IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAY POINTS to be as follows:
Year: 1885

page_text: We FRANCIS HENRY LLOYD of Wood Green Wednesbury in the County of
Stafford Manufacturer and THOMAS WILLIAM ARNALL of No. 181 Victoria Road
Aston near Birmingham in the County of Warwick Surveyor do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAMWAY POINTS to be
as follows:-
"
Our invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in constructing
and arranging the parts of the moveable tongues or tumblers of tramway points so
that the moveable tongue or tumbler will be readily actuated by the advancing
wheel of the tramway engine or car and resume its original position where desired;
or the tongue or tumbler may if desired be fixed on either side so as to close
whichever track it is desired to close leaving the other open.
Tramway points made according to our invention may thus take the place
either of a "dummy" or close fixed point or of an ordinary moveable point.
In constructing a tramway point according to our invention we proceed as
follows: We employ a tongue or tumbler shorter than that ordinarily employed
as a moveable point and we arrange the axis about which the tongue or tumbler,
moves in the following way. Instead of mounting the rear end of the tongue or
tumbler upon a vertical axis and thereby limiting the motion of the tongue to a
horizontal plane we cause the said tongue or tumbler to turn upon an inclined
virtual axis extending from the upper side of the rear end of the tongue to the
lower edge of the toe of the tongue or tumbler.
To effect this we support the rear end of the tongue or tumbler on a hemi-
spherical bearing taking into a hollow hemisphere on the underside of the rear end
of the tongue or tumbler and we support the lower edge of the toe of the tongue or
tumbler in a similar way. By this arrangement the rear end of the tongue or
tumbler being supported at a higher level than the toe or front end of the tongue
or tumbler the said front end when motion is given to the tongue or tumbler
travels from side to side between the rails while the rear end has but a slight
inotion. When it is necessary or desirable that the bearings of the tongue or
tumbler should be in the same or nearly the same level we effect. the required
motion in the following manner. We make the under surface of the toe of the
tongue or tumbler concave and cause it to bear and turn upon a corresponding
convex surface. We make the under surface of the rear end of the tongue or

page_text: tumbler convex and cause it to bear and turn upon a concave bearing. By this
arrangement the centre around which the toe of the tongue or tumbler turns is
below the bearing.and the centre around which the rear end of the tongue turns is
above the bearing. Deep grooves are made in one of each pair of bearing surfaces
to diminish friction and keep the acting surfaces free from dirt.
When the point is to be used as a moveable point it is necessary to provide
means to hold the tumbler firmly over to whichever side it may have been thrown
for this purpose we pivot a lever to one side of the casting forming the body of
the point which lever passes through a hole in the tumbler and also passes freely
through another hole in the side of the point opposite that to which it is pivoted.
We attach a weight to that end of the said lever outside the point The lever
bears heavily on the tumbler where it passes through the hole and the friction
thereby set up serves to keep the tumbler steady in whichever position it may
have been thrown.
We FRANCIS HENRY LLOYD of Wood Green, Wednesbury in the County of
Stafford, Manufacturer and THOMAS WILLIAM ARNALL of No. 181 Victoria Road,
Aston, near Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Surveyor, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in constructing
and arranging the parts of the moveable tongues or tumblers of tramway points so
that the moveable tongue or tumbler will be readily actuated by the advancing
wheel of the tramway engine or car when coming from the heel towards the toe of
the point and resume its original position where desired; or the tongue or tumbler
may if desired be fixed on either side so as to close whichever track it is desired to
close leaving the other open when acting as a facing point.
"
Tramway points made according to our invention may thus take the place either
of a "
dummy or close fixed point or of an ordinary moveable point. In con-
We
structing a tramway point according to our invention we proceed as follows.
employ a tongue or tumbler shorter than that ordinarily employed as a moveable
point and we arrange the axis about which the tongue or tumbler moves in the
following way. Instead of mounting the rear end of the tongue or tumbler upon

