IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR LOCKING THE POINTS OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Livesey, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers,
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, and John Edwards, of
Cassland Crescent, South Hackney, also in the County of Middle-
sex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR
LOCKING THE POINTS OF RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 16th October 1875, and dated the 17th July 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Livesey and
Jolin Edwards at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 17th July 1875.
We, JAMES LIVESEX, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in
the County of Middlesex; and JOHN EDWARDS, of Cassland Crescent,
South Hackney, also in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS
FOR LOCKING THE POINTS OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
In the Specification of a Patent granted to us, the said James
Livesey and John Edwards, and 10 William Jeffreys, on the 27th
February 1867, No. 547, were described means of locking railway
[Price Sd.]

page_text: points so that they could not be shifted during the passage of a train
over them by arranging in advance of the points a bar connected to the
points in such a manner that the wheels of a passing train by acting
as an impediment to the movement of the bar prevented the points
from being moved. Also in the Specification of a Patent granted to
John Saxby and John Stinson Farmer on the 25th February 1870,
No. 569, were described means of bolting the points in connection with
a safety bar or switch lock of the kind above referred to.
Our present Invention relates to means of effecting the automatic
locking of points during the passage of a train, dispensing with the use
of such bar, and making the rails or points themselves operate in lieu
thereof.
According to one method which we adopt for this purpose we fix a
number of the successive chairs which support the rails and switch
rails at or near a pair of points not upon the sleepers in the usual way,
but upon plates of iron or steel which are fixed on the sleepers in such
a manner as to allow a slight flexure of the said plates, and consequent
sinking of the rails under the weight of a passing train. Such flexure
may be permitted either by slightly arching the plates, or by hollowing
out portions of the sleepers under them. The rod which works the
points passing as usual under the rails is made with shoulders or studs
on it so that when the rails are caused to sink by the weight of a
passing train, these shoulders or studs catching against the lower edge
of the sunk rail hold the point rod immoveable, thereby preventing
the points from being shifted; but when the train has passed over
the flexible portion of the rails they spring up sufficiently to be clear
of the studs or shoulders on the point rod, which is thereupon left free
to be moved for shifting the points. In order to diminish the amount
of sinking necessary in the rails for this purpose, the rails instead of
directly intercepting the studs or shoulders on the point rod may be
made to depress spring or counterweighted levers so as to magnify
their movement, the said lovers being made to catch into notches of
against studs or projections on the point rod, or being themselves
mounted on the point rod, and made by the sinking of the rails to
catch into notches or against studs or projections on a plate fixed on the
ground. Thus by a very slight and almost imperceptible yielding of
the rails the movement of the point rod can be completely obstructed
while a train is passing over the yielding part of the line, and this

page_text: yielding portion being made to extend some distance on each side
of the switch points, the locking of the points is effected before a
train comes up to them, and is maintained until it has quite passed
them..
According to another method we joint the shifting point rails at
their junction with the fixed rails by bolts passing through slotted
holes, so that the point rails, besides being free to oscillate as usual,
are also free to slide a little longitudinally. We connect the two
shifting point rails by a tie bar which is jointed by means of two or
more radius rods to pivots fixed between the rails, so that whenever
the points are shifted from the one side to the other they are caused,
also by the circular movement of these radius rods, to move lengthwise.
When a train is passing over the points the weight pressing on them
causes such friction between them and the chairs on which they rest
as to render this longitudinal movement very difficult or impossible,
and the points are thus locked during the passage of the wheels of a
train over them. In order that this locking may be effective during
the passage of the whole train, we make the point rails of length equal
to or exceeding the greatest wheel base, so that before one pair of wheels
is off them another pair has come on them.
Instead of connecting the the bar of the points to radius rods, as
above described, it may be made with inclined or curved slots embracing
fixed pins or rollers, so that when the points get a lateral movement
for the purpose of shifting them they must also receive a certain longi-
tudinal movement.
In order still further to secure the points from being shifted during
the passage of a train, the point rails may be made with one or more
inclined shoulders on their under sides where they rest on the chairs,
these shoulders being so arranged that when the point rails receive the
longitudinal movement above described the shoulders riding upon the
chairs cause them to rise, and the weight of a passing train preventing
this movement they are more securely locked during its passage.
Furthermore, in order to prevent any such force being applied as
would shift the points, notwithstanding the weight of a passing train
acting on them, we introduce at any convenient part of the connections
from the point lever to the points a spring of such strength as is
sufficient for shifting the points when they are not impeded by the

