US2196014A - Railway switch heater - Google Patents

Description

April 1940- H. w. GRIMISON 2,1 6,014

' RAILWAY SWITCH HEATER Filed Dec. 30, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES:

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ATTORNEYS.

April 1940- H. w. GRIMISON 2,196,014

RAILWAY SWITCH HEATER Filed Dec. 50,1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIC EJI- HGIZ:

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. Z, 1949 rear romce RAILWAY swircn HEATER Harry W. Grimison, Trenton, N. J. Application December 30, 1937, Serial No. 182,566

3 Claims.

This invention relates to railway switch heating means, that is to say, to apparatus or equipment-useful in keeping railway track switches clear ofclogging ice and snow for maintenance x in workable condition in winter weather.

The chief aim of my invention is to make it possible to effectively heat railway switches and their actuating rods with assuranceagainst burning of the track ties or charring of the switch insulation.

Another object of my invention is to attain the above advantages with a simple, rugged and inexpensive gas-burning heating means which does not entail the employment of specially designed parts in its construction; which is easily and quickly placed or removed with minimum labor; which does not require attachment of any of its component parts either to the rails or the ties; which has its component parts so located with .relation to the track rails and switch tongues as to be immune against damage by derailed or dragging equipment; and which, moreover is highly economical in the use of the'heating medium. 1

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detaileddescription oi the attached drawings wherein Fig; I shows in plan a railway switch embodying my improved heating means. 7 I.

Fig. II is a view partly in top plan and partly in longitudinal section of one of the heating units of the apparatus, designed for placement in the intervals or cribs between ties, occupied by the switch-actuating rods. I

Fig. III shows the bottom plan of the unit featured in Fig. II. I I I Fig. IV is a detail sectional view taken as indicated by the arrows IV-IV in Fig. I.

Figs. V and VI are views corresponding to Figs. II and, IIIof one of the smaller heating units designed for placement at the other points along the switch at opposite sides'of thetrack.

The' railway switch shown in Fig. I is of well known design and construction having switch tongues S, S associated respectively with the track rails R, R, the actuating rods for the switch being indicated at A, A and the cross connecting rods at C.

The switch heating means with which the present invention is more especially concerned includesa multiplicity of individual. gas burner units of which the long ones, designated 5, are proportionedto extend across the full width of the track in the intervals or cribs between ties T, occupied by the switch actuating rods A, A and the cross connecting rods C with their ends under-reaching the rails .R, R; while the short ones designated 2 are adapted for placement in the intervals or cribs between ties crosswisebeneath the rails R, R and the associated switch tongues S, S at other points along the switch at oppositesides of the track. vThe heater units I and 2 may all be supplied with either natural or artificial gas from a single main; or as herein shown, they may be subdivided into two groups,

the units'of one group supplied from a main 3 atone side of the track by way'of branched.

flexible distribution hoses 4 of rubber or the I I like, and the units of the other group from a main 3a at the opposite side of the track by way of similarly branched flexible distribution hoses 4a. I

The heater units 5 are of identical construction, each being formed as-shown in Figs. II-IV from two tubes 5 and 6, which may be cut from ordinary commercial Cpipe stock, one disposedaxially within the other with a substantial annular clearance between them. At their'opposite' ends the tubes 5 and 6 are permanently secured, as by welding, to standards and 8 fashioned from sheet metal withfbases 9 and i adapted to rest on the track ballast so that said tubes are supported at a slight; elevation above the ballast level. The inner tube 5, which constitutes the burner of the heating unit, is capped at oneend as shown at I i, and at the other end extends through the standard 9 for connection to the gas supply hose 4 or 4aas the case may be. The enclosed portion of the burner tube is provided, see Figs. 31 and IV, with a longitudinally ar-l ranged series of upwardly discharging burner jet apertures l2.

being symmetrically disposed with respect to the vertical longitudinal plane of the tubing and accordingly out of alignment with the jet apertures E2 of the burner pipe 5. The outer pipe 6 thus serves both as a radiator and as a shield to prevent-direct contact of flame either to the ties or to, theinsulation associated withthe actuating rods A, A of the switch, thereby precluding burning of the ties or charring of the switch rodinsulation, and on the other hand, as shields to prevent the jet flames from being blown out under the action of air currents created by passing trains.

The smaller heating units 2, detailed in Figs. V and VI, are similar to the units i, except as to length and as to the number of jet outlets in their inner pipes and the number of slots in their shield tubes. In order to avoid the necessity for repetitive description, corresponding parts of the smaller units 2 are identified with the same reference numerals previously employed. In both the large and small units I and 2, the proportioning of the slots I2 and E3 in the outer tubes 6 is such as to predetermine efficient and complete combustion of the gas discharged from the jet apertures l2 of the inner or burner tubes 5.

Since the heating units l and 2 are connected by flexible hose and arranged to be merely laid on the ballast in the cribs between ties, it will be seen that the entire apparatus can be easily and quickly set up or removed. Obviously this is a decided advantage over the usual forms of heating means where attachment of the component parts to the track rails or to the ties is necessary. Furthermore due to construction and placement of the heating units as herein shown and described, the cribs containing the switch actuating rods, and the portions of the cribs immediately beneath the track rails and the switch tongues at other points are kept clear of snow and ice thereby precluding the necessity for hand removal as heretofore for maintenance of the switches in operable condition.

From the foregoing, it will therefore be apparent that, through my invention, there is now made available a switch heating means which,

notwithstanding its simple and inexpensive construction, is absolutely reliable and highly economical in use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A gas burning railway switch heater including a multiplicity of heater units adapted for placement in the intervals between ties crosswise beneath the rails and switch tongues respectively at opposite sides of the track, each such unit comprising a pair of co-extensive tubes, one disposed substantially axially within the other, the inner tube having a longitudinal line of upwardly discharging burner jet apertures centrally of its top for fuel gas and the outer tube having a longitudinal air inlet slot centrally of its bottom and circumferentially-spaced laterally discharging longitudinal slots in its top for escape of the hot products of combustion; and a gas main with flexible branches by way of which the gas is supplied to the inner or burner tubes of the individual heater units.

2. A gas burning railway switch heater including a multiplicity of heater units of different sizes, the smaller ones being adapted for placement in the intervals between ties crosswise beneath the respective rails and corresponding switch tongues at opposite sides of the track, and the larger ones being of a length to extend crosswise of the track beneath both rails and switch tongues for placement in the cribs between ties adjacent the actuating rods of the switch, each such heater unit comprising a pair of coextensive tubes, one disposed substantially axially within the other, the inner tube having a longitudinal series of upwardly discharging jet apertures centrally of its top for fuel gas and the outer tube having a bottom air inlet and laterallydischarging longitudinal top outlet slots for escape of the hot products of combustion to the switch rods; and a gas main with flexible branches through which the gas is supplied to the inner or burner tubes of the individual heater units.

3. A gas-burning railway switch heater unit comprising pair of tubes, one disposed substantially axially within the other, the inner tube having a longitudinal line of upwardly-discharging burner jet apertures centrally of its top for fuel gas; and the outer tube having a longitudinal air inlet slot centrally of its bottom and circumferentially spaced laterally-discharging longitudinal slots in its top for escape of the products of combustion; means whereby the tubes are connected together in the relation aforesaid and supported at an elevation to permit the air to enter the bottom slot in the outer tube; and means for conducting the gas to the inner tube of the unit.

HARRY W. GRIM'ISON.

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