A NEW OR IMPROVED SYSTEM OF MOVEABLE SWITCHES, TONGUES, OR RAILS FOR THE CROSSINGS AND INTERSECTIONS OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Denton Abel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th January 1868. A communication from abroad by Jean
Joseph Adolphe Poulet, of No. 45, Rue St. Sebastien, Paris, in
the Empire of France.
-
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED SYSTEM
OF MOVEABLE SWITCHES, TONGUES, OR RAILS FOR THE CROSSINGS AND INTERSECTIONS
OF THE PERMANENT WAY OF RAILWAYS," to be as follows:-
The system heretofore employed of fixed tongues or points and guard
rails for railway crossings have many disadvantages, the tongues
deteriorate rapidly, they are expensive to repair, they cause damage to
the rolling stock, and produce a disagreeable jolting in the carriages.
One part of this Invention has for its object to do away with such
fixed points and guard rails at the first point of intersection of two
converging lines of rails, and consists in substituting therefor a moveable
point or switch arranged in the following manner :-At some distance
to one side of the point at which the inner rails of the two lines would
intersect they are stopped short, and at that point is hinged a moveable
switch composed of two rails, each forming the continuation of one

page_text: of the fixed rails up to the point of intersection. The two rails on the
other side of the point of intersection are also stopped short just before
they actually intersect, and the moveable point of the double switch
which just reaches up to the ends of these rails is capable of moving
from the one rail to the other according as a train requires to travel
along the one or the other of the two lines. The motion of the double
switch may be effected either by hand levers in a similar manner to
ordinary switches, and one and the same lever may be made to operate
simultaneously by rods and bell cranks; both this crossing switch
and the ordinary switch at the point where the two lines converge
into one when this is the case; or the shifting of the switch may be
effected automatically by the wheels of the train by placing alongside
the rails at the inner side thereof levers or pedals either moved sideways
or depressed by the action of the rims of the carriage wheels, the motion
of which levers or pedals is communicated by rods and bell cranks in
the requisite manner to the switch, so as to bring the point thereof
opposite to the right line before the wheels of the train approach that
point. In moving the switch automatically as described it may either
be arranged so as when not acted upon by the wheels of the train to
be kept in position for communication with the principal line of rails
by the action of a weighted lever as in ordinary switches, or it may
be arranged so as to remain in whatever position it is placed by the
passing of a train until it is again moved by the next train. In the
former case the shifting levers or pedals must be made to extend
beyond the point of the switch in order to keep the latter, when shifted,
from moving back again as long as the train is passing over it. In
this case the pedal may conveniently be jointed at one or more points,
and the moving thereof may be assisted by means of an auxilliary short
pedal actuated by the wheels on the other side of the line of rails
and connected to the long pedal by rods and levers.
Another part of the Invention has reference to the middle point of
intersection of a crossing of two lines of rails situated between the first
and last points of intersection. In this case also the actual intersection
of the rails is done away with, for which purpose in one arrangement
the converging rails are stopped short at a certain distance on each
side of where the point of intersection would occur, and switch rails
turning on a point in the middle of their length (which point corresponds
in position with the said point of intersection) are placed between
such ends of the rails, and are so actuated by pedals moved by the

page_text: wheels of passing trains in a similar manner to that described with
reference to the first part of the Invention, that according as the train
is running upon the one line of rails or the other the switch rails are
turned so as to connect the stopped-short ends of that line, and thus
to establish the continuity thereof. The two switch rails, one on each
side of the line, are connected together by rods so as to move simul-
taneously. In this arrangement also, the switch rails may be connected
to weighted levers so as, when not actuated by the pedals, to establish
the continuity of the principal line of rails, or they may be made to
remain in whatever position they are placed by the passing train.
Trigger bolts are by preference provided in the former case actuated
by the train through other pedals for locking the switch rails in the
normal position.
In another arrangement the two pairs of outer rails of the eight
converging rails forming the crossing are made continuous, forming an
angle at the points where the intersections would occur, while the two
pairs of inner rails are stopped short at some distance on each side of
such points and each pair of inner rails is provided with a pair of
switches, the points of which meet at the points where the intersection
would take place. These switches are operated by the passing trains
in precisely the same manner as ordinary self-acting switches; they are
however connected together by means of a double-ended lever turning
on a fixed fulcrum, so that when the one pair is shifted by the passing
train the other pair is simultaneously shifted into a corresponding
position by the said lever. These switches are also by preference
connected to weighted levers so as to remain in position for traffic on
the main line when not otherwise acted upon by trains passing on
the other line.