page_text: a vertical axis and thereby limiting the motion of the tongue to a horizontal plane
we cause the said tongue or tumbler to turn upon an inclined virtual axis
extending from the upper side of the rear end of the tongue to the lower edge of
the toe of the tongue or tumbler.
To effect this we support the rear end of the tongue or tumbler on a hemi-
spherical bearing taking into a nearly hemispherical cavity on the underside of the
rear end of the tongue or tumbler and we support the lower edge of the toe of
the tongue or tumbler in a similar way. By this arrangement the rear end of the
tongue or tumbler being supported at a higher level than the toe or front end of
the tongue or tumbler the said front end when motion is given to the tongue or
tumbler travels from side to side between the rails, while the rear end has but a
very slight motion. We do not however limit ourselves to any particular con-
figuration either of the fixed bearings or of the underside of the ends of the
tongue.
When the point is to be used as a moveable point it is necessary to provide
means to hold the tumbler firmly over to whichever side it may have been thrown;
for this purpose we pivot a lever to one side of the casting forming the body of
the point which lever passes through a hole in the tumbler and also passes freely
through another hole in the side of the point opposite that to which it is pivoted.
We attach a weight to that end of the said lever outside the point. The lever
bears heavily on the tumbler where it passes through the hole and the friction
thereby set up serves to keep the tumbler steady in whichever position it may
have been thrown.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a tramway point constructed according to
our invention and Figure 2 represents the same in side elevation, part of the sides
of the casing forming the body of the point being removed and the supports of the
tongue or tumbler being represented in section; Figure 3 is a plan of the tramway
point and Figures 4 and 5 represent cross sections of the bearings of the tongue or
tumbler and Figure 6 represents a cross section of the arrangement for preserving
the position into which the tongue or tumbler may have been turned.
The cross section Figure 4 is taken on the line A B and the cross section
Figure 5 is taken on the line BC Figure 2; and the cross section Figure 6 is taken
on the line O D Figure 3.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawing.
a is the tongue or tumbler shorter than that ordinarily employed as a moveable
point; b is a hemi-spherical or semi-cylindrical bearing made near the toe end of
the casting c forming the body of the point; & is a bearing at the rear end of the
casting c; the top of the said bearing d is at a higher level than the bearing b and
the virtual axis on which the tongue a turns has an inclination corresponding or
nearly corresponding to the inclined lower edge of the tongue a. Hence when the
tongue or tumbler a is turned upon the two bearings b and d, the toe or front end
of the said tongue or tumbler travels from side to side between the grooves while
the rear end has but little motion as will be best understood by reference to
Figures 4 and 5. When the point is to be used as a moveable point, we provide
means to hold the tongue or tumbler a in whichever position it may have been
brought. For this purpose we pivot a lever e at f to one side of the casting c.
This lever passes freely through a hole a³ in the tongue or tumbler a and also
through holes c³ ³ in the casting c on opposite sides of the tongue or tumbler a;
g is a weight on the end of the lever e which weight causes the said lever to press
with such force on the lower face of the hole a³ as to maintain the tongue or
tumbler a in which ever position it may have been brought.
When the moveable tongue or tumbler is required to return to its normal position
after having been temporarily displaced by the passage of the tram wheel, we
dispense with the weighted lever e jointed to the casting c and operating upon the
tongue a as illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, and we fix a weight either directly to
the side of the tongue a or to an arm fixed on the tongue a and passing through a

page_text: hole in the casting c. By the action of 'the weight the tongue a is restored to its
normal position that is the weighted side of the tongue inoves in the direction
impressed upon it by the tendency of the weight to descend.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed we'declare that we claim as
our invention of "Improvements in tramway points";-
First Supporting the moveable tongues or tumblers of tramway points in the
way herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing; that is
to say, supporting the toe or front end of the tongue or tumbler at a lower level
than the other or rear end of the said tongue or tumbler so that the tongue or
tumbler turns upon an inclined virtual axis and when' motion is given to the said
tongue or tumbler the top of the toe or front end travels from side to side between
the rails while the top of the rear end has but slight motion substantially 'as
described and illustrated.
:
Secondly Holding the tongue or tumbler in the position to which it may have
been brought by means of a weighted lever jointed to the body of the 'point and
passing through holes in the said body and also 'through a hole in the tongue or
tumbler the said weighted lever bearing on the lower face of the hole in the tongue
or tumbler for the purpose and substantially as herein before described and illus-
trated in the accompanying Drawing.