Improvements in Apparatus for Working Railway Points and Signals.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1892
Complete Specificati
n Left, 2nd Aug., 1893-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Working Railway Points and
Signals.
I, CHARLES HODGSON, of Canterbury Road, Kilburn, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus for working railway points and signals,
constructed and arranged chiefly with the object of holding the points firmly in
facing position but allowing them to be run through trailing without doing any
damage which cannot readily be repaired.
For this purpose, I provide in the space between the point tongues a three armed
lever, one arm connected by a link to the one tongue, another arm connected by a
link to the other tongue, and the third arm jointed to the rod which extends to the
hand lever for working the points. The two arms first mentioned are not opposite to
one another but are at such an angle that when either of the tongues is home, the
link to that tongue and the lever arm to which it is jointed are in a straight line
with the pivot of the lever, the link being thus on a dead centre, so that the tongue
is firmly held in position as a facing point tongue, while the other tongue being
linked to the arm that is not in what may be termed the dead centre, is held open
from the rail, but can yield to a train trailing through the points, by closing against
the rail and opening the other tongue from the rail.
The third arm of the lever, besides being jointed to the point working rod, is also
linked to one arm of a lever the other arm of which is linked to the ordinary point
locking bar.
By this connection, when the points are moved in either direction the link
connecting the three armed lever to the lever which operates the locking bar moves
as a toggle, causing a to and fro stroke of the latter lever and thus causing the
point locking bar to make a stroke up and down. As it cannot move up while part
of a train is over it, the points are then locked by it in the usual way. When the
point rod is connected to a lever that is simply weighted and not bolted at either
end of its stroke, this lever can yield in case of a train trailing through the points.
But when the point rod is connected to one of a set of interlocked levers or to a
lever having a catch rod which holds it at each end of its stroke, so that the lever
cannot yield in case of a train trailing through the points, I provide that the arm of
the lever to which the point rod is linked shall be free when the lever is held
at either end of its stroke. For this purpose, the catch rod is made with a stud or
projection which, when the rod is raised for the purpose of moving the lever engages
in a notch of the free lever arm and then by the movement of the lever, this
arm is also moved and the three armed lever at the points is moved, moving the
points. But when the catch rod is lowered at either end of the stroke of the lever its
stud or projection is out of the notch, and then the arm is free to yield when
trailing through the points takes place. The arm, when it does so yield, no longer
presents its notch to the stud or projection, and thus the catch rod is prevented
from being raised, the signalman being thus apprised that the points have been
trailed through. In order to prevent separation of the arm from the lever by
vibration I pass through a hole in the lever facing a hole in its arm a fragile pin
strong enough to keep the parts together notwithstanding vibration but so weak that
it breaks when the points are trailed through, after which a fresh pin can be
inserted.
The rod which moves the points passes through a locking box where it is crossed;

page_text: by rods forming parts of the signal pulls, both the point rod and these crossing rods
being suitably notched so that, according as the points are in the one position or
the other, the rods for the signals that should not be lowered are locked, while the
rods of the signals that may properly be lowered are unlocked. Moreover notches
are also provided such that if a signal has been lowered the point rod is locked, but
this locking takes place in a notch made with sloping sides so that in case of a train
trailing through the points, the point rod can move notwithstanding its being
crossed by a signal rod. In thus moving the sloping side of its notch raises
a jointed hooked part of the signal pull and thereby unlocks that part from the pull,
allowing the signal to go to "danger."
Dated this 15th day of November 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Working Railway Points and
Signals.
I, CHARLES HODGSON, of Canterbury Road, Kilburn, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to apparatus for working railway points and signals,
constructed and arranged chiefly with the object of holding the points firmly in
facing position, but allowing them to be run through trailing without doing any
damage that cannot readily be repaired. For this purpose, I
employ the
construction and arrangement of parts illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a plan of part of the railway at a pair of points.
Figures 2 and 3 are sections respectively on X X and Y Y, and
Figure 4 is an elevation of part of a point lever.