page_text: passage of a train over them, but which yields when they are impeded
by the passage of a train over them.
Points arranged as above described may be bolted or locked in
position by levers acting through any of the known mechanisms
employed for that purpose, interlocking with the other levers of the
system of which they form a part, and the rod which works the point
bolt instead of or as well as the rod which works the points themselves
may be arranged to be obstructed as we have described by the rails
when they are depressed by a passing train.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Livesey and John Edwards in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 15th January 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
LIVESEY, of No. 9. Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, and JOHN EDWARDS, of Cassland Crescent, South Hackney,
also in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, 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 suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said James Livesey and John
Edwards, Her special license, that we, the said James Livesey and
John Edwards, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as
we, the said James Livesey and John Edwards, our exe-
cutors, 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,
exercised, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man," an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR LOCKING
THE POINTS OF
RAILWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
James Livesey and John Edwards, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or
under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should particularly

page_text: 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 1, the said John Edwards, on behalf of myself
and the said James Livesey, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
In the Specification of a Patent granted to us, the said James Livesey
and John Edwards, and to William Jeffreys, on the 27th February 1867,
No. 547, were described means of locking railway points so that they
could not be shifted during the passage of a train over them, by
arranging in advance of the points a bar connected to the points in such
a manner that the wheels of a passing train by acting as an impediment
to the movement of the bar prevented the points from being moved.
Also in the Specification of a Patent granted to John Saxby and John
Stinson Farmer, on the 25th February 1870. No. 569, were described
means of bolting the points in connection with a safety bar or switch
lock of the kind above referred to.
Our present Invention relates to
means of effecting the automatic
locking of points during the passage of a train, dispensing with the use
of such bar, and making the rails or points themselves operate in lieu
thereof.
According to one method which we adopt for this purpose we fix a
number of the successive chairs which support the rails and switch rails
at or near a pair of points, not upon the sleepers in the usual way, but
upon plates of iron or steel which are fixed on the sleepers in such a
manner as to allow a slight flexure of the said plates and consequent
sinking of the rails under the weight of a passing train. Such flexure
may be permitted either by slightly arching the plates, or by hollowing
out portions of the sleepers under them. The rod which works the
points passing as usual under the rails is made with shoulders or studs
on it, so that when the rails are caused to sink by the weight of a
passing train, these shoulders or studs catching against the lower edge
of the sunk rail hold the point rod immoveable, thereby preventing the

page_text: points from being shifted, but when the train has passed over the flexible
portion of the rails they spring up sufliciently to be clear of the studs or
shoulders on the point rod, which is thereupon left free to be moved for
shifting the points. In order to diminish the amount of sinking
necessary in the rails for this purpose, the rails instead of directly
intercepting the studs or shoulders on the point rod may be made to
depress spring or counterweighted levers so as to magnify their movement,
the said levers being made to catch into notches or against studs or
projections on the point rod, or being theinselves mounted on the point
rod and made by the sinking of the rails to catch into notches or against
studs or projections on a plate fixed on the ground. Thus by a very
slight and almost imperceptible yielding of the rails the movement of
the point rod can be completely obstructed while a train is passing over
the yielding part of the line, and this yielding portion being made to
extend some distance on each side of the switch points the locking of
the points is effected before a train comes up to them, and is maintained
until it has quite passed them.
According to another method we joint the shifting point rails at their
junction with the fixed rails by bolts passing through slotted holes, so
that the point rails, besides being free to oscillate as usual, are also free
to slide a little longitudinally. We connect the two shifting point rails
by a tie bar, which is jointed by means of two or more radius rods to
pivots fixed between the rails, so that whenever the points are shifted
from the one side to the other they are caused also by the circular
movement of these radius rods to move lengthwise. When a train is
passing over the points the weight pressing on them causes such friction
between them and the chairs on which they rest as to render this
longitudinal movement very difficult or impossible, and the points are
thus locked during the passage of the wheels of a train over them. In
order that this locking may be effective during the passage of the whole
train we make the point rails of a length equal to or exceeding the
greatest wheel base, so that before one pair of wheels is off them another
pair has come on them.
Instead of connecting the tie bar of the points to radius rods, as
above described, it may be made with inclined or curved slots embracing
fixed pins or rollers, so that when the points get a lateral movement for
the purpose of shifting them they must also receive a certain longitu-
dinal movement.

