IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS FROM RAILWAY POINTS OB SWITCHES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and
Walter Wright Brierley, all of Kilburn, in the County of Middle-
sex, Railway Signal Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS FROM RAILWAY POINTS OB
SWITCHES."
Sealed the 23rd May 1876, and dated the 2nd December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Brierley,
Frederick Wade Brierley, and Walter Wright Brierley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
2nd December 1875.
We, JOHN Brierley, FREDERICK WADE Brierley, and WALTER
WRIGHT BRIERLEY, all of Kilburn, in the County of Middlesex, Rail-
way Signal Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS PROM
RAILWAY POINTS OR SWITCHES," to be as follows:-
:_
The chient of this Invention is to remove from onon switales non

page_text: paratory to their being closed any obstructions which may have been
placed between them and the main line rails either maliciously,
accidentally, or by inadvertance. To this end we provide below the
points a pair of rising and falling tipping plates, so proportioned that
they will severally when raised fill the space between the open point or
switch and its adjacent rail. These plates may act reciprocally or inde-
pendently of each other; the latter plan will, however, in general be
preferred. It will be convenient to mount the plates in closed boxes,
which will be sunk below the rails and form beds for the switches to
slide upon. In the top of each box an opening is made to receive the
tipping plate when at its lowest level.
The plate is hinged on its under side and near one of its edges to a
pair of vertical guide rods which slide in guides carried by standards in
the box. These rods are intended to preserve the parallelism of the
plate during its rising and falling movements, and they serve also to
carry a rock bar which lies parallel to the plate, and is pivotted to their
lower ends. Fitted in the box near its opposite ends is a pair of
transverse rock shafts, to each of which is keyed a bell-crank lever.
These levers are connected together by a rod to ensure their moving
simultaneously; the arms of these levers are made of equal length,
and are provided at their ends with antifriction bowls. One of the
transverse rock shafts is extended outwards to receive a segment
rack, into the teeth of which gears a straight rack forming a con-
tinuation of a rod which is in connection with one of the hand levers
in the signal box, and is operated thereby.
When the hand lever is pulled over, an axial motion is imparted to
the segment rack, and simultaneously the bell-crank levers (supposing
the tipping plate to be in its lowest position) will rise and lift the plate
to its highest position, together with any obstructive matter that may
lie thereon.
In order to enable the plate to discharge any stones or other matters
that may be lying thereon, it is requisite to give it a sudden tipping
motion as it completes its ascent. To the end it is connected by means
of a link rod with the rack bar before mentioned, which as the plate is
borne upwards by the rocking of the crank levers, strikes against stops
projecting from the guide standards, and is tipped in its bearings.
This motion of the rock bar before mentioned to the tipping plate, and
thus any obstruction carried up by the plate is jerked off.

page_text: The signalman by continuing the motion of his hand lever causes the
rock shafts to move round the crank levers until their bowls all bear
on the under side of the tipping plate, at which time the plate is
brought down sufficiently below the heads of the rails to allow the
flanges of the wheels to pass.
All the movements of the tipping plate above described are effected
at the time when the switch with which it is connected is open, but
when it is desired to close the switch the signalman reverses the motion
of the hand lever, and thus lifts and tips the plate and lowers it flush
with the top of the box, the switch is then free to be closed.
In order to effect this closing of the switch by the continued move-
ment of the hand lever before mentioned, the rack bar which imparts
the axial motion to the rock shafts is extended to form a slotted cam, into
which takes a pin which connects it with a rod that is coupled by means
of a rock lever to one of the stretchers of the switches. The endway
motion given to the rack bar causes the cam slot through the con-
nection above described to pull over the points, thus closing one switch
and opening the other. The other tipping plate of the pair may now be
raised, and this it is preferred to do by means of a second hand lever,
which may at the same time set the semaphore to indicate the position
of the points.
An incidental advantage of the tipping plates is, that as they cannot
be moved clear of the points while a train is passing, it will be
impossible for the signalman to shift the points until a passing train has
run clear of the switches.
0
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and
Walter Wright Brierley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
BRIERLEY, FREDERICK WADE BRIERLEY, and WALTER WRIGHT
BRIERLEY, all of Kilburn, in the County of Middlesex, Railway Signal
Engineers, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said John Brierley, Frederick
Wade Brierley, and Walter Wright Brierley, Her special licence that
we, the said John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and Walter
Wright Brierley, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and
Walter Wright Brierley, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS
FROM RAILWAY POINTS OR SWITCHES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said John Brierley, Frederick Wade Brierley, and Walter
Wright Brierley, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Brierley, on behalf of
myself and of the said Frederick Wade Brierley and Walter Wright
Brierley, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
1
The object of this Invention is to remove from open switches or
points (preparatory to their being closed) any obstructions which may
have been placed between them and the main line rails either
maliciously, accidentally, or by inadvertence. To this end we provide
below the points a pair of rising and falling tipping plates, so pro-
portioned that they will severally when raised fill the space between
the open point or switch and its adjacent rail. These plates we make

