates J and J, where it passes through a slot in a bar, K, connected to the switch rails E and E. The bar H is so guided by and between the plates that it can be moved in a horizontal direction only. The lover I is hung to a standard or frame, c,- secured to a suitable foundation, and is contained in shuilding 01' enclosure, L, to the interior of which access can be had through one entrance only; the latter being provided with an ordinary door, 11, opening inwards, and with suitable windows through which the attendant canobserve the tracks. The upper end m of the lever is bent, as shown in fig. 2, and its connection with-the frog and switch rails is such that when the latter are in the position seen in fig. 2, and permit a car to pass from the main track to the turnout, or vicevcrsa, the said projection m of the lever will be directly opposite the door f, and prevent the same from being opened, and will continue to he an obstruction to the opening of the dooruntil the. switch and frog rails have been moved to the position seen in fig. 1, when thecontin'uity of the rails'of the main track is uninterrupted. This movement of the switch rails is efi'ected by moving. the lever from the position-shown bydotted lines to that illustrated by plain lines in fig. 3. It is only after the rails occupy the relative position seen in fig. 1 that the lever I ceases to obstruct the door, and permits the operator'to-leave the building or enclosure L. It will be seen that before the switch-tender can operate the switch and frog rails to permit a car to pass from the main track to the turnout, or vice versa, he must enter the building or enclosure L; that hc must close the door before operating the lever I; and that hepahnbt leave the building without first movingthe lever back, and, in doing this, restoring the main track to a safe condition for the passage of locomotives and cars. The switch-tender, being thus a prisoner until he has performed his duty, accidents, frequently resulting from carelessness in neglecting to restore'thc switches to their proper position, are prevented An important feature in our invention is the manner of operating the switch and frog rails from a horizontallyguided bar. The operating bar His, as before described, guided by and between the plates G and G and I andJ, and the frog bar F is guided in a direction at right angles, or thereabouts, to the bar H by the same plates G and G, as is also the switch bar K by the plates 3' and J. The bar H is inclined at z, where it passes through the slot in the bar F, the inclination being such that on moving the bar horizontally in the direction of the arrow from the position shown in fig. 2 to such a distance that the straight portion t of the bar adjacent to the inclination shall bevwithin the slot of the frog bar F, the frog mils D and D will he moved from the position seen in ii; 2 to that indicated in fig. 1. It should be understood that, whatever position the frog rails may have been moved to by opera-ting the bar H, a straight, and not the inclined, portion of that bar is in the slot of the bar F, the inclined portion being employed for efiecting the desired moyemcnt,but not for resisting the lateral strainsto which the frog rails are subjected, this resistance being sustained and the switch actually locked by the straight portion of the bar. The some remarks will apply to the manner of operating and locking the switch rails by the opposite end of the bar H. It will be evident that a guided bar, with inclinations, may" be used to advantage in operating and locking ordinary switches. .11. will also be apparent that it is not essential to adhere to the precise construction described of guiding plates or other portions ofthe apparatus.

We claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The switch-lever I, contained within a building or enclosure, and arranged in respect to the door Ol' thth same substantially as set forth.

2. The combination and arrangement of the frog rails D and D, and switch rails E and E, the bar H, with its inclinations a: and y, guiding-plates G and J, and rods F and K, the whole being arranged for joint action, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth. I

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN S HIVERIGK, THOS; L. GALKINS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. Fosrnn, W. J. R. DELANY.

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