IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING THE FACING POINTS UPON - LINES OF RAILWAY
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Arthur Steward, of 14, Charles Street,
Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, for the Invention of
* IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING THE FACING POINTS UPON
- LINES OF RAILWAY."
Sealed the 28th August 1874, and dated the 7th March 1874.

page_text: In order also to still further increase the efficiency of facing points
I employ check rails on the inner side of each of the fixed rails imme-
diately in front of the movable points.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said James Arthur Steward in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 7th September 1874.
;
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
ARTHUR STEWARD, of 14, Charles Street, Wolverhampton, in the County
of Stafford, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Arthur Steward,
Her special license that I, the said James Arthur Steward,
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Arthur Steward, 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, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Islo
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WORKING
THE FACING POINTS UPON LINES OF RAILWAY," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Arthur Steward, my executors or ad-
ministrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and scals, 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.

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thercof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
working facing points upon lines of railway.
Facing points are now usually worked by hand levers at a distance
from the points, and the interlocking apparatus for controlling the
signals and the points is applied in immediate connection with the hand
levers. These arrangements afford no sufficient security for the points
being properly set in correspondence with the signals. The flexibility
of the long connecting rods will often permit of the point lever being
forced home to its place when the point rails are jammed in an inter-
mediate and dangerous position.
In place of attaching the point rails to the connecting rods intended
to move them I interpose other apparatus. The apparatus takes its
motion from the connecting rods, and it works the point rails, and
also a tumbler or lever bolt. The first action of the apparatus in
moving in either direction is to lift or remove out of the way the
tumbler or lever bolt; then it moves the point rails and allows the
return of the tumbler or lever bolt. The correct action of the appa-
ratus is not dependent upon the motion of the connecting rods, being
over a certain definite distance, and the connecting rods are relieved
of the duty of holding the point rails in their places. I prefer also
that the interlocking apparatus controlling the signals should be in the
neighbourhood of the point rails with which they are concerned, and
not in the distant cabin containing the lever handles by which the points
and signals are worked.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings here.
unto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan; Figures 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 1, 1,
and 2, 2, in Figure 1 respectively..
a, a, are fixed rails; b, b, the movable point or tongue rails; c is a
fixed guard rail; d is a tie rod connecting the two tongue rails b, b;
it has two horns d', d', upon it; e is a lever with a fixed fulcrum,
at e¹ it is jointed at one end to the rod f, and through this rod it

page_text: receives its motion from the point lever in the cabin at a distance
where the points and the signals are worked. In some cases wires or
chains may be substituted for the rods f; g is an horizontal axis
with an arm upon it passing through a slot in the lever e, so that
when this lever moves the axis g is turned partly round; 9² is another
arm on the axis g; it is intended to act upon the under side of the
tumbler or lever bolt h. This tumbler or bolt is able to move about
a centre at ¹, and it has a projection 2 upon it which acts as a
stop. When the tumbler or lever bolt is down the projection¨hª rests
against the corresponding projection & upon the tie bar d, and prevents
the points opening. When the lever e is moved by the rod f the pro-
jection g² is first brought into contact with the under side of the tumbler
or lever bolt h, and it lifts it, and then the end e² of the lever e comes
against one of the horns d' and shifts the point rails over from one
side to the other, the tumbler or lever bolt then falls back to its
place.
In order to prevent the position of the point rails from being changed
whilst a train is passing over, I employ a treadle rail i with pivots
at i, , by an arm ; it is connected by means of a link k with
the arm on the axis on which also the wedge-shaped block m
is fixed. These parts are also shewn at Figure 4. When the flange
of the wheel acts upon the treadle plate the wedge is thrown up in
front of the tongue rail so that it cannot move. If the tongue rail
were out of place the wedge would force it home till one or other
of the point rails was resting solidly against the neighbouring fixed
rail; n, n, are bell-crank levers connected with signals. When moved
to lower the signals they act on the arm of the treadle rail and
insert the wedge m; o, o, are other levers connected with signals;
they work through notches in the plate p fixed to the tongue rails,
so that these signal levers can only be moved when the points have
been first properly set...
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I
claim,―
The combination with point rails of a tumbler or lever bolt and
apparatus receiving motion through connecting rods or otherwise from
the point lever in such manner that in moving it first lifts the tumbler

page_text: or lever bolt, then moves the point rails and permits the return of the
tumbler or lever bolt, substantially as described.
I also claim the apparatus for facing points upon lines of railway,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Arthur: Steward, have here.
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
JAMES ARTHUR STEWARD. (L.S.)