The Opening and Shutting of Railway and other Gates by the Agency of Water.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Feb, 1886.
Complete Left, 29th Sept., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 25th Jan., 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
The Opening and Shutting of Railway and other Gates by the
Agency of Water.
I HENRY BARCROFT of the Glen Newry in the County of Armagh in Ireland
Director of the Bossbrook and Newry Tramway Company do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide means for Opening and Shutting Gates
placed across or at the sides of Rail and Tramways without the Agency of a Gate-
keeper.
For this purpose I employ a hollow pillar or chamber in which I place a heavy float
connected by means of a chain or rope with the gate and raised or lowered in such
pillar or chamber by an inflow or outflow of Water and I furnish the gate with either
a spring or weight to act as a counterpoise.
•
The water is supplied through a pipe by gravitation and admitted or drawn off by a
system of levers and chains or ropes set in operation by a tappet on the passing car or
other vehicle.
A hydraulic cylinder and piston may in some cases be substituted for the pillar and
Aant
HYNDMAN & DICKSON,
6, Waring Street, Belfast,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
The Opening and Shutting of Railway and other Gates by the
Agency of Water.
I HENRY BAROROFT of The Glen Newry in the County of Down in Ireland Director
of the Bessbrook and Newry Tramway Company do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "THE OPENING AND SHUTTING OF RAILWAY AND OTHER GATES BY THE
AGENCY OF WATER" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to provide means for opening and shutting gates
placed across or at the sides of Rail and Tramways and elsewhere without the assistance
or agency of a gatekeeper.
For this purpose I employ an upright hollow pillar or chamber in which I place a
heavy float connected by means of a chain or rope with the gate or gates intended to
be operated upon and this float is raised or lowered in such pillar or chamber by an
inflow or outflow of water under pressure.
I furnish the gate or gates or each of the gates with a spring or weight to act as a
counterpoise for the purpose of restoring the ordinary position after having been
actuated by the lowering of the float.
The water is supplied by gravitation from a cistern, dam, flume or stream through
an inflow pipe near the lower end of the hollow pillar or chamber and is admitted or
excluded as required by means of a three-way cock upon a shaft or spindle carrying
a drum, pulley or toothed wheel outside the hollow pillar or chamber and gearing or
connected with another drum, pulley or toothed wheel which is arranged with a lever,
bar or prolonged spoke to be actuated as presently described by the passing Car,
Wagon or other Vehicle.
A partial turn of the shaft or spindle by the arrangement and connections above
mentioned closes the mouth of the inflow pipe and thus cuts off the pressure and
supply; at the same time it opens another valve of the three-way cock whereby the
water is discharged from the base of the hollow pillar or cistern into an outflow pipe
drain or sewer which carries it out of reach.
The spring or weight provided as a counterpoise restores the gate to its previous
position during the emptying or filling (as the case may be) of the hollow pillar or
chamber.
I provide a swinging tappet or hook attached by a pivot to a bracket or snug upon
the Car, Wagon or other Vehicle and so placed as, in passing, to catch the end of the
lever, bar or prolonged spoke of the drum, pulley or toothed wheel secondly mentioned
in the last but two of the preceding paragraphs and to carry such end along with it so
as to turn the aforesaid geared drums, pulleys or toothed wheels sufficiently round as to
close the mouth of the inflow pipe and to open the mouth of the outflow pipe.
I provide a second drum, pulley or wheel arranged with a lever, bar or prolonged
spoke and geared or connected with the similarly arranged drum, pulley or toothed

page_text: wheel before described or with a drum or pulley on the same axle or shaft and I place
it further on the line so that the Car, Wagon or other Vehicle after passing the gate
or gates catches the lever, bar or prolonged spoke, turns the geared drums, pulleys or
toothed wheels back again and restores the three-way cock to the position first hercin-
before described thereby charging the hollow pillar or chamber with water and raising
the float to the top thereof.
It will be understood that the whole operation will be effected by a returning Car,
Wagon or other Vehicle catching the lever, bar or prolonged spoke of the so arranged
second drum, pulley or wheel and by that means actuating the so arranged drum
pulley or toothed wheel first mentioned and which is turned back again by the tappet
or hook on the passing Car, Wagon or other Vehicle and restores the shaft or spindle
of the three-way cock to its previous position so as to charge the hollow pillar or
chamber as before.
