An Improved Device for Automatically Opening and Closing Railway Barriers.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Device for Automatically Opening and Closing
Railway Barriers.
A communication by ARTHUR HÖHLKE, of Ludwigstrasse, Lübeck, in the
Empire of Germany, Miller.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E. of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 :-
This invention has for its object an improved railway barrier for level crossings
which is automatically closed against persons wishing to cross on the passage of
a train over the adjacent piece of track, and is afterwards again automatically
opened. This has for its purpose to make the employment of gatekeepers
unnecessary and for reducing the working expenses more particularly in the case
of small and branch lines.
This improved device is shown on the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 being a view of the railway track with the upper part of the mechanism
removed;
Figure 2, a longitudinal section of Figure 1; and
Figure 3, a plan of a stretch of railway track provided with the improved
apparatus.
In order to render the opening and closing of the barriers dependent on the
passage of a train over the adjacent piece of track, movable side rails are pressed
down by the flanges of the wheels during the passage of the same over them.
The movement of the side rails is then communicated to a lever mechanism,
which by means of multiple gearing causes the barriers to be opened or closed.
The movable or oscillating side rails c c are arranged by the side of the ordinary
rails at a suitable distance from the crossing which is to be closed, and are
maintained in their highest position by suitable counterweights on the lever arms
of a spindle h.
"
According to the length of the side rails there is arranged ou supports /
underneath the rails, a suitable number of spindles (Figure 1) carrying cranks m
which are pressed upward by means of levers s and weights q. On the ends
of the cranks m, there are hinged bars 9 which are again connected by means
of hinges with the flanges of the side rails. The side rails may be suitably
stiffened by means of cross bars (stay bars) Figure 1. By this connection of
the side rails with one another and with the system of levers of movably arranged
spindles h, the side rails are maintained in an oscillating position by means of the
counterweights.
The flanges of the wheels d d¹ before passing a crossing run over the slightly
elevated, yielding rails cc' and press these latter downwards. Although the
movement of the side rails is a slight one, it is transferred to the movable
spindles h h in such a way, that by means of suitable gearing the vertical barrier
axis r with barrier o is turned about 90 degrees.
The opening of the barrier o after the train has passed the crossing, can either
be brought about automatically by the pull of the weight or by a like device
such as employed for closing the barriers, of course at a suitable distance from the
former which must at least be equal to the maximum length of the train.

page_text: The transfer of the movement of the side rails to the movable spindles and from
these latter to the operating mechanism of the barriers, may be done by means of
belt gearing or of rods.
Simultaneously with the opening and closing of the barriers, a signal lantern
P
is turned in such a way that coloured discs with the words "shut" and "open
come into view. The arrangement may at the same time be such that a bell or
other suitable signalling device may be caused to ring.
7°
The transfer from the belt pulleys to the spindle of the barriers in the hollow
columns (Figure 2) may take place by means of cog wheels z z¹, friction rollers
or other well known devices.
A plan view of a piece of track provided with these rails is shown in Figure 3
and a vehicle u is shown approaching a crossing. As it travels over the side rails,
the barrier is kept closed as long as the side rails care held down. In this
example the opening of the barrier and rising of the side rails are brought about
by means of suitable counterweights after the carriages have left the side rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion 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-
An improved device for automatically opening and closing railway barriers,
consisting of oscillating side rails c c¹ held normally in their highest position and
parallel with the main rails of the track, which side rails on the passage of a
train over the crossing are pressed down by the flanges of the wheels or by
special rollers arranged under the carriages and by means of suitable gearing
causes the barriers to be closed, said barriers being afterwards opened auto-
matically by means of a similar device acting in the opposite direction after the
passage of a train or by means of counterweights substantially as described and
shown on the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 20th day of February 1891
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.