Improvements in Railway Switches.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 20th Sept., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Switches.
I SIMSON JACOB NAUMBURG of 99 North 7th Street in the City of Newark, County
of Essex and State of New Jersey U.S.A. my Post Office address being 158 Sussex
Avenue in said Newark and my occupation a Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY SWITCHES" and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to certain improvements in automatic railway switches and
its object is to secure a more perfect and certain automatic action of the switch under
the influence of the wheels of the locomotive, and to prevent partial inefficiency
because of lost motion, and it consists in the arrangements and combinations of
parts substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embodied in the
claims.
Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in each of the several figures,
Figure 1 is a plan of the improved switch :
Figure 2 is a section through line x of Figure 1:
Figure 3 is a section taken on line y of Figure 1:
Figure 4 is a section through line of Figure 1:
z
Figure 5 is a detail plan of a chair on which the movable switch operating rail or
lever is seated and
Fig. 6 is a section on ¹ Figure 5.
-
i
In said drawings a, a, indicate the main line rails; b, b, the sliding rails, and
c, c, the switch rails, adapted to turn from the main rails to or into coincidence with
the guiding rails, or vice versa, as will be understood; d, d, are suitable ties or
sleepers upon which the rails are secured, and e, is a pivotal frame or lever, lying
between the rails b, a, b, a, so as to engage the flange of the locomotive wheel as it
passes over the main or siding rails toward the switch rails, and turn said frame or
lever pivotally.
8
The said frame is seated at its pivotal end on a chair or plate f, having lips ƒ¹,ƒ³,
which are turned as indicated in Figure 6, so as to overlie and hold the flange of the
rail in place on the seat.
One of said lips is removable and is held to the chair or plate by pins or bolts f³.
By making said lips removable, the pivotal frame or lever may be readily taken from
its operative position for repair or other purposes.
To prevent lateral movement between said ears I provide a pivotal pin f* which is
received into the chair from the underside the head of the same lying against the
upper side of the tie so that said pin under the action of the frame or lever e cannot
work out of the said plate.
At the opposite end of the frame or lever, toward the switch rails, the ends are bent
together and united either integrally or by a coupling piece 9, and do not lie apart.
By this construction greater solidity is given to the frame and less chance for
vibration which tends to improperly affect the connecting bars and levers. The sides
of the frame are braced by bars h, h, having at their opposite ends, cross heads
forming T-shaped extremities. These in connection with the joined or united
ends secure added rigidity so that said frame moved under the influence of the whole
with great certainty of action.
The frame is connected by a bar i, passing beneath the rails a b, a b with a longi-
tudinal slotted bar j held down upon the long tie or sleeper by straps k k and is lifted
slightly from the surface of said long sleeper or tie by plates 11 as indicated in
Figures 1 and 4. The bar jis bent towards its opposite end as at i¹ in Figure 1

page_text: 4
and the slot in its body or central part, is disposed or formed at an angle to the
direction of movement of said bar the opposite ends of said slot however being turned
as at to lic parallel with said direction of movement.
It is to be understood that the lever e operates the rod i only a sufficient distance
to ensure the pin o traversing about half the length of the slot 3. When the said
slot is worn at one end it may be reversed and the opposite end of the slot used.
Upon the adjacent tie is fulcrumed a bell crank or lever m, which connects with
the slotted bar by means of the rod n. Said rod is strapped down to the tie and is
provided with a pin o, which latter is preferably provided with an antifriction roller
or sleeve.g. Said pin lies in the slot of the bar j, and when the latter is moved under
the influence of the pivotal frame, and the pin enters the inclined portion of the slot,
the connecting rod n is moved in a direction parallel with rails a, a, and. the bell crank
turned on its fulcrum.
The arm m of the lever or crank m connects, through the medium of the rod Pr
with a rod g, to which the switch rails c, c, are secured.
By means of the system of rods and levers described, the turning of the frame in
one direction causes the switch to move in the same direction.
Thus a train in passing over the siding toward the switch, should the latter be open
as indicated in Figure 1, the wheel of the locomotive will strike the pivotal frame and
cause the same to turn laterally and move the system of mechanism, intervening
between it and the switch rails to the siding rails so that the railway train can pass
thereover without accident.
:
The rod g is held to the switch rails by lips r,, which may be integrally formed in
connection with the rod as shown.
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-improved switch, combining therein, the main line rails a, a; siding
rails b, b; switch rails c, c; pivotal frame e; bar i slotted barj; connecting rod u;
bell crank m; connecting rod p; and rod q; all said parts being arranged and
combined substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The improved switch, combining therein, the rails a, a, b, b, c, c, the sleepers d,
d, d, the chair providing a bearing for a frame e; said frame e, arranged
between the rails b, a, and b, a, and adapted the engage the flanges of the car or
locomotive wheels; a sliding rod j held upon the sleeper d, and adapted to move
longitudinally thereon, said rod being provided with a slot disposed parallel with the
line of movement of the said rod at, is, and at an angle to said slotted rod or bar
to the frame e, a bell crank m, connected to the sliding bar, j, by a link provided
with a pin o; rails to operate the same, all substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
3. In an automatic switch substantially such as described, a frame, e, pivoted upon
a chair and having its ends united and the sides braced by the bars having
T heads, and a system of rods or bars and levers connecting said frame with the
switch rails, said parts being arranged and combined with the main line and siding
rails, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 7th day of March 1890.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.