US861295A - Safety-block for railway-tracks. - Google Patents

Description

1105861395. PATENTED JU/LY30,1907.

- L. P. LEARMAN.

SAFETY BLQGK FOR RAILWAY TRACKS. urnmluxon IILED MAR.16,-1907.

3 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

7 PATENT EDJULY 30, 1907. L. F. LBARMAN. SAFETY BLOCK FOR RAILWAY TRACKS.

APPLIOA'IIOF FILED 1m. 16, 1-907.

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rus mmms PETERS 50.. WASHINGTON, nv c.

No. 861,295. PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

' L. F. LEARMAN.

SAFETY BLOCK FOR RAILWAY .TRAGKS. APPLICATION FILED MAI-1.16, 1907.

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UNITED STATES LOUIS F. LEARMAN, OF ST. PAUL,

PATENT FIQE.

OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

SAFETY-BLOCK FOR RAILWAY-TRACKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30,1907.

Application filed March 16,1907. Serial No. 362,678.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis F. LEARMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Blocks for Railway-Tracks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in safety blocks for railway tracks, its object being to provide an improved device to be arranged in connection with the railway track at track crossings, frogs, switches and guard rails, for keeping the feet of pedestrians or animals from being caught in the track.

To that end the invention consists in the features of construction hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of crossing tracks fitted with the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the rails at a street crossing embodying a modified form of the invention; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the invention for use in connection with a railway frog; Fig. 1 is a section on line EI2 of Fig. 3', Fig. 5 is a detail view of one end of the device shown in Fig. 3, with the end wall partly broken away; Fig. 6 is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the device shown in Fig. 3 and an adjacent rail; Fig. 8 is a side view of the modified form of construction shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 9 is a section on line yy of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a view of the invention applied to a guard rail; Fig. 11 is a cross section of the two-part construction shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 12 is a detail view showing in perspective a modified hinge construction having a single leaf; and Fig. 13 is a similar view of the same form of hinge applied to a two-part construction.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings is shown a railway frog A of the usual construction in connection with track crossingsB. The improved safety block, as used at the track crossings, comprises a box or casing 2 arranged adjacent to the inner side of one of the rails. It is provided with a cover 3 having along one edge hinge supports 4 upon the side wall of the casing away from the rail on the inner side of which it is arranged. The opposite edge of the cover is free and parallel with the rail. Detachably secured to one of the end walls of the casing by means of the bolt 6 is a clip or stop 5 which extends upwardly and over the adjacent edge of the cover. The cover is held in upsprung position against the stop by means of springs 7 interposed between the cover and the bottom of the casing. Thus the cover will be held normally forced up a slight distance above the walls of the casing. The ends 8 of the free edge of the cover and the adjacent ends of the end-walls (here l shown upright) are downwardly curved in order to avoid a side blow from the flange of the car wheel.

When used at track crossings the casing may be secured in the angle between the rails by means of bolts 9 passing through the hinge wall of the casing and the rail 10 adjacent thereto, as shown in Fig. 7, the casing being supported from the rail by abracket 11. The casing is so positioned that the free edge of its cover will stand along the inner side of the rail.

For use with a frog, where the inner sides of both rails constitute the inner sides of two tracks, a double casing construction such as is shown in Figs. 1 and 11 may be used, the middle wall 12 common to both casings constituting the side wall of each. To this wall are hinged a pair of covers 13.

The modified construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is designed for use in connection with a street crossing or a guard rail. It comprises a plurality of covered sections 14, each section of cover being formed at one end with an upwardly offset lip to overlap the adjacent end of the next cover section. All of the cover sections are held against the upward pressure of the springs by means of a clip or stop 16 carried by the end wall of the first section and extending up and over the adjacent end of the cover as in case of the clip 5 already described. Upon removing the clip all the interlocked cover sections can be lifted to permit access to the interior of the casing.

In Figs. 12 and 13 is shown a modified form of hinge, comprising lips 17 carried by the hinge edge of the cover and adapted to fit into holes 18 in the adjacent side wall of the casing. The lips 17 and holes 18 thus constitute a detachable hinge connection.

In use the cover of each casing will stand normally as shown in Figs. 6 and 4 and form a platform for the feet of pedestrians or animals, preventing them from going down and being accidentally caught between the rails or the rails and crossings. When a car passes over the safety block the free edge of the cover adjacent to the rail will yield to the flange of the wheel, and as soon as the wheel has passed the cover will spring back into its normal position against the stop. It will be observed that the cover overlaps the endwall or walls of the casing so that walls form a stop to prevent the cover from settling down, in case the springs are broken, or displaced, or lose their resiliency, so far as to entrap the feet or permit the entrance of dirt into the casing.

I claim as my invention,

1. The combination, with a railway track, of a box, a hinged cover therefor, means supporting the hinge end of the box from one of the rails, and means normally holding the free end of the cover a slight distance above the end walls of the box.

2. The combination, with a railway track, of a casing arranged adjacent to one of the rails, and a cover hinged at one edge to the side of the casing away from the rail and having its opposite edge free and parallel with the rail.

3. The combination, with a railway track, of a casing arranged adjacent to one of the rails, a cover hinged at one edge to the side of the casing away from the rail and having" its opposite edge free and parallel with said rail, and spring means holding the free edge of the cover normally raised a slight distance above the walls of the casing.

4. The combination, with a railway track, of a safety device arranged in connection therewith comprising a casing, a hinged cover for the casing, means supporting said device withthe free edge of the cover standing parallel LOUIS F. LEARMAN. Witnesses:

ARTHUR P. LOTHROP, HAT'riE SMITH.

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