Improvement in the Sliding Chairs, Connections, and Bearings of Railway Switches.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 29th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 25th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in the Sliding Chairs, Connections, and Bearings of
Railway Switches.
CHARLES HENRY SADLER, Bradford Place, Penarth near Cardiff, Clerk do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
The improvement of railway switches or points in such manner as to prevent
obstruction, to avoid the necessity of cleaning and oiling, to enable the switches to
be worked easier and consequently at a longer distance from the cabin than at
present.
The raised part of the chair on which the tongue slides instead of being placed
at a right angle to the portion under the stock rail is placed diagonally across the
chair or made in the form of a segment of a circle leading either to the right or
left. It is so placed as to be clear of, or by one corner only, to touch the portion
under the stock rail and is sloped on four sides so that when the tongue is worked
over the slide chair, stones or dust instead of being collected against the stock rail
are pushed over the sides of the slide chairs and fall among the ballast thus
avoiding the necessity for cleaning the slide chairs.
The sliding surface may be made level or sloped towards the stock rail. The
portion of the chair supporting the stock rail will be cut diagonally so that at the
point where the sliding portion joins it the latter may be made at a lower level and
afford an opening under the stock rail for debris to be pushed through.
One advantage of sloping the chair surface is that the tongue rail will lean
towards the stock rail consequently it will require little or no planing on the lower
flange, will be stronger and have a better bearing.
To avoid the necessity for lubricating the bearing surface of the chair I arrange
that both tongue rails shall be suspended in one of the following ways:-
I attach one or more sheaves or ball bearings on top or side of the sleeper. On
these a connecting rod, which may be the ordinary goose neck rod, is worked.
This rod may be shaped to suit the chairs. When the surface of the chair is level
the tongue rail would not be raised. When the chair surface is sloping this rod is
slightly bent or gradually thickened between the sheave and the tongue rail so
that when the tongue is worked from the stock rail it is raised and vice versa; or
the arrangement may be reversed, the sheaves being attached to the connecting
rod and iron supports fixed on the sleeper shaped so as to gradually raise the
tongue rail, or the connecting rod may be simply shaped so as to slide over the iron
supports without any sheaves.
Another mode is to suspend the connecting rod and tongue rails by vertical rods
each of which would have one end working as a swivel in a support fixed on the
sleeper or sleepers and the other working as a swivel in the connecting rod below.
These rods, the fcot of which may be curved so as to provide an elastic support
which would yield with the weight of the rolling stock, would be so placed that
when the tongue rail was in position the rod nearest it would be vertical while the
other rod would be drawn into a slanting position and thus raise the opposite
tongue rail.
Whichever mode is used for supporting the tongue rails it is intended that the
tongue rail to be brought into use shall be brought near to but not rest on the slide
chairs until the weight of the rolling stock is added which will depress the tongue
rail in use and tilt up the disused tongue.

page_text: When this weight is removed the tongues will again become suspended and thus
all friction with the slide chair is avoided and the tongue can be moved to and fro
much easier than by the present mode of oiling which to a great extent by admixture
of dust, tends to clog the chair surface.
The tongue rails may be slightly bent up in the middle to assist in keeping them
clear of the slide chairs.
Dated this Twenty-ninth day of May 1895.
Improvement in the Sliding Chairs, Connections, and Bearings of
Railway Switches.
CHARLES HENRY SADLER of Bradford Place, Penarth, near Cardiff, Clerk, 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 :-
The improvement of railway switches or points in such a mauner as to make
them self cleaning and to render lubrication unnecessary.
At present, any debris which may have lodged on the surface of the point chair
is scraped off by labourers and oil placed thereon. This operation which is
usually performed once a day does not afford any security for the proper working
of the points inasmuch as a small amount of sand or other material falling on the
chair at any time thereafter may and frequently does cause obstruction often
resulting in derailment of vehicles. Moreover the oil arrests dust which is blown
along the railway and this assists in clogging the points.
To render the points self-cleaning I make the following arrangements :-
The point chair is formed so that the part which comes in contact with the stock
rail is placed on one side of a line drawn down the centre of the sleeper, and the
part which comes in contact with the tongue on the other side of such line both
parts being joined at one corner and supported by a common base as shewn in
Figs. 1 & 2.
