Improvements in Railway Crossings.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in Railway Crossings.
A communication from abroad by BENJAMIN B. MORGAN, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw
County, Michigan, United States of America, Artist.
I, GEORGE CECIL DYMOND M. Inst. M.E. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, & 6 Bank Street, Manchester, both in the County
of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The invention consists in an improved railway crossing, hereinafter fully described
and claimed.
Figures 1 and 2 are top plan views showing modifications of the connection between
the slides, and Figure 3 is a section on lines v, a figure 1.
The invention is designed to afford a railway crossing, in which the track is
not broken when the crossing is complete, and which is simple and not liable to get
out of order.
A represents a bed-plate, which is the foundation of the crossing, and which is
preferably made of iron, and may be of the relative'size, compared with the crossing
in Figures 1 and 2, or may be smaller or larger, or may be cut out inside of the
crossing if preferred.
B, B, and E, E, represent two lines of railway track crossing each other,
said tracks being broken at the four points where they intersect each other.
G and F represent two sliding plates set in bed-plate A, and they may be grooved

page_text: and dovetailed into the plate by the dovetail S and grooves R, as shown in figure 3
though this may be omitted if desired.
The slides F and G may be held to the plate by having the broken ends of the
rails, B B and E E project over the edges of said slides, as shown in the drawing,
and, as these rails are firmly secured to the bed-plate A, they of course hold the slides
down firmly.
Each slide, F and G, has secured thereto two rail sections, D D, adapted, when the
slides are in the position shown in Figure 1, to complete the rails of the track E E,
and has also fastened to it two rail sections CC, adapted, when the slides are in the
position shown in Figure 2, to complete the rails of the track B B. As these rail
sections D and C connect with, and leave the tracks, which they respectively complete,
at an angle, varying with the angle of the crossing, their ends and the adjacent ends
of the rails B and E, are bevelled, so that said tracks, when completed by their proper
rail sections, do not present any butt joints at the crossing, and therefore are smooth
under the wheels.
O represents an ordinary switch stand, of which N is the crank, and M represents a
connecting rod pivotally fastened to the crank and to the end of the slide G, so that by
moving the switch O, the slide G, is reciprocated in such manner as to cause its rail
sections D or C to complete their respective tracks.
The motion of the slide which is operated by the switch is caused to be commu-
nicated to the other slide by any desired connection between them, two of which have
been illustrated.
The connection shown in Figure 1, consists in a toothed segment, T, pivoted
to the bed-plate A, at I, and engaging with two racks Qone
the slides.
on each of
The arrangement shown in Figure 2 consists of a bell crank lever J, pivoted to
the bed-plate at the point I, having forked ends K, each of which connects with a
pin L, secured to each slide.
It is evident that with either of these forms of connection, the operated slide is
given a movement in the reverse direction of the motion of the operating slide, and
the arrangement of the sections C, D, on the two slides, shown in the drawings, is
designed for this motion.
There are many ways of making this connection, or of operating both slides simul-
taneously from the switch, and if the connection be used which gives the slides
motion in the same direction, (speaking approximately), the position of the rail
sections, C, D on either one of the slides, with reference to the crossing, must be
reversed.
The slides F and G, where they cross each other may be halved together as shown
at H, or either may be bent up or down, as the case may he, to clear the other, or
both may be bent, one upward and the other downward.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A railway crossing consisting of a bed-plate, two tracks secured thereto and
broken at their intersections and two reciprocating slides crossing each other, and
each carrying on its face four rail sections, substantially as shown and described.
2. In a railway crossing, the combination of the bed-plate A, with the tracks B
and E, the rails of said tracks being broken at an angle at their points of inter-
section, and two slides, F and G, each carrying the bevelled rail sections C and D,
substantially as shown and described.
3. In a railway crossing, the combination of the bed-plate A, having the two
tracks B, and E secured thereto, and broken at their points of intersection, of the
two slides, F and G set in said bed-plate, each carrying the four rail sections, C, D,
and having their edges projecting under the ends of the rails B and E, substantially
as shown and described.

page_text: 4. In a railway crossing, the two slides F and G, adapted to reciprocate in the bed-
plate of the crossing and connected together, whereby the motion of one of the slides
actuates the other, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
5. In a railway crossing, the combination of the tracks, broken at their intersec-
tions, with sliding plates movable across each intersection, and carrying at each
intersection two rail sections in line with the respective track rails, substantially as
described.