page_text: In order still further to secure the points from being shifted during
the passage of a train the point rails may be made with one or more
inclined shoulders on their under sides where they rest on the chairs,
these shoulders being so arranged that when the point rails receive the
longitudinal movement above described the shoulders riding upon the
chairs cause them to rise, and the weight of a passing train preventing
this movement they are more securely locked during its passage.
Furthermore, in order to prevent any such force being applied as
would shift the points, notwithstanding the weight of
1:
passing train
acting on them, we introduce at any convenient part of the connections
from the point lever to the points a spring of such strength as is
sufficient for shifting the points when they are not impeded by the
passing of a train over them, but which yield when they are impeded
by the passage of a train over them.
Points arranged as above described may be bolted or locked in position
by levers acting through any of the known mechanisms employed for.
that purpose, interlocking with the other lovers of the system of which
they form a part, and the rod which works the point bolt, instead of or
as well as the rod which works the points themselves, may be arranged
to be obstructed, as we have described, by the rails when they are
depressed by a passing train.

page_text: both of the rails, this bar being a portion of the rod which moves the
points, or connected to that rod, or when a switch bolt is employed the
bar B may be a portion of or connected to the rod that works the switch
bolt. This bar presents on its upper face two notches, into one or
other of which a clip A secured to the rail is pushed down, when the
rail is caused to yield downwards by the weight of a passing train. The
bar B, being in that case prevented from being pulled or pushed longitu-
dinally by the clip A being engaged in its notch, the switch or the switch
bolt connected to the bar B is held firmly in position until the whole
train having passed the yielding rails the plates P by their elasticity
cause the rail to rise, disengaging the clip A, and so leaving the bar B
free to be moved for the purpose of shifting the points or working the
switch bolt.
Fig. 4 shews an arrangement whereby a very slight downward yield
of the rail is magnified so as to give a considerably greater movement to
the catch that secures the bar B. In this case a lever L. is mounted on
a fixed fulcrum so as to be pressed by a counterweight up against the
under side of the rail R. When the rail is pressed a little downwards
the point of the lever is caused to descend through a considerably
greater distance so as to engage in one or other of the notches in the
bar B.
According to the arrangement shewn in Fig. 5 the counterweighted
lever L is mounted on the bar B, so that when the rail is depressed the
point of the lever is made to engage in one or other of the notches in a
fixed stop D.
Instead of a lever pressed upwards by a counterweight a spring lever
may be employed, as shewn in Fig. 6.
On Sheet II. Figs. 7 to 12 inclusive represent means whereby,
according to our Invention, the shifting point rails themselves are
made to operate wholly or partially for the automatic locking of a sel
of points during the passage of a train over them.
According to the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 the shifting point rails
E, E, (which at the junction of their butts with the fixed rails are
allowed to have certain freedom of motion longitudinally) are connected
by a bar F, which may be a portion of the rod that works the points.
This bar is jointed to two or more radius rods f. f, working on fixed

