US999093A

US999093A - Railway-switch.

Info

Publication number: US999093A
Application number: US60208011A
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter P Catalano
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1911-01-11
Filing date: 1911-01-11
Publication date: 1911-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1928-07-25

Description

P. P. CATALANO.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

ABPLIGATION FILED 51111.11, 1911.

Patented July 25, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

.....--Ih..........lm

iNvENToR A fe i012. fafa/wia' HMMMHHIIHHHHM M WITNESSES! KM...- ff

ATTOR N EYS,

COLUMBIA PLANGORAPH CO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

P. P. CATALANO.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION'ILED JAN. 11, 1911.

Patented July 25, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

wlTNEssEs: K ,NVENTOKR @ZM/fa@ jeell. vafvlw' A ATTORNEYS,

COLUMBIA FLANOURAPH C0.. WASHINGTON' D. C.

UNTTED STATES PATENT FFTCFL.

PETER P. CATALANO, OF LAWTON STATION, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-SVVITCH.

Application filed January 11, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that PETER P. CATALANO, citizen of the United States, residing at Lawton Station, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Switches, of which the following` is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway switches which are automatically operated from the cab of a locomotive.

lThe invention comprises a series of obstacles located adjacent to the track, and operatively connected to the switch rails, said obstacles being so arranged that the switch rails may be shifted in either direction and from either side of the switch. The obstacles are actuated by a device carried by the locomotive cab, said device being adjust-able to actuatethe selected obstacle.

lt is the object of the present invention to provide a mechanism of the kind stated which is simple in construction, reliable in operation, and devoid of all complicated parts liable to get out of order and to interfere with the proper working of the switch; and to this end the invention consists in a novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a plan view of a switch constructed in accordance with the present invention, a fragment of the locomotive cab and the mechanism carried thereby being also shown; Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3 is a rear end view; Fig. 4 is an enlarged rear elevation; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one set of the obstacles and a fragment of the actuating device carried by the cab. Fig. 6 is a plan View of the lock of the actuating device.

In the drawings, R denotes the rails of the main track, and S and T the rails of the tracks branching therefrom.

l denotes an ordinary handoperated switch stand for manually actuating the switch rails D controlling the passage of trains from the main track to the two branch tracks, or vice versa. The switch rails are connected by an ordinary switch bar 2, and the latter is connected to the switch stand in the ordinary manner by means of a rod d.

On one side of the main track, a. suitable distance in advance of the switch, are mounted bearings 7 in which is supported a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, i911. Serial No. 602,080.

stationary shaft 8. The bearings 7 are mounted on a base 7 suitably supported adjacent to one of the rails of the main track, on the outside thereof. On the shaft 8 are loosely mounted two tappet arms indicated at A and B, respectively, the shaft being located so that the tappets may swing in a vert-ical plane parallel to the main track. To each tappet is connected a winding drum, the drum of the tappet A being indi*- cated at a, and the drum of the tappet B, at Z). These two drums are loose on the shaft 8, and rotate when the tappets are actuated. In the hub portion of each tappet are notches 6a, one or the other of which is adapted to be engaged by a catch 6 which is pivotally connected to the base 7 this catch being provided for the purpose of locking the tappets. When the tappet-s swing downwardly into horizontal position, the catches slip into one of the notches7 and thus lock the tappets in this position, and when the tappets swing upwardly into vertical position, the catches slip into the other notch and lock the tappets in this posit-ion. The catches operate automatically, they slipping out of one notch and into the other as the tappets swing upwardly or downwardly. The catches are operated by a spring 6b connected thereto.

On the drum a are wound cables 9 and 1l, and on the drum o are

wound cables

10 and 12. These cables are connected to the switch bar 2, so that the latter will be moved when the cables are wound on the drums. The cable 9 extends alongside the track to a point slightly in front of the switch, and then crosses the track, it being led across the track by guide sheaves SVL and 9b. respectively, the sheave 92L being located on the same side as the drum on which the cable is wound, and the sheave 9b being located on the opposite side of the track. The cable passes from the sheave 9b to a sheave 9C and from this extends to, and is made fast to one end of the switch bar 2, this end being the one which is located on that side of the track opposite the side on which the tappets and drums are located. The cable 12 eX- tends and is connected to the other end of the switch bar, and a sheave 12a is provided for guiding the last-mentioned cable to t-he switch bar. The cable l() is spliced or otherwise connected to the cable 9, and the cable 11 is spliced or otherwise connected to the cable l2. It will be seen from the foregoing that the switch bar will be actuated to shift the switch rails D when the tappets A and B are actuated. The operating position of the tappets is a vertical one, and upon swinging them downwardly into horizontal position, the cables connected to the drum of the tappet which is thus actuated, shift the switch bar and thus set the switch rails. Upon the drum being rotated as stated, one of the cables is wound thereon and the other is unwound, the cable wound on the drum being the one which is connected to that end of the switch bar in the direction of which said bar is moving, and the cable which is unwinding being the one which is connected to the opposite end of the switch bar. rIwo pairs of cables, together with a drum and actuating cam for each, are provided in order that the switch may be thrown in either direction by the device carried by the cab of the locomotive. rilhe connection also causes one of the tappets to rise while the other one is being lowered, so that one of said tappets is always in vertical position, thus enabling the engineer of the approaching train to observe the condition of the switch, so that he may set the actuating device in the cab accordingly.

