IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY RAIL-JOINTS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Henry Gibbon at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th July 1883.
THOMAS HENRY GIBBON, of the City and County of Albany, in the State of
New York, United States of America, "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAILWAY RAIL-JOINTS"
My invention relates to the means for connecting together the adjoining ends of
railway rails whereby the joints between the said ends are covered so as to
produce, in effect, an unbroken line on the head of the rail, and the two adjoining
ends will be held inflexibly; The object of my said invention is to dispense with
the fish plates which are now commonly used for forming a joint between the
adjoining ends of rails, and by dispensing with the said fish plates which require
bolts or rivets for securing them in place, to avoid the necessity, of weakening the
rails by forming bolt-holes through the ends thereof. Rails and especially the
class known as "steel rails," are liable to become fractured near the ends; and the
line of such fracture is commonly found to lead through one of the bolt-holes
through which the bolts pass which are employed to secure the fish-plates in place.
According to my invention this defect is entirely remedied.
In carrying the said invention into practice I cut away the head at each end of
every length of rail (which may be of any suitable form) to a distance equal to
half the length of the head of the connecting device, and such depth as will
leave, at the upper edge of the web a uniform thickness of the metal of the said
web.
The connecting device is preferably of cast steel being provided with a head
which conforms to the shape of the head of the rails, and from which depend two
side plates between which a longitudinal groove is formed to fit upon the web of
the rails; the said side-plates extend outwardly to form flanges which are adapted
to fit the bottom flanges on the rails. The said connecting device is provided with
lateral lugs which are made flush with the under face of the rails, and are provided
with holes for containing spikes, or other appliances, for securing the device to
the cross-ties of the tracks. On each side on the lower part of the flanges a
pendant loop is formed for receiving a transverse key, in such manner, that, when
the said key is driven home the ends of the rails and the connecting device will
be firmly bound together; the said key is provided at its thickest end, with
[Price 211

page_text: projections which retain the key from sliding out in one direction, and at the
-opposite end with a hole for receiving a retaining pin which will prevent the said
key from slipping out in the opposite direction
When the connecting device is constructed for connecting the rail-ends where the
joint comes between two cross-ties for the track, the pendant-loops will be between
the two cross-ties, and the fastening spikes, through the lugs at the opposite ends
of the device, will be driven into the different ties; but, when preferred, the said
fastening device can be adapted for use where the joint of. the rails comes directly
over a cross-tie, and for such purpose the said lugs may be dispensed with, the
device will then be secured in place by means of a spike driven through holes in
the transverse key, which holes must be made therein for that purpose. In laying
the rails the usual space must be left between the different lengths to allow for the
endwise expansion of the rails when exposed to the heat of the sun; but it will
readily be seen that this space will be divided, a moiety coming at each end of the
lug of the connecting device, so that the jar commonly felt in passing over the
gaps at the joints of the rails is scarcely perceptible
When preferred an elastic packing may be interposed in the. longitudinal joint,
between the head and the upper edge of the web so as to cushion the rails at
those points.