US1195700A - wlacallister - Google Patents

Description

T. C. MACALLISTER.

STREET RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.20, 1914.

1,1 95,700. Patented Aug. 22,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEE T 1.

ammo o T. c. MAcALLI STER. STREET RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLICATION HLED AUG.20, 1914. 1,1 95,700., Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THOMAS o. MAeALLIs'rnR, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

STREET-RAILWAY GROSSIN G.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, rate.

Application filed August 20, 1914. Serial No. 857,787.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. MAoAL- LISTER, a citizen of the United States, resid-, ing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Railway Crossings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in street railway crossings and has for its primary object to provide auxiliary conductor rails from which power may be obtained by an auxiliary shoe carried by a car to assist the same in traveling over a crossing.

The invention has for another object to provide a form and arrangement of auxiliary conductor rails and an auxiliary shoe which may be employed in connection with the form of conductor rails and shoes now in general use.

The invention has for a further object to generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character and increase the efficiency thereof with out materially increasing the cost of, the same.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the auxiliary conductor rail employed at a crossing, showing the position of said auxiliary conductor rail with respect to the main conductor rails and the rails for the car wheels, Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical transverse section taken at the crossing with a car in position over the same to show the auxiliary shoe engaged with one of the auxiliary rails, and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and at right angles to the same with the car and parts carried thereby shown in full lines over the auxiliary conductor rails while the car and parts carried thereby are indicated by dotted lines in position just beyond the auxiliary conductor rails.

Referring more particularly to the drawlngs, 1n which similar reference characters des gnate corresponding parts throughout the several views, designates the feed wire wh1ch extends along the lower portion of the conduit 2 and is connected at intervals to one of the main conductor rails 3 which are spaced from one another in the conduit 2 and adapted to be engaged by the ordinary shoe 4 depending through the central slot 5 of the track 6 and carried by a car 7, said shoe 4 belng connected with the motor 8 and rheostat or controller 9 of the car 7 in the usual manner. One of the conductor rails is posit ve and the other conductor rail 3 is negatlve and the current passes from the positive conductor rail 3 through the mechanism of the car and back to thenegative rail 3 in the usual manner when the shoe is in contact with the said conductor rail 3.

It is a well known fact that in the system .of underground conductor rails, the rails have to be cut away at the street crossings and it frequently occurs that the motor-man makes amiscalculation or is compelled to apply the brakes and thereby cut down the speed of the car when passing over a crossing and thereby permits the car to stop between the sections of the conductor rails. It then becomes necessary for the carmen to connect the stalled car with another car upon the same track or an adjacent track, and pull the stalled car in one direction until the shoe 4 thereof is again between the main conductor rails 3.

In order to prevent the cars from becoming stalled at the crossing as above described, I provide an auxiliary shoe 12 which may be readily secured to the ordinary form of plow 4 now in general use to depend from the same and slide upon an auxiliary con ductor rail 13 provided in the bottom of the conduit 2 beneath the slot 5 at each crossing, the opposite ends of the auxiliary conductor rails 13 being beveled on their upper faces, as indicated at 14 to permit the auxiliary shoe 12 to readily engage said auxiliary rail 13 as the plow 4 leaves the end of the main conductor rail sections 3 immediately above the same, and also permit the shoe 12 to slide off of the auxiliary conductor rail 13 as the plow 4 engages the next section 3 of the main conductor rail. It will be understood that the positive wire or positive third rail is connected with the auxiliary rails to form a live crossing for supplying cars, traveling in either direction with the current to pass over the crossing, the current being received by the cars through their auxiliary shoes and conveyed by the same to the mechanism of the cars, the return of the current of the auxiliary rail being through the car wheels and the street car rails when the car is traveling over thecrossing and the shoe 4 is out of contact with the conductor rails 3. The auxiliary rails by being flat at their treads and having the latter arranged in the same horizontal plane will permit the auxiliary shoes of the cars traveling in .either direction to pass over them without obstruction and the current from any portion of the live crossing will pass upward through the auxiliary shoes through suitable electrical connections carried by the plow and connected with the motor and controller or rheostat. This construction will enable the main third rails to be arranged any desired distance apart at the crossing and the cars will be supplied with the current and there will be no liability of the cars being stalled at the cross ing. Also it will be clear that as the auxiliary rails of the crossing are connected only with the positive third rail there will be no liability of short circuiting the cars at the crossing when the shoe l is out of contact with the conductor rails.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and illustrated, it will be understood that minor changes in the details of construction combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the Oopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

invention as claimed or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

What is claimed is l. A device of the character described comprising the combination with a main shoe and auxiliary shoe of a car; of main conductor rails having their ends spaced apart; of auxiliary conductor rails beneath the main conductor rails, and between the spaced ends thereof, to receive the auxiliary shoe as the main shoe passes from one main conductor rail to the adjacent main conductor rail, and means for conducting an electrio current to the'said main and auxiliary conductor rails.

2. A device of the character described comprising the combination with the main shoe and an auxiliary shoe depending from the same; of main conductor rails formed in sections and arranged in pairs, the sections of the main conductor rails being spaced apart, auxiliary conductor rails between the sections of the main conductor rails and in a plane lower than the plane of said main conductor rails, a feed wire, connections between the feed wire and the sections of the main conductor rails, and connections between the feed wire and the auxiliary conductor rails.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS C. MAGALLISTER.

Witnesses:

JOHN B. MAGALLIsTER, F. IRVING HOLMES.

Washington, D. G.

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