US832949A - Switch-tongue. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906 P. L. BAILEY.

SWITCH TONGUE. APPLICATION FILED NOV.23,1B0|6.

V JNVENTOR. Pa rJ's L.Ba1'1e:y.

W1 7 NE SSES ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PARIS L. BAILEY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SWITCH-TONGUE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

Application filed November 23, 1905- Serial No. 288,666.

, To all whom it may concern.-

, nection with street-railways, with the parts so arranged that the switch will not be thrown by a passing car-wheel, and the great trouble of split switches? be avoided.

The chief feature of the invention consists in providing a central rearward extension to the switch-tongue for pivoting it and in pivoting such tongue extension out of the path or tread of the carwheels. The pivoting of the switch-tongue by means of a rearwardly-extending portion will not in itself avoid the trouble as long as the parts are arranged so that a car-wheel will run over the pivot, for then the tongue is by the great weight of the wheel on the pivot rendered free to move in either direction-that is, it is balanced so as to be liable to move the wrong way.

' The foregoing and other features of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a street-railway switch with the ends thereof broken away and parts shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rear end of Fig. 1 with a plate over the pivotpoint of the switch being removed and the olts holding said late being in cross-section. Fig. 3 is a vertical ongitudinal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. verse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referrin now to the details of the construction s own in the drawings, 10 represents a railway-rail, forming part of what may be called the main track. 11 is the switch-rail. 12is the guardfor the uard-rail, and 13 is a guard for the switch-rai A bedplate 14 extends throughout the length of the switch-tongue 15 and under it and the rails and guards. The rear end of this bed-plate 14 at 16 extends upward between the mner rail 11 and the outer guard-rail 12 almost to the top level of the switch. The extreme rear end of said plate 17 extends up to a level Fig. 4 is a vertical transwith the top surface of the switch, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3.

The portion 16 of the base is centrally cut out vertically and longitudinally for a portion of its thickness, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, to receive the rearward extension 18 from the tongue, whereby said tongue is pivoted to said base by the pivot 19, and a plate 20 is secured by the bolts 21 upon said portion 16 of the bed-plate and covers the rearward extension 18 from the tongue 16, said plate 21 being flush with the upper portion of the tongue, It keeps the dirt away from the pivotal point of the tongue. The recess or cut-out portion of the bed-plate is sufficiently wide to give the tongue enough lateral play to make its movements easy. The shoulders 22 of the switch-tongue slope outwardly and away from the pivotal end of the switchtongue, as shown, and are sufficiently far from the pivotal point 19 of the switchtongue that if a wheel-flange should strike a tongue it could not throw the switch.

In ordinary switches the shoulder, 22 is to the rear of the pivot-point 19 or about even with it, so that when it is engaged by a Wheel the wheel is liable to throw the switch-tongue the wrong way, and thus split the switch. The pivotal point 19 is located sufficiently far from each side that the tread of the wheel will not run over the pivotal point nor will it run over the rear extension 18, but will leave the switch-tongue at one of the shoulders 22. Hence it is impossible for a wheel to split a switch provided with a tongue arranged as herein shown.

In order, furthermore, that the switchtongue may remain positively in the place into which it has been thrown and should remain, I provide a plate 25 between the guardrail 12 and the rail 11, as seen in Fig. 4, provided with a pair of longitudinal grooves on each side of the center rib 26. These grooves are adapted to receive the point of the switchtongue, which is made so that the lower edge will be V-shaped in transverse section, as seen in Fig. 4. It is obvious that when the switch-tongue is thrown it will not change itsposition until it is thrown by some proper person or means and cannot be moved by accident or by the movement of the car.

This sort of switch-tongue is made necessary and very important in connection with railways for interurban lines or where very heavy electric cars are used. These heavy .cars are so liable to split the switch that the IIO conductor is required to watch every switch that the car goes over and signal the motorman when it is all right. This is an expense and a nuisance that can be avoided by this invention. While it is more necessary to have this construction on interurban lines, still it is very useful for ordinary street-railways, as frequently their switches get split and the cars are thrown sidewise and damaged considerably. The plate 20, covering the rearward extension from the switchtongue and bearing down upon it, tends to hold the point of the switch-tongue down in a groove on the plate 25, so as to make the sn itch-tongue more difficult to move latera y.

The length of the switch-tongue when arranged as heretofore set forth may be any length desired, so as to conform to the requirement about the car-wheels running over the pivotal point of the switch-tongue. At present switch-tongues have to be made so long that the second wheel of a truck will run onto the point of the switch-tongue before the first wheel of the truck leaves the switchtongue in order to prevent the switch-tongue from changing position. With my invention this is unnecessary, as it would not change position between the time of one wheel leaving the switch-tongue and the next wheel running upon it. This difficulty is peculiar to singletruck cars. With double truck cars the present switch is always liable to be moved or split between the time that the front trucks leave the switch-tongue and the rear trucks run upon the switch-tongue.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway-switch, a switch-tongue with a central rearward extension for pivoting the same, a bed-plate on which said switoh-tongue is placed with its rear portion thickened so as to extend up almost to the top level of the switch-tongue and provided with a vertical recess for the extension from the switch-tongue, said rearward portion of the bed-plate being so wide that ear-wheels cannot pass over said recessed portion,.

means for pivoting the rear ends of said extension of the switch-tongue in the recess of said rear portion of the bed-plate, and a plate secured on said rear portion of the bedplate which covers said rearward extension of the switch-tongue, substantially as set forth.

2. I11 a railway-switch, a switch-tongue with the lower surface of the point thereof made somewhat V-shaped, and a plate on which said point is moved laterally that is provided with a central rib with a groove on each side in which the point of the switchtongue may rest.

3. In a railway-switch, a switch-tongue with a central rearward extension for pivoting the same and with the lower surface of the point thereof made somewhat V-shaped, a plate on which said point is moved laterally that is provided with a central rib with a groove on each side in which the point of the switch-tongue may rest, a bed-plate on which said switch-tongue is pivoted at its rear end, and a plate secured to said bed-plate and extending over the rear end of the switchtongue so as to bear down upon the same and tend to hold the point of the switch-tongue in place.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of the witnesses herein named.

PARIS L. BAILEY.

Witnesses:

N. ALLEMONG, HELEN B. MoCoRD.

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