Improvements in Railway Switches.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date claimed for Patent under Sect. 103 of Act,
being date of first Foreign Application (in
United States of America),
}
17th Oct., 1889
Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 13th May, 1890
Complete Specification Loft, 42th
May,
1000
Accepted, 27th
Дос
1800
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Switches.
I, LYMAN MORSE GARFIELD, of 428, North Galloway Street, in the Town of Xenia,
in the County of Greene, in the State of Ohio, United States of America, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY
SWITCHES," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
My invention relates to railway switches, and its object is to furnish such an
arrangement of the movable rails and their operating parts that the movable rails
may be brought into such connection with the stationary rails, by the same set of
switch irons or "bridles" and by one throw of the switch lever, as to make a con-
tinuous main track and two sidings on one side of the main track; or a continuous
track of a main track and siding on either side of the track; or two continuous tracks
composed of the main track and a siding on one side, and the other composed of a
main track or siding on the other side.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the main track, continuous or unbroken, and two
sidings leading out from the main track, and both sidings on the same side of the
main track.
Fig. 2 illustrates the positions of the different tracks when the switch has been
thrown to connect the main track on the left with the siding on the right.
Fig. 3 illustrates the positions of the different tracks when the main track on the
right is connected with the siding on the left.
Fig. 4 illustrates the main track, continuous or unbroken, and, two sidings leading
outward from both sides of the main track.
Fig. 5 illustrates the positions of the different tracks when the switch has been
thrown to connect the main track on the left with the siding on the right, and the
main track on the right with the siding on the left.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, A A are the parallel stationary rails of the main
track; B B are the parallel stationary rails of the siding; (Care the movable rails
of the main track; D D are the movable rails of the siding, and a bed are the
adjacent ends respectively of the rails A B C and D.
The movable rails C C and D) D are all connected by cross bars E E, and are all
adapted to slide or swing laterally in the usual manner, so that by joining the adjacent
ends of the stationary and movable rails, the tracks will be continuous. When the
tracks are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the ends a and c will be joined, the main
tracks A and C will be continuous and unbroken and the two sidings B and D, which
diverge from the main tracks in opposite directions, will be connected at their
converging ends b and d. This position of the parts will enable a train or car to
move along the main tracks A and C, or along the siding B and D from one to
another.
When the switch has thrown the movable rails so that the ends b and c are joined
and the rails of the main track CC are continuous with the stationary rails B B of

page_text: the siding (as shown in Fig. 2), a train or car can move along the main tracks Con
the left to the siding B on the right, or from the siding B on the right to the main
track on the left.
When the movable rails have been thrown by the switch so that the ends a and d
are joined, and the rails of the siding D D are continuous with the stationary rails A A
of the main track, as shown in Fig. 3, a train or car can move along from the main
track A on the right to the movable siding D on the left, or from the movable siding D
on the left to the main track A on the right.
When the tracks are in the position shown in Fig. 4, with the stationary siding EE
diverging from one side of the track and the movable siding D diverging from
the other side, and with the ends a and c joined, the main tracks A and D will
be continuous and unbroken and the switch will be open, disconnecting the other
tracks.
When the movable rails have been thrown by the switch so that the ends e and c are
joined, and the ends a and d are also joined, the movable main rails C will be con-
tinuous with the stationary rails of the siding E, on one side of the track, and the
movable rails of the siding D on the other side of the track will be continuous with
the stationary rails of the main track A, as shown in Fig. 5, and a train or car can
move along from the main track C to the siding E on one side, or in the reverse
direction over said tracks, or from the main track A to the siding D on the other
side, or in the reverse direction over said tracks.
A very important feature of my invention is that no special rails are required with
which to make the switch, and that, after the rails have done duty as a switch, they
can be used in a main or side track.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In combination with the stationary rails of a main track and siding, of a sliding
switch consisting of main and side rails connected together by cross bars, and
mechanism for bringing the movable rails with either of their free ends opposite and
adjacent to the ends of either of the stationary rails, all as set forth.
2. In combination with the rails of the main stationary track, the rails of a siding
diverging from one side of the track, the sliding switch consisting of the main track C,
the side track D on the opposite side of the track from the stationary siding, bars
connecting the movable rails, and mechanism for bringing the movable rails with
either of their free ends opposite and adjacent to the ends of either of the stationary
rails, all as set forth.
Dated this 28th day of April A D 1890
LYMAN MORSE GARFIELD.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.