page_text: pivots, so that in shifting the points from side to side the bar F and the
point rails E to which it is attached are caused by the circular move-
ment of the radius rods, to partake of a motion in the direction of
the line of rails as well as of that transverse to it. While either of the
point rails E is pressed down on its chairs by the weight of the train
passing over it the frictional resistance to its longitudinal as well as to
its transverse motion renders the change of its position while loaded
very difficult or impossible. Tlie impediment thus presented to the
shifting of the points during the passage of a train over them may be
made certain by adopting the arrangement shewn in Fig. 10, where E,
one of the shifting point rails, has clips e fixed to it; these clips having
inclined corners butting against corresponding inclines on the chairs c.
While the rail E is unloaded it is capable of longitudinal motion in the
direction of the arrow, the clips e riding up upon the chairs e; but
when the rail E is kept down by the weight of a passing train it cannot
rise so as to permit the clips e to ride on to the chairs.
Instead of employing radius rods f, as shewn in Fig. 7, a similar
longitudinal motion may be given to the point rails during their
transverse shift by the arrangement shewn in Fig. 8, in which case the
connecting har B is made with curved slotted holes working on fixed
pins or rollers g. Instead of giving both the point rails E the same
movement during their shift by employing equal and similarly situated
radius rods f, as shown in Fig. 7, the radius rods may be arms of bent
levers, as shewn in Fig. 9, where H, the rod for working the points
is jointed to two bent levers K working on fixed fulera, and having
pins on their opposite arms working in slotted holes in the bar B con-
necting the two shifting rails E'. E. The levers K are so shaped and
arranged right and left handed that on moving the rod H in the direction
of the arrow the one rail E' which is home to the fixed rail receives at
first considerable longitudinal but very little transverse motion, and this
being the rail on which a passing train would be running, such motion
would be resisted by the weight of the train passing along it. When
the other rail E is home it has to undergo a similar movement when the
rod H is moved in the opposite direction. In this Figure the rod H is
shewn to be fitted with a spring M, which may be placed in any part of
the rod connection, from the points to the lever that works them. This
spring being adjusted to have suflicient strength for moving the points.
when there is no load on them yields without moving them when the

page_text: frictional resistance to their longitudinal movement is increased by the
weight of a train passing along them.
In order to render the arrangements described in reference to Figs. 7
to 10 inclusive, quite efficient for locking switches, the shifting point
rails E should be of length somewhat exceeding the wheel base or
interval between two succeeding wheels of a train; otherwise if they
were shorter they might be shifted in the interval occurring after one
wheel has passed them and before the next wheel has come upon them.
Where such lengthening of the point rails is objectionable, and where
our arrangements have to be applied to existing points that may be too
short, we combine our arrangements with switch locking bars of the
kind described in the Specification above referred to in the manner
shown in Fig. 11, which represents a longitudinal section of part of a
railway line at a pair of points, and Fig. 12 which represents a plan of
the same.
In these Figures H is the rod for shifting the points which
works two bent levers K, K², respectively right and left-handed and
jointed to the shifting point rails E', E, which may be of the ordinary
length. Switch lock bars N', N2, are mounted beyond the butts of the
point rails on radius rods n which are preferably counterweighted, and
these bars are connected by links g', g, to the point rails E, E²,
respectively.
:
As shown in Fig. 12 the point rail E is home to, the fixed rail and
the attitude of the lever K2 is such that if the rod H were pulled for the
purpose of shifting the points the rail E would in the first place be
moved chiefly longitudinally forwards, and the bar № connected to it
being thus drawn forwards would have to rise in the circular path
determined by the radii which it could not do if any wheel of a train
were at the time passing over it. If the other point rail E' were home
the impediment caused by a passing wheel to the rise of the bar N'
would in like manner prevent the shifting of the points.
with comparatively short switch lock bars N', Nº, applied in combination
with longitudinally moving point rails of ordinary length, so long as the
united lengths of the point rail and switch lock bar exceeds the wheel
base, the points are kept automatically locked during the passage of a
train over them.
And thus
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and in what manner

page_text: six.
point bolt and crossing under the yielding rails so as to be locked by and
held fast during their depression.
Second. The method, substantially as herein described, of effecting the
automatic locking of railway points during the passage of a train over
them by arranging the point rails so that when they are
paxont
transversely for the purpose of shifting the points, they must also be
áq pɔsmeɔ quɔmazon days of quɔmpadum aqui pue “\[pripínsuoj paxomi
the weight of a train passing along them prevents the shifting of the
points till the train has passed.
have
hereunto
In witness whereof, I, the said John Edwards,
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of January, in the
-Xoxas pie papune auto peso ou por ano
min e jo ustaw aqi áq passadap prijsamos aq də dəq da
a on to sugod out of paratios aq e Buñunan puu ‘mɔm aɔxo
dəmurun
fuissed
them by mounting the rails at and near a pair of points in such a
am Sundaja po poquesap paraq se Äppeŋurisqus portion of "ISALI
Joao men a jó fussed or fulamp sjuod semper to Bumper
JOHN EDWARDS. (L.S.)