Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling and Looking Railway Switches, Points, and Signals.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Feb., 1893—Accepted, 1st Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Controlling and Looking Railway
Switches, Points, and Signals.
We, CHARLES STANLEY of 486, Manchester Road, Baxenden, near Accrington,
in the County of Lancaster, Signalman, and HENRY ROBINSON of 6, Porter Street,
Accrington aforesaid, Block Inspector, 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 is designed to prevent any possibility of the signals becoming
contradictory through mistake, carelessness or inadvertence on the part of the
signalman, and to ensure absolute reliability in the operation of signals and points.
The invention consists in so governing or controlling the operation of switch and
trap" points, that the operation of switching any goods or other train either to or
from any particular branch of the main line or sidings cannot be effected, without
immediately locking all the signal levers, with which it has any relationship.
<6
This object is attained by the employinent of a suitable rocking shaft provided
with projections as many in number as there are levers to be operated. The switch
lever is provided with a shaped catch, which, when the said lever is operated in
either a backward or forward direction, will cause a projecting arm on the rocking
shaft carrying a bowl to mount the inclined surface of the A shaped catch.
The ordinary signal levers are provided with a L shaped lever pivotted at the
junction of its two arms, the horizontal arm having a catch or Eneck formed in it,
whilst the vertical arm is provided with a hand catch drawn down to engage with
the teeth of an inclined rack by means of a spring, secured to any convenient part
of the signal lever and the hand catch respectively.
When the projecting arm on the rocking shaft carrying the bowl is raised by the
A shaped catch of the switch lever, all the projections attached to the rocking shaft
are simultaneously raised, and thereby raise the horizontal arms of the L shaped
levers, whose snecked ends engage with catch pieces fixed to a suitable support.
By this movement, the vertical arms of the L shaped levers are caused to radiate,
moving the hand catch a tooth or more on the inclined rack, and thereby firmly
locking all the signal levers, whether the switch lover be moved in one direction or
the other.
It is, therefore, impossible for the signalman to move the signal levers without
being conscious of the fact that he has previously operated the switch lever,
for he must deliberately unlock the signal levers by moving the hand catch, so as
to allow the L shaped lever to fall and the hand catch then assumes its former
position.
All the levers are provided with the ordinary sliding block and radial arm for
locking them when in extreme positions.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 represents my improved arrangement of mechanism for locking switch and
signal levers.
A is the rocking shaft, depressed by the spring B, and limited in its movement
by tongue piece C, working in the slot D. When the switch lever E carrying the
A shaped catch F is moved in position, the projecting arm G carrying bowl G'
mounts the inclined surface of the catch, and gives a partial turn to the rocking
shaft A. With this motion, the projection H causes the horizontal arm of L shaped
lever I pivotted at J on the signal lever K to rise, and its snecked end to engage
with the catch piece J¹. The vertical arm of the said lever is thereby caused to
radiate, moving the hand catch L a tooth or more on the inclined rack M.
Here

page_text: the hand catch L is firmly held in' position by means of spring N fixed respectively
to the said catch and a projection on the signal lever K.
The hooked or snecked end of ther horizontal arm of the shaped lever is
thereby also securely locked in the catch piece J. Therefore, the signal lever
cannot possibly be moved from its locked position, until the signalman has returned
the hand-catch L to its former position,
It will be apparent, that whichever way the switch lever E is moved whether in
a forward or backward direction, the signal levers will be simultaneously locked. in
position,, so that should the signalman forget that he has shunted' a goods or other
train on to the up line in order to allow a down train to pass, and he attempts to
operate the signal lever for the up train, he will at once be convinced of his error
by finding the signal lever locked. This will also hold good, when the good's train
is returned to its former position on the down line, for even then the signal levers
will again be locked.
The slide blocks O and radial arms P may be used as heretofore for locking the
levers E, K and Q when in their extreme positions.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rocking shaft A having projecting arms G carrying
bowl G¹ to be operated by the switch lever E, projections H and catch pieces Ji
for actuating and locking shaped levers I of the signal levers K and' Q
respectively.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The arrangement of mechanism for controlling and locking signal levers by
the operation of the switch lever in either a forward or backward direction,
substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.
2. Rocking shaft A having projecting arms G bowl G', and projections H,
substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 for the purpose specified!
3. shaped lever I provided with hand catch L, spring N and rack M, and
working in catch piece Jupon the operation of switch lever E, substantially as
described and illustrated in Fig. 1 for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 21st day of February 1202
GEO.
DOWNING,
8, Quality Court, London, W.C., Agent.