Improvements in and relating to Conductors for Electric Railways.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1898-Accepted, 2nd July, 1898
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM AUGUSTUS PUTNAM WILLARD, Junior,
of Hull, in the County of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, Electrician.]
Improvements in and relating to Conductors for Electric Railways.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 relates to trolley rails for use with cars carrying electric motors.
The peculiarity of my rail lies in the fact that the portion of it with which the
trolley or shoe carried by the car engages, is normally out of electrical engage-
ment with the conductor but when moved horizontally, is thrown into electrical
engagement therewith by means of the trolley and so supplies current through
the trolley to the car motor.
This invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings
in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a trolley rail embodying my inven-
tion;
Figure 2 a longitudinal section showing the connection between two ends of
the conductor;
Figure 3 a section on line 3, 3, of Figure 2;
Figure 4 a longitudinal section of a portion of the rail shown in Figure 1 drawn
to a larger scale and showing the various operative parts;
Figure 5 is a corresponding section on line 5, 5, of Figure 4;
Figure 6 a corresponding section on line 6, 6, of Figure 4;
Figure 7 a corresponding section on line 7, 7, of Figure 4, and
Figure 8 is a section showing the mode of clamping the conductor tube to the
sleepers.
A represents the sleepers to which the rails forming the track are attached,
and which are also used in this case to carry the third rail, preferably laid mid-
way between the two rails of the track. Upon these sleepers is laid in suitable
chairs (see for example, Figure 8) an insulated conductor. The form of insulated
conductor which seems to me now most desirable for this purpose is one having
a conducting core B surrounded by an insulating covering C, the whole enclosed
for protection in a pipe D which may be of iron or any other suitable material.
This conductor may he laid in sections as long as are convenient. It is best
fastened in place as shown in Figure 8, in which N is a chair grooved to hold the
pipe B which carries the conductor. A strap M passing over the pipe D and
bolted at each end to the chair N holds the pipe in place, two segments m, m, of
porcelain or other insulating material, surrounding the pipe D and preventing
any possible leakage therefrom. The whole may be spiked or otherwise secured
to the sleeper.
Two sections of this conductor may be conveniently joined in the following
manner, see Figure 2 in which E is a box preferably of metal, which has two

page_text: openings opposite each other surrounded by insulating collars e¹ to receive the
incoming and outgoing tubes D, the box having a suitable cover d. These tubes D
pass through the walls of the box but do not pass within the box, the ends b, b of
the conductor passing however, to the centre of the box where they meet and are
bound together by a cylindrical or other shaped bond b¹ of brass or other conduct-
ing material which is bolted to the two ends of the conductor by bolts b³.
F is a contact rail having depending flanges. It is supported also upon the
sleepers in the manner shown, especially in Figures 4 and 6. F¹ is a chair pro-
vided with a groove F2 to receive the conductor enclosed in its tube D. This
chair may be spliced or otherwise secured to a sleeper and is provided with side
rails at its top between each of which and the groove F2 is a track fl supporting
the supporting roll G.
This roll is thinner at the top than at the bottom in order to lie and roll easily
between the flanges of the contact rail F, its bottom also being grooved at g so
that as it rocks it will not touch the tube D. The roll is also grooved on its
bottom in a line parallel with its axis, these grooves being of proper size to fit over
projections fa formed on the track fl above referred to, this construction being for
the purpose of preventing the roll G from travelling as it rocks. Upon the top
of the roll G rests the contact rail F. A longitudinal push given to the contact
rail in either direction will cause it to reciprocate upon these rolls G, as friction
and supporting rolls.
To limit the travel of the contact rail F and return it to its normal position
after it has been moved, I provide at each end thereof a cylinder H having its
outer end closed by a plug h. Within this cylinder is a spring H¹ and a follower H³.
The cylinder may be held in place in the manner indicated in Figure 5, in which
there are shown two clamping plates shaped to fit and partially surround both
the cylinder H and the tube D and bind them firmly together. These plates are
slotted to receive a headed pin j having at its narrow end a slot to receive a key 1,
this pin holding the clamping plates J tight against the cylinder H and tube D.
