IMPROVEMENTS IN CROSSINGS AND IN SWITCH APPARATUS TO BE USED WITH THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Armstrong, of Masbro', near Rotherham,
in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CROSSINGS AND IN SWITCH APPARATUS TO BE USED WITH THE PERMANENT
WAY OF RAILWAYS."
Sealed the 17th October 1868, and.dated the 23rd April 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Armstrong at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd April 1868.
I, JOSEPH ARMSTRONG, of Masbro', near Rotherham, in the County
of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN CROSSINGS AND IN SWITCH APPARATUS TO BE USED WITH THE
PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in crossings, and in
switch apparatus to be used with the permanent way of railways, and
relates, firstly, to improvements in crossings for the permanent way of
railways. For this purpose I cast the top and bottom faces of double
headed reversible crossings of cast steel whilst the interior is of cast
[Price Sd.1

page_text: iron, and I do this by first pouring into the mould a sufficient quantity of
cast steel to form one face with the rails, and before this sets I pour in a
suitable quantity of iron to form the centre layer; I then run in a suitable
quantity of cast steel for the second face with the rails thereon.
single headed crossings the working faces and rails are formed of cast
steel, and the bottom of cast iron in a similar manner to that before
described.
For
The Invention relates, secondly, to improvements in switch apparatus
to be used with the permanent way of railways. For this purpose I
connect the switch rail with a lever in the usual manner, but I form in
the lower part of such lever a slot from which is suspended a suitable
weight which is capable when allowed of travelling from one end to the
other of the slot, I mount upon the lever before described a locking
apparatus which when raised by acting upon the upper end thereof
releases the weight so as to allow it to travel from the higher to the
lower end of the slot and then when the locking apparatus is lowered
or allowed to fall, the weight is prevented returning from the end of
the slot in which for the time being it is required to act. Thus when
the switch is moved from one to the other position and the locking
apparatus is raised, the weight is allowed to run to that end of the slot
which is the lower for the time being, and it is there retained by
lowering the locking apparatus, and by thus causing the weight to act
on the one side or the other of the axis of motion of the switch lever,
the switch is held in the desired position until again set by the attendant
in charge.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Armstrong in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 23rd October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I JOSEPH
ARMSTRONG, of Masbro', near Rotherham, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give

page_text: and grant unto me, the said Joseph Armstrong, Her special licence:
that I, the said Joseph Armstrong, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I,. the said Joseph Armstrong, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN CROSSINGS
AND IN SWITCH APPARATUS TO BE USED WITH THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that.I, the said Joseph Armstrong,
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 Joseph Armstrong, 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 statement thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in crossings and in
switch apparatus to be used with the permanent way of railways, and
relates, firstly, to improvements in crossings for the permanent way of
railways. For this. purpose I cast the top and bottom faces of double-
headed reversible crossings of cast steel, whilst the interior is of cast
iron, and I do this by first pouring into the mould a sufficient quantity
of cast steel to form one face with the rails, and before this sets I pour
in a suitable quantity of iron to form the centre layer; I then run in
a suitable quantity of cast steel for the second face with the rails
thereon. For single-headed crossings the working faces and rails are
formed of cast steel and the bottom of cast iron in a similar manner.to
that before described.
The Invention relates, secondly, to improvements in switch apparatus
to be used with the permanent way of railways. For this purpose I
connect the switch rail with a lever in the usual manner, but I form in
the lower part of such lever a slot from which is suspended a suitable
weight which is capable when allowed of travelling from one end to the
other of the slot. I mount upon the lever before described a locking

page_text: apparatus, which when raised by acting upon the upper end thereof
releases the weight so as to allow it to travel from the higher to the
lower end of the slot, and then when the locking apparatus is lowered
or allowed to fall the weight is prevented returning from the end of the
slot in which for the time being it is required to act. Thus when the
switch is moved from one to the other position and the locking apparatus
is raised the weight is allowed to run to that end of the slot which is
the lower for the time being, and it is there retained by lowering the
locking apparatus, and by thus causing the weight to act on the one side
or the other of the axis of motion of the switch lever the switch is held
in the desired position until again set by the attendant in charge.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying
Drawings, more fully describe the same.
according to my Invention, the top and bottom faces a and c being of
cast steel whilst the interior part marked b is of cast iron. For this
purpose I first prepare a mould in the ordinary manner, and then pour
in sufficient cast steel to form the lower face a, taking care to have a
sufficient number of pouring holes to ensure the equal distribution of
the molten metal. I then before such face a has had time to set pour
in a suitable quantity of cast iron to form the central part b, and after-
wards before the part b has set I pour in a suitable quantity of cast steel
to fill the mould, and thereby form the face c.
Figure 2 is a section of a single-headed crossing having the face a
formed of cast steel and the foot or parts 6 formed of cast iron, the cast
steel to form part a being by preference first poured into the mould,
and then the cast iron being poured in to form the foot or part b, the
casting operation being performed as described with respect to Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a side view of switch apparatus constructed according to
my Invention. The switch rail (not shewn) is connected by a link or
connecting rod a to the switch lever b, in the lower part of which is
formed a slot c. In this slot c is suspended a weight d which is capable
of travelling from the higher to the lower end of such slot when per-
mitted to do so by the locking link e, which is pin jointed at e¹ to the
short cranked leverf which is pin jointed at f' to the upper end of the