AN IMPROVED SAFETY SWITCH BOX AND GEAR
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Cariss, of York, Yorkshire, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED SAFETY SWITCH BOX AND GEAR."
Sealed the 29th April 1859, and dated the 1st November 1858.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Cariss in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN'
CARISS, of York, Yorkshire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Cariss, Her special licence that I, the said John Cariss, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Cariss, my executors, 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, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED SAFETY
SWITCH BOX AND GEAR," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Cariss, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
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 I, the said John Cariss, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My said Invention has for its object, the greater safety of pointsmen, as well
as other persons whose duties require them to pass along railways, particularly at
night, when it is dark. The Invention consists in constructing a switch box,
so that the lever is made to lay in a horizontal position within the cover of the
box, and parallel to the line of rails, by which means accidents arising from
the levers standing up are prevented.
The improved switch box is particularly applicable to goods' yards and
colliery railways, where horses are employed in shunting, and also to railways
or tramways around docks, as well as to all railway stations where passengers
have to cross and travel.
I will now proceed to describe my Invention more particularly, reference
being made to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 represents a
plan of my improved switch box; Fig. 2, a plan, with the cover removed, for
shewing the internal working parts; Fig. 3, a plan of the under side of the
cover; Fig. 4, a sectional end elevation; Fig. 5, a sectional side elevation;
Fig. 6, represents a modification of the improved switch box. The same
letters refer to corresponding parts of the Drawing. A is the cover of the
switch box, in which is formed a slot or opening B widened at one end, to
allow the hand to grasp the lever C for working the switches. The cover is

page_text: cast with lugs D, D, through which feather bolts E, E, pass, for fixing it to
the box F. This box is composed of cast iron, or other metal, and is provided
with a chamber or recess G, open at the lower part G', and in which is placed
the weight H attached by a chain I to the switch rod J. The latter is kept
in its proper position by semicircular grooves J¹, J', made in the cover A.
One end of the rod J is fixed to the switch by a key K, or by a nut or other
convenient means.
The opposite end of the rod is kept in contact with the inclined propeller or:
shifting block L by means of the weight and chain which passes over a small
pulley M working on a pin N. The propeller L, composed of cast iron or other
metal, is formed with an incline O, so that when the wrought-iron lever C
(attached by screws to the lower part of the propellor) is raised in a vertical
position by the pointsman, it causes the switch rod J to advance, as repre-
sented by dotted lines, Fig. 2, and thus place the switch in the required
position for the train to pass. The propellor L works on a pin P secured. to
the box by a feather Q, or other means. The improved switch box may be
fixed to a suitable foundation by bolts passing through the eyes R, R, in the
lugs S, S.
Instead of the weight I being used to bring the switch back, a helical stcel
spring T may be employed as represented at Fig. 6.
The advantages derived from the employment of the improved switch box,
are, first, in consequence of the lever lying parallel with the rails, there is no
danger of the pointsman being thrown under the train in the case of any
accident happening to the switches; secondly, the lever being level with the
switch box, prevents a person falling over it in the dark; and, lastly, the passing
of the train does not cause the lever to rise up, and therefore the dangerous
vibration of the ordinary levers of switch boxes when a train is running out of
the switches is avoided.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details hercin laid down,
as many alterations may be made without departing from the principles of
construction; but what I believe to be novel and useful, and therefore claim
to be secured by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of the switch box, as
herein-before described and represented in the annexed Drawing.
Secondly, the construction and employment of the lever C and propellor L,
for the purposes as hercin-before described and shewn in the accompanying
Drawing.

page_text: Thirdly, the construction and arrangement of the weight II and helical
spring T as herein-before described and shewn in the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Cariss, have hereunto set my hand-
and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One:
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
JOHN CARISS. × (L.s.)
X