Apparatus for Registering the Flexure of Railway Rails and Signalling Passage of Trains.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Sept., 1897
Complete Specification Left. 8th June, 1898-Accepted, 23rd July, 1898
Apparatus for Registering the Flexure of Railway Rails and
Signalling Passage of Trains.
I, JOSEPH ERNEST COLAS, of Creil, France, Railway Official, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means of registering the flexure of railway rails during
passage of trains over them, and signalling their passage.
For this purpose, an arm clamped to that part of a rail, the flexure of which has to
be measured, is connected by a universal joint to an eccentric pin, the eccentricity of
which may be adjustable, at one end of a spindle, the other end of which has a long
arm provided with a tracing point.
This spindle and a revolving drum, or other appliance for moving paper, being
mounted on a sleeper or clamped on another part of the rail, when a train passes the
tracing point marks on the paper the amount of deflection of the part of the rail to
which the arm is fixed relatively to the sleeper or other part of the rail where the
spindle is mounted, this deflection being multiplied according to the ratio which the
length of the arm carrying the tracer bears to the eccentricity of the pin at the end
of the spindle. For signalling the passage of a train, a contact arm attached to the
spindle is by the movement of the spindle, when the rail is deflected, caused to pass
over conducting plates connected to an electric circuit including a battery and an
audible or visible signalling instrument, an electric current being thus transmitted to
operate the signal.
Dated this 8th day of Sentember 1897.
Apparatus for Registering the Flexure of Railway Rails and
Signalling Passage of Trains.
I, JOSEPH ERNEST COLAS, of Creil, France, Railway Official, 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 relates to means of registering the flexure of a railway rail during
passage of a train and of signalling their passages. Thus comparative diagrams can
be drawn, from which can be deduced consequences very important as regards the best
section of rail to be adopted, and the intervals between the sleepers to be determined
so as to present the best conditions for the structure of the permanent way.
At the passage of each axle there is a movement of a tracer; by measuring which
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page_text: the amount of shock caused by the passage of this axle is measured. The weight
carried by this axle being known, it can be seen if the measured movement
corresponds to the effort produced; if it is greater, this indicates some defect in the
wheel tyre.
This apparatus can also serve to measure the yield of the rail on passage of a train.
The principle of the apparatus is based on the multiplication by leverage of the
relative flexure between two given points of a rail under the weight of the engines
and of the carriages. The free end of the long arm of a lever carries a tracer, the
movements of which draw a diagram on a travelling sheet of paper, which may be
on a rotating druin or on a moving table.
The apparatus is constructed according to the following principles.
Let A OB (Fig. 1) be a lever moving in a vertical plane around the pivot O, the
long arm OB having its length invariable; if the length of the short arm be varied
and the different points A A¹ be considered, it will be seen that on lowering these
points by a constant amount, they will, describing small circular arcs, come to a
straight line parallel to A O. The corresponding movements of B will be the
circular arcs B B¹, B B2, B B³. The maximum movement of B will be given by the
point of the short arm situated at a distance from O equal to the constant amount
by which the points A A¹ A2 are lowered, and will be an arc of 45°.
Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are respectively an end view, a plan and a side view of one of my
apparatus, applied to measure the relative flexure of two points of a rail.
In order to measure the flexure of the rail at a given point, the registering
appliance is fixed, as shewn, to the rail at a point as near as possible to the point
of support of the rail, for instance the sleeper.
The registering appliance shewn separately on an enlarged scale in Figures 5, 6
and 7 respectively in longitudinal, transverse and horizontal sections consists of a
box D crossed by an axis E which at one end carries the tracer F and at the other a
small eccentric pin G. The box D is fixed to the rail by a support H held to the rail
by a clamp in two parts I I. The tracer F noves in front of a drum J uniformly
rotating, the drum being carried by an arm K, fixed to the box D, or cast on it.
The tracer moving over the paper which covers the drum draws curves shewing the
successive flexures by means of the following arrangement.