The pin also passes through the cylinder H and keeps it from moving longi-
tudinally.
To operate this spring mechanism, I provide the follower H³ with a rod h¹
carrying an eye h³ at its outer end, through which is passed a bolt h³ which passes
also through a slot h in the flanges of the contact rail F.
To establish electric contact, I provide a contact mechanism connected to the
contact rail which will make contact only when the rail is at either end of its
stroke. Such a contact mechanism is shown in Figures 4 and 7 and consists of
a projecting tube D¹, an insulating tube C¹ and a short piece of conductor B¹, the
three being arranged as shown in Figure 4. The conductor B' is somewhat shorter
than the tube D1, and with the tube C, D¹, forms the central head of a double
cylinder, each end of which carries a follower K K¹. This device is tapped in its
middle and into it is screwed a short piece of conductor B2. The lower end of this
conductor B is threaded and the structure as a whole is screwed down through
a tapped opening in the tube D into the conductor B, thus forming an electrical
contact between B and B¹. The conductor should be carefully insulated from
both D and D¹.
To operate this mechanism the rod of each follower K K' is provided with an
eye kthrough which passes a bolt L running through the flanges of the contact
rail F, see Figure 7. The normal position of each follower is at some little distance
from the end of the conductor B1, that distance depending upon the amount of
travel it is intended shall be given to the contact rail F.
The operation of my device is as follows: The rail F is normally out of
electrical contact with the conductor. If the car is to be started, a contact shoe
carried by the car and adapted to be given a downward, forward and
backward movement is pushed downward and, for example, in- the
direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 4. This will move the contact rail F
against the strength of the spring H₁ shown at the left of Figure 4 because of

page_text: the engagement of the bolt 3 with the end of the slot +, and this movement will
carry the piston K¹ against the opposing end of the conductor B¹, thereby making
electric contact from the conductor B through the joint B to the conductor BI,
follower K and its rod to the bolt L, and from it to the track F, and through
the shoe to the motor, the circuit being completed through the car wheels or in
any other desired manner; the current being thus given to the motor, the car is
moved off this section and on to the next section. When the shoe has
left this section the spring H₁ expanding, throws the parts back into
the position shown in Figure 4, breaking contact between the rail
and the conductor, and the contact between the contact shoe and the
rail F of the next section causes it to move in a similar manner and give to
the motor the current.
If the car is to move in the opposite direction the direction of movement of
the contact rail is reversed by the contact shoe, the spring H¹ at the end of the
rail, not shown, being compressed, the tension of the spring H' shown in the draw-
ing remaining as shown because of the sliding of the bolt h³ in the slot h* and the
follower K' making contact with the opposing face of the conductor B. In either
case the contact rail moves freely except as its movement is controlled by a
spring H¹ upon the friction rolls G. The direction of the current through the
motor is controlled by devices on the car.
My invention is not limited to the peculiar construction shown in the draw-
ings but it may be embodied in a variety of forms. The contact rail moves
horizontally and longitudinally and hence cannot be brought into electric contact
with the conductor by means of the downward pressure of a person stepping on it
or of a horse or carriage. I prefer to make it in sections of say 20 to 30 feet,
though it may be made of any convenient length. The conductor also may be
of any convenient length; its length depending upon the convenience of manu-
facture and not upon the length of the trolley rail sections. The structure can be
easily laid and without the help of skilled labor, which makes it advantageous,
and when laid it renders the third rail which heretofore has been dangerous in
many of its forms of construction, absolutely safe.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my 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. In a trolley rail system, a continuous conductor and a horizontal movable
contact rail suitably supported and normally out of electric contact with said
conductor and carrying one or more contact points adapted to form electrical con-
nection with corresponding contact points carried by said conductor when said
rail has been moved horizontally, as set forth.
2. In a trolley rail system having a horizontally movable contact rail suitably
supported and normally out of electrical contact with said conductor, the improve-
ments herein above described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.