page_text: preferably to act independently of each other. It will be convenient to
mount the plates in closed boxes, which will be sunk below the rails and
form beds for the switches to slide upon.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 shows in plan view our In-
vention as applied to a portion of a line of rails fitted with shifting
points.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation taken in the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrow a.
Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken in the line 3, 4, of Fig. 1,
and looking in the direction of the arrow b, showing the tipping plate
on the left-hand side raised (filling the space between the fixed rail and
shifting point), and the tipping plate on the right-hand side depressed
to its lowest position.
Fig. 4 is a partial side elevation of the apparatus employed for
working the tipping plate, the position of the parts corresponding to
the left-hand side of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a similar view of the apparatus, but with the tipping plate
raised to its highest position; and Fig. 6 is a transverse section corre-
sponding to Fig. 5.
In these Figures A are the rails of the main lines; B, the rails of
the branch line or diverging track; and C, the shifting points or
switches connected together as usual by means of stretches C', C³;
D, D*, are the closed boxes for receiving the underlying mechanism by
which the tipping plates are worked. In the top of the boxes D, D*,
an opening or recess is made to receive respectively the tipping plates
E, E, when at their lowest level.
The plates E, E, are severally hinged on their under side and near
their outer edge to a pair of vertical guide rods E¹ (see Fig. 2), which
slide in guides carried by standards D' in the boxes D, D*. These pairs
of rods are intended to preserve the parallelism of their respective
plates during their rising and falling movements, and they serve also to
carry a rock bar E' which lies parallel to the plate, and is pivotted to
their lower ends. Fitted to each box near its opposite end is a pair
of transverse rock shafts F, to each of which is keyed a bell-crank
lever F¹. These rock shafts are connected together by a rod F* jointed

page_text: to arms on the rock shafts to ensure the bell-crank levers moving
simultaneously; the arms of these crank levers are made of equal
length, and are provided at their ends with antifriction bowles. One
of the transverse rock shafts of each box D (see Fig. 1) is extended
outwards to receive a segment rack G, into the teeth of which gears a
straight rack G¹ forming a continuation of a rod H which is in con-
nection with one of the hand levers in the signal box, and is operated
thereby.
When the hand lever is pulled over an axial motion is imparted to
the segment rack G, and simultaneously the bell-crank levers F¹ (sup-
posing the tipping plate to be in its lowest position) will rise and lift
the plate to its highest position, together with any obstructive_matter
that may lie thereon.
In order to enable the plate to discharge any stones or other matters
that may be lying thereon it is requisite to give it a sudden tipping
motion as it completes its ascent. To this end it is connected by means
of a link rod E³ with the rock bar E³, which as the plate is borne
upwards by the rocking of the crank levers, strikes against stops d pro-
jecting from the guide standards and is tipped in its bearings. This
motion of the rock bar is communicated by the link rod, before:
mentioned, to the tipping plate, and thus any obstruction carried up by
the plate is jerked off.
By reference to Figures 3 and 6, this action of the tipping plate will
be best understood, as it is there shown in three different positions.
The positions shown in Fig. 3 correspond with those of the plates in:
Fig. 1, which Figure represents the main line as open.
Supposing now it is desired to bring the branch line and main line
into connection, the man in the signal box will first by pulling on the
rod H, lift and tip the plates E, Fig. 3 (as will be hereafter more par-
ticularly explained), to throw off any obstructing substance, and he a
will then depress the plate to the position of the plate E*, of Fig. 3.
By continuing the endway motion of the rod H, the signalman will shift
the points from the drawn position of Fig. 1 to the dotted position of
that Figure, by bringing the cam-shaped slot at the end of the sliding
rack bar Ginto action upon a stud carried by a transverse sliding a
bar I which is jointed to a rock lever situate in the middle of the

page_text: track, and connected by a pivot pin to the stretcher C¹ of the
switch.
The next operation of the signalman will be to raise the plate E*
from its depressed position to the raised position indicated at Fig. 3.
This he will do by pulling upon the rod H* which is jointed to its
sliding rack bar G₁*. This bar, like the rock bar G₁, is provided with a
cam-shaped slot for acting upon a transverse rod I*, which rod is con-
nected to the semaphore apparatus. By the signalman therefore
continuing to pull upon the rod H* after the plate E* has been
raised, he will set the semaphore arm, and thus indicate the state of
the line.
Referring now to the action of the mechanism in the box, it will be
understood that as the signalman by the action of his hand lever causes
the rock shafts to move round the crank levers in one direction, they
will first lift the tipping plate to the highest position, represented at
Fig. 5, and then drop it into the position shown at Fig. 4, when it will
rest upon both bowles of the cranked levers. At this time the plate
will have been brought down sufficiently below the heads of the rails to
a low the flanges of the wheels to pass.
All the movements of the tipping plate above described are effected
at the time when the switch with which it is connected is
open, but
when it is desired to close the switch, the signalman reverses the motion
of the hand lever, and thus lifts and tips the plate, as shown at Figures
5 and 6, and then lowers it flush with the top of the box, as shown at
the right hand of Fig. 3, the switch is then free to be closed by the
means above explained.
We may remark that an incidental advantage of the tipping plates is,
that as they cannot be moved clear of the points while a train is
passing, it will be impossible for the signalman to shift the points until
a passing train has run clear of the switches.
or
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of " Improved
Apparatus for Removing Obstructions from Railway Points
Switches," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
we wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, we claim,―
Firstly. The application to railways of tipping plates arranged to
operate as and for the purpose above described.

page_text: Secondly. The arrangement of mechanism above described, whereby
the tipping plates are actuated through the rods or bars employed to
open and close the switches and to set the semaphore.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Brierley, on behalf of myself
and of the said Frederick Wade Brierley and Walter Wright 5
Brierley, have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day
of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-six.