A bar L having a right angle bend is fixed at the point where the flexure is to be
measured by jaws K¹ K', this bar is connected to the pin G by a universal joint, so
that when the bar L is bodily depressed, the axis E is turned partly round. For this
purpose the end of L has bolted to it a cylindrical box M having its axis vertical.
Inside this box is a cylinder N which can turn with slight friction around the axis of
M. Through N there is a horizontal cylindrical hole perpendicular to its axis and to
the plane of L, this hole receives a block P of the same form, which can turn around
its axis. Another hole perpendicular to the two axes of N and P receives the pin G
of the axis E (see Figure 8 which is a transverse section).
Owing to this arrangement, the position of the box D relatively to L does not
require delicate adjustment, as the block P which engages the pin G being capable of
yielding in the two directions, vertical and horizontal, ensures the connection of the
two parts of the apparatus even if the bar L and the axis E differ in direction,
clearance spaces being provided in M and N to allow of the double movement.
Moreover, owing to this arrangement, the action of a wheel on the rail at the
clamp K¹ is always transmitted normally to the pin G. The screw lid S covers the
box M the upper part of which contains lubricant for the whole joint. This lid is
screwed down after the appliance is put in position.
In order to utilise the apparatus for announcing the passage of a train, two light
blades are fixed on the axis E, and when this axis turns, they rub along two
metal plates R R¹ insulated from each other, putting them in electrical communica-
tion. The plates R R¹ are connected the one to the line, the other to earth or a
battery, an electric bell being arranged in the circuit.
It is to be observed that the moving parts are extremely light, thus avoiding
objectionable shocks and vibrations during the working, for the mass of these parts

page_text: being very small, the vis viva produced at the moment of the flexure of the rail is
very much reduced, and this allows the tracer and the rubbers to return to their
position of rest as soon as the action of the wheel ceases.
If the apparatus is used solely for registering the axis E, the tracer F and drum J
alone are required. If, on the other hand the apparatus is used to announce passage
of trains, the axis E, rubbers x x¹ and plates R R¹ are employed, the other parts can
be dismounted.
Under the weight of a locomotive or carriage the clamp K K¹ and consequently the
bar L follows the motion of the rail; the box fixed at the other point also follows the
movement; the different points of the rail, when the clamps are fixed are unequally
depressed, so that there is a relative difference of level produced in regard to the bar L
and the registering appliance, and consequently the axis E is partly turned moving
the tracer and the rubbers. The tracer then draws on the paper on the drum a
diagram representing on a magnified scale the relative flexures due to the passage of
the successive wheels.
In dealing with rails of different section and weight, their flexures are studied, and
thence can be deduced the mode in which they respectively act under the pressure
of a given train.
During the flexure of the rail the rubbers x x¹ move over the contacts R R¹ and
close the bell circuit.
Figures 9 and 10 shew a modification of the arrangement of the axis E, by means
of which the chart arm of the lever on which the flexure of the rail acts can be varied.
For this purpose the axis E has outside the box D a yoke c provided with a slot d
in which the pine of the excentric pin G¹ can be moved to any position desired
according to the sensitiveness which the apparatus is to have. The pin G¹ is held in
position by a nut and lock nut.
When the flexure of the rail relatively to a sleeper is measured, a like apparatus is
used, but the box D is fixed on the sleeper as shewn in plan in Figure 11 the
clamp I I¹ being then dispensed with.
This apparatus can also be used to measure the flexure of a fish joint. For the
bar L is then substituted a suitable pin fixed in the fish joint.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. Apparatus for measuring the flexure of railway rails during the passage of a
train, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
2. In combination with apparatus such as is above referred to the arrangement for
closing an electric circuit for signalling at a distance the passage of a train,
substantially as described.
3. The universal joint connecting the arm acted on by the rail to the crank pin
constituting the tracing lever, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The slotted yoke and nut for varying the eccentricity of the crank pin,
substantially as described.
DL
ALL df Trona 1000