An Improvement in Locking Apparatus for Railway Points and Signals.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 31st Oct., 1887
Complete Accepted, 2nd Dec., 1887
An Improvement in Locking Apparatus for Railway Points and
Signals.
We JOHN SAXBY, JOHN STINSON FARMER and PETER BLACK all of Canterbury
Road, Kilburn in the County of Middlesex, Engineers do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows :-
The movement of the Points at a railway junction is usually controlled by a bolting
apparatus acting in conjunction with a safety bar extending some distance along the
line, in such manner that, as the bar cannot move while a train or part of a train is
over it, the bolt of the points cannot be withdrawn and the points cannot be shifted.
Sometimes also the points themselves are shifted and signals are controlled by the
same or similar apparatus. As in these cases the bar is moved simultaneously with
the bolt, either by connecting the bolt and the bar to the same set of rods and levers,
or by applying the rods and levers to work the bolt and using the movement
of the bolt to work the bar, it may happen that the connection of the bolt
to the bar may give way and that the bolt can then be worked without the
control of the bar. This invention has for its object to provide against.
accident from this cause, and it consists in making a connection from the
working rods and levers to the safety bar, and a connection from the safety bar to the
bolt or to the points, in such a manner that the bar is worked and its movement works
the bolt or the points which cannot then be worked independently. Thus if the con-
nection to the safety bar or from the bar to the bolt should give way, the worst that
can happen is that the points and signals cannot be unbolted or moved until the
damage is repaired.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Locking Apparatus for Railway Points and
Signals.
We, JOHN SAXBY, JOHN STINSON FARMER, and PETER BLACK, all of Canterbury
Road, Kilburn, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, 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 movement of the points at a railway junction is usually controlled by a bolting!
apparatus acting in conjunction with a safety bar extending some distance along the
line, in such manner that, as the bar cannot move while a train or part of a train is
over it, the bolt of the points cannot be withdrawn and the points cannot be shifted.
Sometimes, also, the points themselves are shifted and signals are controlled by the
same or similar apparatus. As in these cases the bar is moved simultaneously with
the bolt, either by connecting the bolt and the bar to the same set of rods and levers,
or by applying the rods and levers to work the bolt and using the movement of the
bolt to work the bar; it may happen that the connection of the bolt to the bar may
give way and that the bolt can then be worked without the control of the bar.
This invention has for its object to provide against accident from this cause, and it
consists in making a connection from the working rods and levers to the safety bar,
and a connection from the safety bar to the bolt or to the points, in such a manner
that the bar is worked and its movement works the bolt or the points which cannot
then be worked independently. Thus if the connection to the safety bar or from the
bar to the bolt should give way, the worst that can happen is that the points and
signals cannot be unbolted or moved until the damage is repaired.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a plan of part of a railway near a pair of
points. Fig. 2 is a section of the sleeper carrying the levers. RR are the fixed
rails and PP the point rails which, as usual, are shifted by the rod K and are connected
together by the cross bar C, which receives the sliding bolt L whereby the points are
locked.
A is the rod which, as usually arranged, works a single lever that moves both the
bolt L and the safety bar B to both of which this lever is linked; and consequently
if either of these connections gives way the danger is incurred that the safety bar B
ceases to control the bolt L. Instead of this, we connect the rod A by a bell crank.
lever D and link E to the safety bar B and we connect the safety bar B by a link F,
lever G and link H to the bolt L.
Thus, if the link E should give way, the bar B could not be moved, or if F or H
should give way, the movement of the bar B could not be communicated to the bolt L,
which, in any of these events happening, would not be withdrawn and therefore the
points P would remain locked.
Obviously the forms and arrangement of the connecting parts D, E, F, G, and H,
may be varied to suit the relative positions of the actuating rod the safety har and

page_text: the point lock, care in all cases being taken so to arrange them that the actuating rod
works the safety bar, and the safety bar works the point lock, so as to avoid the risk
attending the usual mode of connecting both the safety bar and the point lock to
the one actuating rod.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is
For working a safety bar and a point lock at a set of railway points, connecting the
actuating rod to the safety bar, and the safety bar by an independent connection to the
point lock, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.