IMPROVEMENTS IN POINTS AND IN CROSSINGS USED ON RAILWAYS AND ON TRAMWAYS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Hopkins at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd May
1863.
I, JOHN HOPKINS, of Chapel Street, New Basford, in the County of
Nottingham, Lace Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN POINTS AND IN CROSSINGS USED ON RAILWAYS AND ON
TRAMWAYS," to be as follows:-
These improvements consist in attaching to the thin end of the point rails a
connecting piece of metal which lies between them, each end of such con-
necting piece being secured to the pointed end of the rails by a hinged joint;
each of these joints may be of cast or wrought metal, and each of them forms
part of a second hinged arm or joint, which projects from the point rail;
the joints at the ends of the arms are secured to studs projecting from
a plate or plates attached to a sleeper or other equivalent foundation; the
plates and studs lie in the space between the main rails. At or near the
centre of the connecting piece is a stud or lever which stands up above the
top of it; this stud or lever being actuated on one side will throw one point
rail towards one main rail, and the other point rail off the other main rail.
The movement of the stud and connecting link is effected by means of a cam
made in such form that when it is operated upon by the connecting link, as
above described, the point rails will be held in that position until the train,
carriage, or carriages have passed by or through. The cam forms part of or
is firmly attached to a rocking shaft lying in two or more bearings; the cam
is on the lower or under side of this shaft. The rocking shaft has on its upper

page_text: side a flange or feather placed in an oblique direction, and standing only so
much above the rails as will enable the engine using the lowest fire-box to
clear it. The engine, tender, or other carriage, whether alone or at either end
of a train, is provided with a vertical bar placed at or near the centre of each
end, and capable of being raised or depressed readily; the lower end of this
bar may be provided with a truck or pulley, so that either the lower end of
the bar or the truck or pulley will bear upon either side of the flange or
feather, in order that as the carriage carrying such bars approaches the points
in either direction on the main line the bars will be depressed, and the points
will open, but when the bars are raised the points will always remain with the
main line clear. The opposite end of one point rail is attached to the end of
the next rail by a dowel or hinge, and the rail slides or rocks on intermediate
bearings, or on a continuous bearing secured to the sleepers or other founda-
tion. The other point rail at its junction with the other rail is somewhat
prolonged, and lies by the side of the rail it joins. The use of this pro-
longation is for the first wheel of a train or carriage to open the points
when leaving a siding, which it achieves easily and readily, without jerking or
jumping; the latter rail is attached near its junction with the other rail to a
hinged joint, besides being intermediately or continuously supported; the
rocking shaft and also one of the point rails are weighted to keep the main
line open.