Improvements in Switch Chairs for the Permanent Way of Railways.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application. 28th Dec, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 5th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 9th Mar,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Switch Chairs for the Permanent Way of
Railways.
I, ARTHUR GEORGE EVANS, of 116 Palace Chambers, Bridge Street, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows
-
In the usual form of switch or slide chairs now used in the permanent way of
railways, the switches slide on a flat horizontal surface on the chair and maintain
the same level throughout their movement from one stock or side rail to the other.
The switches are either operated by ground levers or by iod connections from an
operating lever in a signal cabin.
For one pair of switches there is a series of such chairs, three, four or five,
according to the length of the switch rail. All of these chairs are alike provided
with the horizontal surface already described.
It must be understood that under the present system of working switches other
than facing points, which are usually locked, they can be moved during the passage
of vehicles over them, with the result, which very fiequently happens, that a
derailment takes place With this class of chair point-cleaners are employed to oil
the surface on which the tail slides
The object of my invention is to arrange the working of switch points so that as
long as a wheel of a vehicle is on a switch rail the said switch cannot be moved.
accomplish this by providing a raised piece on the horizontal surface described
above bevelled on the side next the stock or side rail; this would be in the form of
an addition to existing chairs. In chairs that were cast according to my invention
I should cast this raised portion on the chau itself and this raised portion can be
cast the whole width of the chan or be less than the whole width as may be desired
or it may be cast with a recess in the middle
The operation of my invention is as follows
The switch tongue adjacent to the stock or side rail, in the direction for the
position in which the points normally lie, would be between the stock or side rail
and the hevelled raised piece ou the chan and it would be at a lower level than the
other switch rail Any vehicle on this switch rail next the stock or side rail would
prevent the signalman or ground pointsman from 1msing the switch rail up the bevel
on to the nised part of the chaii for to do this be would have to raise the vehicle
tiavelling over it.
When the switches are reversed the switch rail which was previously below is
raised to the higher level, on to the raised piece, and that which was previously
above is moved down to the lower level, the points now lying night for the other
direction. Any movement of vehicles now taking place over the switch tail with
the points set for either 1oad would prevent the switches from being moved, as any
vehicle passing over would have to be raised for the operation to take place.
With my invention the operation of the switch rails, numbering them "I" and
2," is that while No 1 is being lowered to the lower level No. 2 is being raised to
the higher, and, conversely, when 2 is falling to the lower level 1 18 being raised to
the higher.
An advantage with my invention would be that there would be no necessity for
oiling any of the slide chairs except the one at the toe of the switch, as the switch
rail does not slide on any but the chair at the toe of the switch, the operation ot

page_text: moving the switch having the effect of raising the switch rail clear of the slide
chairs intermediate between the toe and the heel of the switch.
For lubricating my improved form of chau at the toe of the switch rail, a
lubricating pad could be arranged in the recess between the two raised pieces in
that form of chan which I have herein referred to, I do not, however, make this
an essential point of my invention
To effect the result herein before described it is obvious that by fixing, adjacent
to the chair, on to the sleeper a raised piece corresponding to that which I have
descubed as being on the chan, the same result would be obtained, but the essence
of my invention is the raising on lowering of the switch rails so that the lowered
one cannot be moved by the ground pointsman on the signalman during the passage
of a vehicle over it.
Dated this 28th day of December 1801
JOIN P. O'DONNELL,
70 & 71, Palace Chambers, Bridge Street Westminster, S.W,
Agent for the said Applicant
Improvements in Switch Chairs for the Permanent Way of
Railways.
I, ARTHUR GEORGE EVANS, of 116 Palace Chambers, Bridge Street, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what mauner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertamed and by the following statement
In the usual form of switch or slide chans now used in the permanent way of
ailways, the switches slide on a flat horizontal surface on the chan and maintain
the same level throughout then movement from one stock on side rail to the other
The switches are either operated by ground levers or by rod connections from an
operating lever in a signal cabin
For one pan of switches there is a series of such chairs, three, four or five,
according to the length of the switch rail All of these chans are alike provided
with the horizontal surface already described
It must be understood that under the present system of working switches othe
than facing points, which are usually locked, they can be moved during the passage
of vehicles over them, with the result, which very frequently happens, that a
derailment takes place.
'
With this class of chair, point-cleaners are employed to oil the surface on which
the rail slides
The object of my invention is to arrange the working of switch points so that
as long as a wheel of a vehicle is on a switch rail the said switch caunot be moved.
I accomplish this by providing a raised piece on the horizontal surface described
above, bevelled on the side next the stock or side rail; this would be in the form of
an addition to existing chairs. In chaus that were cast according to my invention
I should cast this raised portion on the chair itself and this raised portion can be
cast the whole width of the chair or be less than the whole width as may be desued,
or it may be cast with a recoss in the middle
In order that my invention may be better understood and more readily carried
into effect, will proceed to describe the drawing hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 18 a cross section showing the switch tongues and the slide chairs.
Figure 2 is a plan of a pair of points with two pairs of wheels such as belong to
a four-wheeled vehicle; the wheels are in the position, two beyond the points and
two approaching.
The same letters refer to the same or similar parts in both figures.

page_text: a, a' are the stock or side rails, b, & are the switch tongues, c, c' are the slide
chans at the toe of the switch, d, d' are the raised pieces on the slide chairs,
e, el are the lower levels or seatings and f, are the higher levels of seatings on
which the switch tongues rest according to the position of the points. 9, 9' ne
wheels, h, are the ordinary slide chairs to the heel of the switch.
The operation of my invention is as follows:-
In the normal position of the points as shown in Figure 1, for them to be moved
during the passage of a vehicle over them the switch tongue 6 must be moved from
the lower level e, up the bevel onto the higher level at the same time as the
switch rail 6 is moved down the bevel to the lower level e'.
g
For this movement to
be performed the vehicle would have to be raised as the wheel y locks or holds in
position the switch tongue / When the points are in the other position, that is to
say, the switch tongue on the lower level e' and the switch tongue & on the higher
level, bis locked or held u position by any wheel passing over it
When the
points are in that position and for the points to be moved in that position the
Snitch tongue & would have to be moved from the lower level el to the higher
level f'.
An advantage with my invention would be that there would be no necessity for
oiling any of the slide chairs (such as h, h,) except c, cl at the toe of the switch, as
the switch ail does not slide on any but the chair at the toe of the switch, the
operation of moving the switch having the effect of raising the switch rail clear of
the slide chairs intei mediate between the toe and heel of the switch
For lubricating my improved form of chair at the toe of the switch rail, a
lubricating pad could be arranged in the recess between the two raised pieces in
that form of chair which I have herein referred to, I do not, however, make this
nu essential point of my invention.
To effect the result her einbefore described it is obvious that by fixing, adjacent
to the chan, on the sleeper a raised piece corresponding to that which I have
described as being on the chair, the same result would be obtained and it is obvious
that my invention is applicable to any section of rail and to rails that aro spiked to
sleepers without chairs, therefore the essence of my invention is the raising o
lowering of the switch rails so that the lowered one cannot be moved by the ground
pointsman or the signalman during the passage of a vehicle over it.
Having now particularly described and ascertamed the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
-
Arranging between the stock or side rails at switch points, means such as here
described of a higher and lower seating for the switch tongues to rest upon,
operating that while one switch tongue is lowered the other is raised, the switch
tongue next the stock al being always on the lower level, substantially for the
purposes herein set forth.
Dated this 5th day of February 1895.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL,
Agent for the said Applicant.