US831553A - Guard-rail. - Google Patents

Description

No. 831,553. PATENTED SEPT. 25, 1906. U. M. HIBBETS.

GUARD RAIL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.29, 1906.

CHARLES H. HIBBETS, O F W'ASHBURN, TEXAS.

GUARDS-RAIL.

To rbZZ IUhOHL-ill ntay concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. Hrnnnrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washburn, in the county of Armstrong and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guard-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in guard-rails, and is particularly designed for use in connection with the improvements in switches for which Letters Patent of the United States, No. 797,772, were issued to me August 22, 1905.

The patented invention comprehends a railway-switch mechanism embodying means for preventing derailment of a train should the switch be left in a neutral or split position, such means including an incline over which the car-wheels are designed to travel from the split switch back to the main-line rails and also including in connection with said incline a guard-rail designed to form a bearing-surface for the opposite car-wheels and having a diagonal portion converging in a direction from the switch-point to the opposite main-line rail, so as to direct the car wheels back to the main track and insure that they shall be properly positioned on the main-track rails.

My present nvention contemplates particularly improvements in the construction of the said guard-rail designed to direct the car-wheels back to the main-line rails and it consists of certain improvements hereinafter fully described, and particularly'pointed out in the ap ended claim.

For a lull description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a railway-switch embodying the patented improvements and the improvements of the present invention. Fig.2 is a perspective view thereof. Figs. 3 and 1 are cross-sectional views illustrating particularly, on a larger scale, Iny improved construction of guard-rail embodied in the present invention.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followin description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

Specification of Letters Patent.

.tpplicatim filed January 29. 1906.

Patented Sept. 25, 1906.

Serial No. 298,516.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the main rails of the tracks, and 2 the side rails.

3 indicates the siding switch-point, and 4 the main-line switch-point. Contiguous to the butt-end of the main-line switch-point 4 the adjacent main rail 1 is provided with an incline 5, designed to direct the wheels of a train back onto the main-line track-rails should they be liable for derailment by entering the switch with the switch-point in the neutral pos tion, and to assist in this operation the side rail 2 where it connects with the butt-end of the switch-point 3 has connected to it a guard-rail 6, which extends from the side rail 2 in a diagonal direction toward the adjacent main-line rail 1 and draws the carwheels laterally when some of them have ridden over the incline 5, so that they will be properly directed back upon the main-line rails 1 and derailment will be avoided. In general construction the above describes the patented improvements before referred to.

In the present embodiment of the invention the guard-rail 6 is provided with a thick ened web 7, designed to fit snugly against the web of the adjacent main rail 1 throughout the length of the said guard-rail both in the parallel portion of the latter and the diagonal portion thereof, so that snow and ice will be prevented from packing between the mainline rail and the guard-rail. The inner surface 8 and lower oblique portion 8 of the guard-rail are of such size and shape that they will accurately fit the web and baseflange of the mainline rail, and the thickness of the web 7 of the guard-rail is of course determined at the different portions thereof by the desired distance between the head or tread of the main-line rail 1 and the head 9 of the guard-rail 6. As shown particularly in Fig. 4, the upper surface 10 of the guardrail 7 is somewhat countersunk, so as to give passage-way for the flange of a wheel where the ball of the rail is not thick enough to clear the flange. The head 9 of the guard-rail 6 is cut away at the sides adjacent the main rail, as indicated at 11, so as to form a preferably flat portion, which is advantageous, in that the foot of a person is not likely to be caught between it and the adjacent main rail.

By my improved construction of guardrail the liability of snow and ice packing between the guard-rail and the adjacent maintoo line rail is reduced to a minimum, and there solid piece and in the shape shown by Figs. :3

and 4 from the first joint back .of the heel v of the switc hpoints on the main -line rail. While Figs. 3 and 4: indicate that the guardrail and maineline rail are formed separately, yet the integral construction just described is the preferred one, because there will be no noise or rattling when trains are passing over the rails at that point and there will be no transverse bolts to become worn or broken. Otherwise the same result may be obtained y usi g h rd nary rail as ad fo rfiglllel use and by rolling th block to the exact shape to fill the space between the rails. In some localities the guard-rail iconstructed as in my patent above referred to will be the most useful and practical.

Havin thus described the invention, what is claime as new is Switch mechanism of the character described embodying an incline designed to direct the wheels of a train back on the main track, and a guard-rail opposite the said incline and provided with a diagonal portion designed to draw the Wheels laterally so as to seat them upon the main-line rails, said guard-rail being provided with a thickened We thr ughout i l ngth filling he s a between the outer side of Said web an the dja nt ide f thoedia ont main-din ai In testimony wher o I ,affiX my igna ure in presence of'two witnesses.

CHARLES M. HIBBETS. :[L. s.]

Witnesses:

G M. JAMES, G. Born.

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