The portion of the chair supporting the stock rail is raised on the outside so as
to cant the stock rails towards each other. By this means the foot of the tongue
rail is not brought close to the foot of the stock rail when the points are closed.
The unoccupied portion of the point chair between the stock rail and tongue rail
I cut away forming a gap Fig. 3. This gap may be increased by supplying a
special section of stock rail or cutting away a portion of the foot of the ordinary
stock rail nearest to the tongue rail. The interference with the stock rail may be
avoided by the use of chairs constructed according to the last variation hereinafter
described Figs. 14 & 15.
When the tongue is moved towards the stock rail debris resting on the chair
instead of being collected against the stock rail is pushed into the gap at the
termination of that portion of the chair on which the tongue slides and falls under
the stock rail thus preventing obstruction and avoiding the necessity of cleaning the
slide chair.
The sliding portion of the chair may be made level or inclined towards the stock
rail.
The chairs may be varied, so that the portion under the stock rail would be
continued diagonally as shewn in Fig. 4 or it may be duplicated as shewn in Fig. 5.
The portion on which the tongue rests, instead of being brought out at a right
angle, may be taken diagonally across the chair, Figs. 6 & 7. It may also be
duplicated Fig. 8. It may be made in two parts as shewn Figs. 14 & 15. Each
part would have a jaw at the back, similar to what is now provided to hold the

page_text: stock rail. The part intended to support the tongue may be extended to cover the
opening between the tongue and the stock rail when the points are open, such
extension going under the stock rail when the points are closed. The extension
would be made of a ridge shape, so that stones or sand falling on it would be
deflected, and fall over the side of the sleeper to right or left.
This ridge piece may form part of the chair supporting the stock rail instead of
the chair supporting the tongue rail, or it may be divided longitudinally, making
one half section form part of the stock rail chair, and the other half section form
part of the tongue rail chair.
When the points are open these two half sections would form a ridge piece same
as when one whole ridge piece was provided. Or the ridge pieces may be omitted
altogether and the chair in each case be cut off flush with the inside of the rail it
supports. Or a chair of the latter class may be placed under the stock rail, and a
tongue rail used of a depth equal to the stock rail and portion of chair under
same-see dotted line, Fig. 14. The chair bed under stock rail would be shaped
diagonally as shewn in Figs. 4 & 4*. The tongue rail would rest on the tie plates
or metal plates in lieu thereof.
The bearing surface of the tongues may be planed, as shewn Fig. 9 so as to cant
them towards the stock rail and thus obtain a wider support for the tongue rail, or
a wider gap for the debris to fall through.
To avoid the necessity of lubrication, I reduce friction between the various parts
by the following arrangement:
I attach plates between two of the sleepers as shewn Fig. 10. On each of these
is placed a sheave Fig. 11. The height of the sheave is made to correspond with
the underside of the ordinary goose neck or other connecting rod. This rod
marked 12 is bent so as to raise the tongue to which it is attached when the tongue
is worked from the stock rail. Similarly the tongue is lowered when it is worked
towards the stock rail.
The sheaves may be placed near the centre of the four-foot, and the rod may be
left straight throughout as shewn Fig. 13.
By this arrangement, the tongues and connections with the exception of that
portion of the tongues resting on the heel chair would normally be suspended clear
of, and above all sliding surfaces, until the tongue next to the stock rail is forced
down by the first pair of wheels passing over them, which operation would tilt up
the other tongue.
Immediately the load has passed, the weight of the disused tongue raises the
other tongue, and thus makes the working of the points still easier than when only
one tongue was raised as shewn by the arrangement, Fig. 12.
The sheaves may be placed on the sleepers, the intention being to place the
sheaves so as to correspond with the rod in whatever position it may be placed for
other purposes. Ball bearings may be substituted instead of sheaves.
The arrangement may be reversed by attaching wheels to the connecting rod
and inclining the plates fixed between the sleepers on which the wheels would
travel so as to raise or lower the tongue rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,-
1. The provision of self-cleaning points.
2. A novel mode of reducing friction by means of wheels or ball bearings fixed
under the tie rod and the adaption of the latter by bending, so as raise the point
tongues or rice versa,-i.e. fixing to the tie rod wheels working on inclined plates.
fixed on or between the sleepers.