224 REPORT—1874. 
thoroughly mastered. Specialists are of two kinds, exciting respectively our aver- 
sion and our admiration. The first kind were like sellers of omnipotent medicines ; 
they may possibly have an intimate acquaintance with the special articles they sell, 
but would be utterly helpless if called upon to deal with new conditions. The 
second kind he typified by Smeaton’s Eddystone Lighthouse, which has with- 
stood the fierce attacks of Atlantic storms for more than a century. Two 
previous ones failed because imperfectly constructed; but this one endures, 
because the lower one searches among the courses of masonry of which it is com- 
posed, the more solid one finds them, and the more extended in area, until they 
finally terminate in the granite blocks which are dovetailed into the solid rock. 
Luke’s Patent Safety Facing-point Lock for Securing Railway Facing-points. 
By KR. Luxe, of the Great Western Railway. 
{Communicated by W. Smith, C.E., London.] 
This invention consists in forming the extreme points of the switch-rails with a 
bevel projection thereon, which bevel projection may either be forged on or it may 
be fixed thereto by bolting, riveting, or otherwise. This projection is bevelled to 
an angle of 45 degrees, and the inner face of each switch-point is similarly provided, 
but the bevel on the one is right-handed and that on the other is left-handed. The 
points are connected together by a rod or rods, and they move in the are of a circle 
in the usual way. The bevelled pieces on the points each project to an extent suffi- 
ciently wide to receive a correspondingly bevelled projection or the bevelled end of 
a longitudinally sliding-bar, which may be of sufficient length to receive at least two 
pairs of carriage-wheels; and these bars may work or slide longitudinally by the side 
of the inner faces of each permanent rail, or partly by the side of and partly under 
each rail, as will be further described. There are two such bars, each so formed or 
fitted with a bevelled end to correspond with and overlap the bevel projection on 
each point or movable tongue of the switch-rail. 
These two longitudinal bars are connected together and moved simultaneously in 
opposite directions by the interposition of either bell-cranks and connecting-rods, or 
a vibrating lever mounted centrally upon a bearing between the rails for simulta- 
neously moving the two bars. This vibrating lever may, in turn, be connnected 
with the points through bell-cranks and rods. 
Knowing by practical experience that a single bar, when placed before facing- 
points, and upon which the flange of the wheel would have to run (or over which 
it would roll), would be subject to the kicking action of the driving-wheel of the 
engine, and such action would tend to withdraw the bevelled end of the bars from 
contact with the bevelled piece on the switch, the author accordingly provided a 
very simple means of overcoming that difficulty, which, though more ideal than real, 
presented itself as one of the objections which was likely to be raised by those over- 
refined and hypercritical critics who are far more ready at discovering objections 
to any plan proposed by others than in suggesting remedies. The author there- 
fore provides two bars and connects them together; and it will be seen that, as 
they work in opposite directions, being connected together, whatever kicking is 
done to the one bar is counter-kicked and counteracted by the action on the other 
bar, so that the kicking, being self-neutralized, has no unlocking effect, and so leaves 
the locking of the points as effective as is provided and arranged for mechanically 
by the arrangement and disposition of the moving parts. But this kicking or creep- 
ing action only applies in the case where the rotating surface of the wheel (whether 
it be of the tread or the flange of the wheel) comes in contact with or rolls upon 
the longitudinal bar or longitudinally moving portion of the permanent rail; but it 
does not a¢ all apply to those arrangements wherein the weight of the train is sup- 
ported on the ordinary rail which has no longitudinal motion, and the rail in turn 
acts by pressure upon, and holds securely, a longitudinally sliding-piece or portion 
of the longitudinally sliding-bar that is beneath the foot or bottom of the rail, and 
which is only free to be moved or slid when there is no load or pressure on the 
permanent rail, 
ee 