Between the tongues T¹ and T of the points I provide at Pa three armed
lever A A A having its arms A' A' which are connected by links B' B'
respectively to the tongues T¹ T at such inclination to each other that when either
tongue is home to the stock rail (as T' is shewn to be) its link B' and arm A' are
in line with the pivot P, being thus as it were in the condition of a dead centre,
holding the tongue T¹ firmly home when a train approaches it facing. When
however a train comes trailing through the points against it, the tongue T is
pushed home, thus causing the lever A' A' A³ to partly turn and withdraw the
tongue T from the stock rail allowing space for the wheel flanges.
The third arm A³ of the lever is freely jointed to the rod R which extends to
the hand lever on the ground or in a signal cabin employed for moving the points.
The arm A is also connected by a link B³ to the short arm of a lever L the long
arm of which is connected by a link to the safety point locking bar S which is
mounted by the side of the rail near the points in the usual way.
When the points
are moved by the pull or push of the rod R the link B³ receives a toggle movement
which causes the lever L to make a to and fro stroke, the safety bar S being thus
caused to rise and descend. Should there be any wheels of a-train over the bar S
preventing it from rising, then the lever L could not be moved, and consequently
the points could not be moved. When a train trails through the points set against
it, the rod R must necessarily move. It can move when it is connected to a lever
which is merely loaded but not held by a catch rod or otherwise at each end of its
stroke. But when the rod R is connected to a lever provided with a catch rod
holding it at each end of its stroke, I make the connection of the rod R to such a
lever in the manner illustrated by Figure 4 which shews part D of a point lever
provided with a spring catch C which, at each end of the stroke of the lever, holds
it by dropping behind the shoulder Q₁or Q of the quadrant. I extend the

page_text: catch rod down and provide on it a projection or stud E which, when the catch C
is up during the travel of the lever D engages in a notch of a segment F moving
the segment and the point rod R which is jointed to it. But, when the lever D is
at either end of its stroke, as it must be when the points are set to the one side or
the other, then the catch rod being lowered to engage C behind Q or Q³, its
projection E is also lowered out of the notch of F, and consequently, as F is free
to move, the rod R can move in case of a train trailing through the contrary points.
I pass a small pin G through coincident holes of the segment and lever, this pin
serving to hold the parts steadily in position when subject to vibration, but being
fragile enough to give way when the points are trailed through. The number of
pins thus broken may form a record of the number of times the points are trailed
through. The points are interlocked with the signals in the manner illustrated in
Figures 1, 2 and 3. The point rod R extends beyond the rail into a locking
box H, in which it takes the form of a deep bar r with a V shaped notch 1 on its
upper edge. The pulls M¹ M³, which extend to the signals, and the corresponding
pulls N' N by which they are moved from the signal cabin or elsewhere, are
connected together by hooks V₁ V* pivotted on N N catching behind studs
projecting up from M M respectively. Each of the hooks V₁ V has a notch on
its underside immediately over the bar r. When the points are in the one position
or the other the notch is under the one or the other of the hooks V1 V2 and then
the signal pull connected to that hook can be moved lowering the signal to
"safety," but the other hook having its notch engaged by the bar cannot be
moved to lower its signal. When one of the signals corresponding to the position
of the points has been lowered, the hook V1 or V2 has been pulled to the right
through the notch r¹ and a part of that hook which is not notched is then engaged
in the notch r¹. If now the points are trailed through, so that they are moved to
a position with which the signal no longer corresponds, then the sloping side of the
notch acts on the hook, throwing it up as indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 2 and so disengaging the hook from the projection of the pull M¹ or M',
whereupon, the pull being left free, the signal is raised to "danger" by its counter-
weight.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In combination with the tongues of a set of railway points, a three armed
lever linked to these tongues, to the point rod and to a lever which is linked to the
point locking safety bar, substantially as described.
2. Connecting the working rod of a set of points to a point lever by means of a
segment having a notch engaged by a projection of the catch rod so that when the
catch rod is down holding the lever at either end of its stroke, the segment and
point rod are free to move in case of a train trailing through the adverse points,
substantially as described.
3. In combination with a set of points and the rod for moving them, arms each
of which is pivotted at one end to one portion of a signal pull and has at its other
end a hook engaging on a projection from another portion of the signal pull, these
hooks crossing the point rod and having notches in their lower edges, and the point
rod having a V notch in its upper edge, so that the point rod and the signal pulls
interlock each other, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of Avoust 1893
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.