Improvements in Apparatus connected with the Level Crossing Gates of Railways.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Feb., 1890-Accepted; 22nd Mar., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus connected with the Level Crossing
Gates of Railways.
We, BEN JAMES FISHER of Hill's Court, Exeter in the County of Devonshire Civil
Engineer, and EDWARD RUSSELL of 12 Culverland Road, Exeter, also in the County
of Devonshire Signal Inspector, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
It is the usual custom at the present time to actuate the gate stops at the level
crossing gates of railways by a separate lever in the signal cabin and separate rod
and crank connections. As is well-known, gate stops or gate catches are employed
for holding the gates in their normal or worked positions across the public road or
railway respectively in order that the gates may not be maliciously, or through the
action of wind or other cause forced, across the railway or public road in opposition
to the position of the signals, thereby rendering an accident liable.
Our invention has for its object the abolition of the separate lever and its connections,
and the preventing an obstruction in the public road by the gate stops being put up
before the gates are moved.
By a simple device in the machinery which actuates the gates, we work the
gate stops.
In the rod connection employed for working the gates are two T cranks. One is
fixed usually in the railway midway between, and opposite, the heels of one pair of
gates, and the other midway between and opposite the beels of the other pair of gates.
The gate heel cranks of these gates are connected to the straight arms of the T cranks.
The rod runuing from the cabin for actuating the gates has in it certain slots, in
which slots the remaining arms of the T cranks work. The gate locking boxes are
connected together so as to work in unison by rods and a T crank.
One arm of the latter T crank is connected to a counterbalance weight. The gate
actuating rod has fixed to it two clips one of which prevents the stops from being
moved through the action of the counter-balance weight in the normal position and
the other of which should the weight fail to act places the stops down when the gates
are being moved across the railway.
The action of our invention is as follows:-When the gate connection commences
its movement the slots move about the T crank freeing the counterbalance weight
which places the stops down. The gate connection continues its movement (the first
movement being equal to the length of the slot) actuates all four gates through the end
of the slots in the said connections actuating the T cranks, which latter move
the gates.
With our invention we preferably extend the connections working the gate lock
to the gate stop boxes and there cause two upright bolts to project normally above the
lid of the box. This applies to each gate stop box. The said bolts are worked by
the gate lock lever. By this arrangement if the gate catches are forced down
maliciously the gates are still held in position by the said bolts which are only
withdrawn by the movement of the gate lock lever.
D: December 1889
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
Agents for the said Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus connected with the Level Crossing
Gates of Railways.
We, BEN JAMES FISHER of Hills Court Exeter in the County of Devonshire, Civil
Engineer, and EDWARD RUSSELL of 12 Culverland Road Exeter, also in the County
of Devonshire, Signal Inspector, 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:-
It is the usual custom at the present time to actuate the gate stops at the level
crossing gates of railways by a separate lever in the signal cabin and separate rod
and crank connections. As is well known, gate stops or gate catches are employed
for holding the gates in their normal or worked positions across the public road or
railway respectively, in order that the gates may not be maliciously, or through the
action of wind or other cause forced across the railway or public road in opposition to
the position of the signals, thereby rendering an accident liable.
Our invention has for its object the abolition of the separate lever and its connections,
and the preventing an obstruction in the public road by the gate stops being put up
before the gates are moved.
By a simple device in the machinery which actuates the gates, we work the
gate stops.
In the rod connection employed for working the gates are two T cranks. One is
fixed usually in the railway midway between, and opposite, the heels of one pair of
gates, and the other midway between and opposite the heels of the other pair of gates.
The gate heel cranks of these gates are connected to the straight arms of the
T cranks. The rod running from the cabin for actuating the gates has in it certain
slots, in which slots, the remaining arms of the T cranks work. The gate locking
boxes are connected together so as to work in unison by rods and a T crank. One
arm of the latter T crank is connected to a counterbalance weight. The gate
actuating rod has fixed to it two clips one of which prevents the stops from being
moved through the action of the counterbalance weight in the normal position, the
other of which, should the weight fail to act, places the stops down when the gates are
being moved across the railway.
I will now proceed to describe my invention reference being made for that purpose
to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a plan-A, A, are the four level crossing gates; B, B are the gate
heel cranks; C, C are rod connections joining the two T cranks D D to the gate
heel cranks B, B. The rod E is actuated from the signal cabin by any known
appliance such as capstan and wheel. F, F are slotted pieces, formed in the said
rod E.
d, d¹ are pins respectively in T cranks D and D' about which pins the slotted
pieces F, F work. "G, G' are clips fixed on the rod E. H is a T crank to which is
connected the rod M for operating the gate stops N, N'. The arm K of the T crank H
works between, and is in certain contingencies operated by, the clips G, G¹. O is the
chain connected to the arm K of Ṭ crank H, the said chain terminating in a weight R
in weight box P.
Figure 4 is an elevation of a suitable weight box.
The action of this portion of my invention as illustrated in the foregoing figures is
as follows:-
When the gate connection E commences its movement, the slots F, F¹ move about
(in a forward direction) the pins d d' on the cranks D, D¹. The clip G¹ moving
away from arm K of T crank H allows the weight R to fall which actuates T crank H
placing stops N, N¹ down freeing the movement of the gates A, A. The said
stops N, N are fully down before the ends of the slotted parts F, F are in contact
with the pins d, d¹ in the cranks D, D'. When the latter contact has taken place,

page_text: upon the continued movement of the rod E the four gates are moved over in the
direction of the dotted lines by the cranks D¹ D and connections C.
The clip G is put on as an extra safeguard in the event of the weight R failing to
act upon the return motion of the rod E to put the gates normal again; the clip G¹
acting against the arm K of crank H places the stops up (as the first movement)
overcoming the weight.
Another feature of our invention consists in extending the rod connections working
the gate lock to the gate stop boxes and there terminating in an upright bolt. By
this arrangement if the gate catches are forced down maliciously, the gates are still
held in position by the said bolts which are only withdrawn by the movement of the
gate lock lever.
Figure 3 is a plan of the catch stop box.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation; S, S¹ are the bolts worked by the rod V which
is an extension of the gate locking rod.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we wish it to be
distinctly understood that we lay no claim to the working of the gates themselves
but we declare that what we claim is
1st. At railway level crossings actuating the gate stops from their normal position
to their worked position by a counterbalance weight, and employing the gate
actuating connections as the medium of returning them to their normal position, all
substantially as set forth.
2nd. At railway level crossings, employing devices on the gate actuating connections
for the purpose of operating the gate stops without the intervention of a separate
lever, substantially in the manner set forth.
3rd. At railway level crossings, the employment of a slot or slots E in the actuating
connections substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein set forth.
4th. At railway level crossings employing the gate lock lever to actuate independent
bolts in the gate stop boxes, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
Dated this 22nd day of February 1890.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
Agent for the said Applicants.