US614018A - Railway cattle-guard - Google Patents

Description

No. 6I4,0I8. Patented Nov. 8, I898. C. H. MATHIS.

RAILWAY CATTLE GUARD.

(Application filed May 23, 1898) INVEN 0/? 96.

A YTOHNE Y8.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. MATHIS, OF BOWIE, TEXAS.

RAILWAY CATTLE-G UARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,018, dated November 8, 1898.

Application filed May 23, 1898. Serial No. 681,488. (No model.)

1'0 016 whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. MATHIS,

of Bowie, in the county of Montague and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Railway Cattle-Guard, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a cattle-guard for railways which will be exceedingly simple, durable, and economic, the guard being so constructed that it will be antomatically opened by the action of the wheels of the engine of an advancing train and whereby, furthermore, the guard will close automatically the moment that the train has passed. I

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indi cate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of track and the cattle-guard applied thereto, the guard being closed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a track and a perspective view of the cattle-guard, the cattleguard being shown as opened; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the rails of the track, taken in front of the cattle-guard, the guard being in its closed position.

A represents one rail of a track, Bthe opposite rail, and O the sleepers upon which the rails rest. The cattle-guard consists, primarily, of a gate made in three independent sectionsnamely, a middle section D, adapted to operate parallel with the rails of the track and located between the said rails, and side gates D and D which are placed outside of the rails of the track and operate transversely to the said rails.

A shaft 10 is mounted in suitable bearings 11 between the rails A and B of the track, the shaft being at right angles to the said rails, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and to the said shaft 10 a frame 12 is secured, which frame constitutes a portion of the main section D of the gate. This frame 12 is of sufficient width to extend nearly from rail to rail and is strengthened near its bottom by a crossbar 13, palings 14 being secured to the said cross-bar and made to pass through the upperbar of the said frame.

Anarm 15 is projected downward from the central portion of the shaft 10, and the said arm terminates at its lower end in a crosshead 16, whereby the arm pal-takes of the contour of an inverted T, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 3. In connection with the main or central section D of the guard two tripbars are employed, (designated, respectively, as 17 and 18.) These bars at their inner ends are secured to opposite sides of the main section D of the guard and extend in opposite directions therefrom, one parallel with the rail A and the other parallel with the rail B. Each trip-bar is provided at the inner longitudinal edge of its tread-surface a with a longitudinal flange 19, (shown best near the rail B in Fig. 1.) The trip-bars 1'7 and 18 are in the path of the wheels of an engine approaching the guard from either direction. The farther ends of the trip-bars are carried downward quite close to the sleepers, the ends which are attached to the central section of the-guard being normally at an elevation above the rails. The farther end of each of the trip-bars is pivotally attached to a crank-arm 20 of a rockshaft 21, suitably journaled upon one of the sleepers, and the inner end of each shaft 21 is provided with a handle or a lever 22,which normally extends in a vertical direction, the handles or levers 22 being located about midway between the rails. It will be understood that the trip-bars may be of any desired length.

The side sections D and D? of the guard are of like construction. Each side section consists of a frame 23, carrying palings 24, and each side frame 23 is at a right angle to the rail adjacent to which it is located. Each frame 23 is secured upon a rocking frame 25, the rocking frames being parallel with the rails of the track, the shafts 26 of the rocking frames being secured to convenient sleepers near their outer ends. Springs 27 are coiled around the shafts 26, and one end of each spring is preferably carried beneath a rail, while the other end of the spring has bearing against the upper bar of the rocking frame in which it is located. The springs 27 serve to normally hold the side sections of the cattle-guard in an upright position and in trans verse alinement with the central section D, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. A metal loop 29 is made to connect the lower ends 28 of each rocking frame 25. These loops are horizontal and extend in direction of each other and are connected with the head portion of the arm 15 of the central shaft 10 by means of links 30, as is best shown in Fig. 3.

In operation, the gates of the cattle-guard being in their upright or normal position, when a train approaches the guard the lever 22 in the path of the train will be forced downward and the central section D of the gate will be carried to a horizontal position, falling in direction of the travel of the train flatly between the rails of the track, while the outer sections of the guard will be carried in a transverse direction away from the rails or in opposite directions from the central section, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Before the lever 22 is released the wheels of the engine will have entered upon one of the trip-bars, causing the sections of the guard to remain in their open position, permitting the safe passage of the train, and the gate-sections of the guard will be held open until the Wheels of the last car shall have passed over the tripbar with which they last come into engagement. As soon as the train has passed the springs 26 will act to restore the gate-sections to their normal or upright position, as shown in Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a cattle-guard for railway-tracks, a gate comprising a main section pivoted between the rails of a track, side sections located outside of the rails of the track, the side sections being spring-controlled and connected with the central section, and a trip device arranged to be operated by a passing train, the said trip device being connected with a section of the gate, as set forth.

2. In a cattle-guard for railway-tracks, a central section pivoted between the rails and adapted when open to lie horizontally between the rails parallel therewith, springcontrolled side sections located opposite to the rails and having movement to and from the rails, a connection between the side sections of the gate and the central section, and trip-bars adapted to be operated by the wheels of a passing train, the said trip-bars being attached to the central gate-section, extending in opposite directions therefrom, for the purpose specified.

3. In a cattle-guard for railway-tracks, the combination, with a central gate-section pivoted between the rails of the track and adapted to be dropped horizontally between the rails, side sections located at the outer sides of the rails of the track, the side sections being normally in alinement with the central section of the gate and adapted to move to and from the rails, of spring-controlled rocking frames attached to the side sections, a connection between the rocking frames and the pivot of the central gate-section, and tripbars attached to the sides of the central gatesection, extending parallel with the rails in opposite directions from said central gatesection, as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a cattle-guard for railway-tracks, the combination, with a central gate-section pivoted between the rails of the track and adapted to be dropped horizontally between the said rails, side sections located at the outer sides of the rails of the track, the side sections being normally in alinement with the central section of the gate and adapted to move to and from the said rails, of springcontrolled rocking frames attached to the side sections, a connection between the rocking frames and the pivot of the central gate-section, trip-bars attached to the sides of the central gate-section, extending parallel with the rails in opposite directions from said central gate-section, crank-shafts attached to the farther ends of the trip-bars, and levers attached to the crank-shafts, as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a railway cattle-guard, a gate constructed in three sections, a central section between the tracks adapted to operate in a direction parallel with the rails of a track, and side sections located outside of the rails of the track, the side sections being springcontrolled and arranged to operate in a direction transversely to the rails of the track, a connection between the outer and the central sections of the gate, and trip-bars operating the gate-sections and arranged to be operated by the wheels of a passing train, for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES H. MATIIIS.

Witnesses:

H. T. DOUGLAS, T. E. BovvERs.

ICO

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