Improvements in Railway Switches.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 21st Apr., 1894-Accepted, 25th May, 1894
Improvements in Railway Switches.
We, HARRISON RICH, Railway Employé, EDWIN RICH, Letter Carrier and
WILLIAM WARREN BARCUS, Business Manager, all of Muskegon in the County
of Muskegon and State of Michigan, United States of America, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a construction of railway switch having for object to
dispense with the expensive frogs and guard rails now used and to employ in lieu
thereof a swinging angular rail piece pivoted at one end where it is wide enough to
connect two rails the other end having the width of an ordinary rail so that in one
position it serves as part of the main track and in another position as part of the
switch track. The angular rail is supported at each end on a plate or chair which
also carry the rails between which it pivots or swings. It is operated by lever
mechanism as is also the end of the main track so as to place this to correspond
with the set position of the angular rail that is either to be in line with the main
track or in line with the switch rails the double operation being performed at the
same moment by connection of the two lever mechanisms. The parallel rails
constituting the swinging portion of the main track are held in ties or bridles.
Dated this 18th day of August 1893
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Switches.
We, HARRISON RICH, Railway Employé, EDWIN RICH, Letter Carrier, and
WILLIAM WARREN BARCUS, Business Manager, all of Muskegon, in the County
of Muskegon and State of Michigan, United States of America, 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 :-
The object of this invention is to provide a railway switch which shall dispense
with the expensive frogs and guard rails now in use, and substitute in lieu thereof
a swinging angular rail piece pivotted at one end so that the switch may be simple
in construction and easy in its operation.
In the drawing,
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the switch of this invention in connection with a line of
rails and with the operating mechanism.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the switch stand.
Fig. 3 is a section on line X-X of Fig. 1 shewing more particularly the plate
which supports the rails and the mechanism for operating the angularly shaped
rail.
A are the fixed rails of a main line of railway. A' are parallel rails also
belonging to the main line; they are located in line with fixed rails A and also
arranged to swing to one side or the other so that they may take either
the position shewn in full lines or that of the dotted lines (Fig. 1), these rails
therefore being part of the main line and capable of being shifted for connection
with the switch line at one end, their opposite ends being fixed.
B are fixed parallel rails of the switch line laid as shewn with ends in close
proximity to the ends of rails A so that the movable rails A¹ may be moved into
D

page_text: alignment either with rails A of the main line or with rails B of the switch line as
occasion may require.
C' are wood sleepers supporting the several rails and also the various plates,
etcetera, appertaining to the mechanism of the switch.
B' is an angularly shaped pivotted. swinging rail having one end of the same
width as an ordinary rail while at its other and pivotted end it is wide enough to
extend across two rails A, B, (Fig. 1), therefore this rail serves as a portion of the
main line when in the position of Fig. 1 and also as a portion of the switch line
when in the position of the dotted lines.
C is an ordinary chair or plate in or upon which the ends of rails A, B, are
fixed and the pivotted end of rail B' also supported thereon. H is a plate upon
which the ends of rails A, B, are fastened and upon which the small end of angular
rail B slides from side to side. Thus it will be seen that the movable rail B' is
pivotally connected at one end to plate C while its other end rests and is free to
move from side to side upon plate H and either to the end of rail A or of rail B.
D are ordinary chairs or plates upon which the ends of two fixed rails A, B, rest
and are held in position by flanges d¹. Each plate D supports one end of one of the
movable rails A¹ and one end of a fixed rail A and of a fixed rail B, said ends of
fixed rails A, B, being close together and the ends of swinging rails A¹ sliding
freely upon plate D when moved into line with the main or switch rails.
E is a lever for operating the switch and connected to the end of a rod F running
parallel with the main line and carried at the ends in bearing blocks G fixed on two
of the wood sleepers C¹. a is an arm connecting switch lever E with the adjoining
swinging rail A this latter being in connection with the opposite swinging rail by
ties J. K is a crank (Figs. 1 and 3) in connection with pivotted angular rail B
through rod L. The rails are shewn in the position for traffic on the main line.
To operate the switch the swinging rails A and B' are moved from the position
shewn in full lines into the position shewn in dotted lines said movement being
accomplished by manipulating the switch lever.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is―
1. In a railway switch, the combination with the pivotted angular rail piece B'
serving alternately as a portion of the main line and as a portion of the switch line,
of the supporting plate H for one end thereof, and the supporting plate C for the
other end on which said rail piece B' is pivotted to connect with fixed rail of main
line and fixed rail of switch line, its other end being free to be moved into line either
with a rail A or B, substantially as described and shewn.
2. In a railway switch, the combination with the pivotted angular rail piece B¹
pivotted at its wide end to the plate C and its narrow end resting on and free
to be moved upon the plate H to connect with the fixed rail A or B, of the
swinging rails A¹, ties J, and the mechanism for operating the pivotted rail piece B¹
and the swinging rails A' simultaneously, substantially as described and shewn.
3. In a railway switch, the combination of the pivotted rail piece B₁, of an arm
connecting the same to a crank K fixed on a rod F journalled in blocks G secured
to sleepers C, of a lever E fixed to the opposite end of rod F, and of an arm a
connecting the swinging rails A' with lever E by means of which the swinging
rails A' and the pivotted rail piece B¹ are operated simultaneously, substantially as
described and shewn.
Dated th
C A
1100
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
Agent for the Applicants.