The Invention of the Track Circuit: The history of Dr. William Robinson's invention of the track circuit, the fundamental unit which made possible our present automatic block signaling and interlocking systemsAmerican Railway Association
History
The Invention of the Track Circuit: The history of Dr. William Robinson's invention of the track circuit, the fundamental unit which made possible our present automatic block signaling and interlocking systems
Another installation was immediately ordered to be made at Irvineton
on the same road. This was completed early in 1873 and worked
perfectly from the beginning, performing all the functions described
in connection with the installation at Kinzua. The locomotive
engineers were greatly interested and soon christened the Irvineton
signal "The Old Reliable." This was followed by other installations on
this road and in 1873 Mr. Robinson had made installations of his
closed rail circuit system of signaling on four different railroads,
followed by various installations on many other railroads in the
following years, as he was the sole owner of the system for about nine
years, that is, until about 1880 or 1881, when the Westinghouse people
obtained control of the system by the purchase of Robinson's
interests. This was promptly followed by a reorganization under the
name of the Union Switch and Signal Company, the terms "Union" and
"Signal" representing the Robinson interests in the reorganization.
This company thus became the sole owner of the Robinson Closed Circuit
System of signaling until the expiration of his patents, when all
other signal companies adopted the Robinson system as the basis of
their signal work.
The original name of the Robinson Company was _The Union Electric
Signal Company_, which Robinson organized and owned in 1878. In the
reorganization the word "Electric" was canceled from this title and
the words "Switch and" substituted, thus forming the present title:
"_The Union Switch and Signal Company_."
Rail Bonding
Experience at Kinzua with a very poor track demonstrated the necessity
of a rail bond to secure reliable electrical continuity throughout the
rails constituting the block. Here, in 1872, Mr. Robinson conceived
the invention of the bond wire as used today.
In an effort, however, to avoid the handicap of having to bore two
holes in every rail of long sections of track, he equipped a signal
section in 1873 with elastic steel plates bearing on the adjacent
rails at the joints. This did not prove as satisfactory, however, as
the bond wire. He therefore used bond wires made after his original
conception, on every installation he made after 1873.
He made his bond wire in two forms. In the second form he made studs
slightly tapering, bored holes through them, inserted the ends of the
wire in these holes, brazed them together and drove these studs
securely into holes bored in the adjacent rails. An examination of
these bonds after several years' service showed that they were
apparently in as good condition mechanically and electrically as when
first put in place.
The Rail Bond is now an essential basic feature of practically every
one of the electric railway systems now in operation, since they all
use the track for a return, and the track rails must be securely
bonded in order to insure indispensable electrical continuity of the
circuit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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