I may however dispense with the first mentioned two drums, pulleys or toothed
wheels and place a lever or bar directly upon the shaft or spindle of the three-way
cock or upon a drum or pulley carried by such spindle or shaft to be actuated as
already described by a passing Car, Wagon or other Vehicle. And the several
operations above stated may be applied reversely.
A hydraulic cylinder and piston may in some cases be substituted for the hollow
pillar or chamber and float which I have already described.
In order to suit vehicles travelling at a high speed the levers may be arranged so as
to be shortened and lengthened again during the operation.
I do not confine my invention to the precise arrangements I have described nor to
the purposes for which it has hitherto been employed by me inasmuch as there are
several modifications of those arrangements which will be obvious and which varied
circumstances would necessitate and the same or substantially the same apparatus may
be applied simply and with advantage to the altération of Railway points and signals
and other like operations.
And in order that my said Invention may be more fully understood I shall now
proceed to describe the drawings upon the sheet hereunto annexed, the same letters of
reference indicating the same or corresponding parts throughout all the figures upon
such sheet.
Fig. I. is an elevation of a hollow pillar or chamber of which the greater part is
sunk, for convenience, below the level of the Tram or Railway line, with drums or
pulleys geared or connected by a chain and a lever, bar or prolonged spoke caught by
a swinging tappet or hook upon a bracket attached to a car, wagon or other vehicle
also an inflow pipe by which water is admitted, by gravitation, from a cistern or dam
and pulleys or guides to carry and give direction to a rope or chain connecting a gate
or gates with a float which is at the top, inside the hollow pillar or chamber, and
indicated by dotted lines and a rope or chain gearing or connecting the drum or pulley
arranged with a lever bar or prolonged spoke and another similarly arranged drum or
pulley (Fig. III.) is shewn.
Fig. II. is an end elevation of a gate and gate-post and of its connections with a
float and also of a sunk weight or counterpoise and its connections with the gate.
Fig. III. is an end elevation of a second drum or pulley arranged with a lever bar
or prolonged spoke to be actuated by a car, wagon or other vehicle passing beyond a
gate or gates or returning.
Fig. IV. is a plan, in section, of the hollow pillar or chamber, inflow pipe, drum or
pulloy arranged with a lever, bar or prolonged spoke and concentric drum or pulley to
be put in gear with another similarly arranged drum or pulley and the tappet or hook
and bracket attached to a car wagon or other vehicle; and also of a shaft or spindle
carrying the lower drum or pulley and a three-way cock and various gearing or
connecting ropes or chains.
Fig. V. is a plan of a gate and gate post, weight or counterpoise, pulley or guide
and ropes or chains connecting the gate with a float and with the weight or counter-
poise, and
Fig. VI. is a plan of a second drum or pulley arranged with a lever bar or prolonged

page_text: spoke and gearing or connected with the similarly arranged drum, pulley or toothed
wheel first described.
a is the hollow pillar or chamber; bis a heavy float; c is a chain passing over and
under and round pulleys or guides and connecting the float with, d a gate; e is a
weight or counterpoise appended to the gate, d; f is an inflow pipe leading from a
cistern to the hollow pillar or chamber, a; g is a shaft or spindle carrying the drum or
pulley, h, and the three-way cock, i; k is the drum or pulley arranged with a lever or
bar, 7, and geared or connected with the drum or pulley, h, by the rope or chain m;
n is a tappet or hook upon a bracket or snug, o, fastened to the car, wagon or other
vehicle; p. is a rope or chain gearing or connecting the drum or pulley, k, with a
similar drum.or pulley placed beyond the gate of which is the lever and s the drum
or pulley and t is a frame carrying the druin or pulley k.
?'
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
1. The opening and shutting of Railway and other gates by the agency of water
substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described and shewn in
the drawings hereunto annexed:
2. The use of a float, arranged with ropes or chains actuated by the agency of water
substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described and shewn in
the drawings hereunto annexed: and
"
3. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting my improved automatic
gate-moving apparatus constructed and employed substantially in the manner and for
the purposes hereinbefore described and set forth and illustrated in the drawings here-
unto annexed.
HYNDMAN & DICKSON,
6, Waring Street, Belfast,
Agents for Applicant.