In order that the switch may also be operated from the cab if the train is approaching the main track from either one of the branch tracks, there is located adjacent to each of said branch tracks a tappet` similar to the tappets already described, and connected to drums over which are wound cables which extend to and are connected to the switch bar 2. inasmuch as the passage of a train from either of the branch tracks to the main track is controlled by the movement of the switch rails in one direction only, but one tappet and drum are provided for each branch track. The tappet of the branch track S is indicated at A, the drum thereof at a, and the two cables at 18 and 14, respectively, one of said cables being connected to one end of the switch bar, and the other cable to the other end thereof, suitable sheaves being provided for guiding the cables to said ends of the switch bar.

The tappet of the branch track T is indicated at B, the drum at and the cables at 15 and 16, respectively, these cables being also connected, respectively, to opposite ends of the switch bar, they being guided thereto by suitable sheaves.

The tappets A and B and the parts associated therewith are mounted in the saine manner as the tappets A and B and their associate parts.

inasmuch as the several tappets are all connected to the switch bar 2, it will be seen that the movement of one of the tappets to shift the switch bar is transmitted to each one of the other tappets, so that said tappets will always be positioned to indicate the condition of the switch. Thus, if the tappet B is swung downwardly, the switch bar 2 will be actuated to shift the switch rails D to the full line position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the main track is connected to the branch track T. Then the tappet B swings downwardly, as stated, the tappet A rises, which will indicate to the engineer of the next train approaching the switch that the same is set for the branch track T. lf this next train is to take the branch track S, the engineer will set the actuating device in the cab so that it will engage the tappet A, thus shifting the switch rails to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, and opening the branch track S to the main track. Then the tappet` A is depressed, as stated, the tappet B rises, thus again indicating to the engineer of the next train the condition of the switch. 1n the first-described position of t-he switch, the tappet A will be in elevated position, so that the engineer of a train approaching the main track from the branch track S, may observe the condition of the switch, and act accordingly. In the second-mentioned posit-ion, the tappet A would be down, which would indicate to the engineer that the switch was already in a position to enable the train to pass from the branch track S to the main track. The tappet B also assumes a position which enables the engineer of a train approaching the main track from the branch track T to observe the condition of the switch, said tappet being in upright position when the switch is in the dotted line position shown in TFig. 1, and said tappet being in horizontal position when the switch is in the full line position, in which position the main track is open to the branch track S.

rlhe` device for actuating the tappets coinprises a vertical stem 3 carried by the cab C of the locomotive, and passing through the floor thereof. To the lower end of the stein is rigidly secured a shoe having branches 3 and 3b arranged at right angles to eachy other and projecting horizontally from the stein. The stem is so located that itmay pass between the tappets A and B, and the stem is also rotatable so that the shoe may be positioned to strike the tappets. If it is desired that the branch 3b strike the tappet- B, the stem will be rotated so as to place said branch in the position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the tappet B is in the path of said branch, and the branch 3a is in a position to pass the tappet A without actuating the saine. If it is desired to actuate the tappet A, the stem will be given a quarter revolution, whereupon the branch 3a is swung in a position to engage the said tappet, and the shoe 3b is placed in a position to clear the tappet B. The engineer can therefore readily place the rod in a position to actuate the desired tappet.

Tappets A and B are also actuated by the herein described cab device.

The rod 3 is stiifened by braces 5 which are fastened to the underside of the floor of the cab, and its upper end is provided with a handle 4. A suitable locking device 4a is also provided for holding the rod in adjusted position. The rod is held at a proper height by means of a set collar lb thereon engaging the floor of the cab, as shown in F ig. 2.

I claim:

l. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch tracks, switch rails controlling the same, and a bar connecting said switch rails; of a horizontal shaft mounted adjacent to the main track and in advance of the switch, a pair of drums supported by said shaft, a tappet arm connected to each drum, a pair of cables wound on each drum, the members of each pair beine` connected, respectively, to opposite ends of the aforesaid switch bar, and an actuating device carried by the cab of the locomotive and adjustable to engage either one of the aforesaid tappets.

2. In railway switch, the combination with main and branch tracks, switch rails controlling the same, and a bar connecting said switch rails; of a horizontal shaft mounted adjacent to the main track and in advance of the switch, a pair of drums supported by said shaft, a tappet arm connected to each drum, a pair of cables wound on each drum, the members of each pair being connected, respectively, to opposite ends of the aforesaid switch bar, a drum and .tappetmounted adjacent to the branch track in advance of the switch, a pair of cables wound on said drum, and connected, respectively, to opposite ends of the switch bar, and an actuating device carried by the cab of the locomotive and adjustable to engage either one of the aforesaid tappets.

3. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch tracks, a switch controlling the same, and a pair of tappets located adjacent to the main track, and operatively connected to the switch; of a switch actuating device carried by the cab of a locomotive, said device comprising a rotatable rod depending from the cab and passing between the tappets, and a shoe mounted on the lower end of the rod, said shoe having branches extending horizontally from the rod at an angle to each other and being adjustable by rotation of the rod to engage the tappets, said shoe in one of its positions having one of its branches in a position to engage one of the tappets, and the other branch in a position to clear the other tappet, and in another position the last-mentioned branch engaging the lastmentioned tappet, and the first-mentioned branch clearing the rst-mentioned tappet.

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

PETER P. CATALANO.

Witnesses:

FRANK CATALANO, LILLIAN B. HUTCHINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.