Improvements in Fish-plates and Chairs for Railway and other Rails.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Sept., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 31st May, 1892-Accepted, 2nd July, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fish-plates and Chairs for Railway and
other Rails.
I, CHARLES BERRY PHILLIPS, of Parkgate Road, Chester, in the County of
Chester, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
:-
My invention relates to fish-plates and chairs for railway and other rails, and is
designed to afford greater strength and stability at the rail-joints.
For this purpose, I employ, in lieu of the two fish-plates generally used, a single
fish-plate forged, drawn, rolled or cast in one piece of metal and of such shape and
size that it will exactly fit the web and lower bull-head of the rails, the under and
outside part of the said fish-plate being (if desired) of such form as to allow of it
having a solid support or bearing, when bedded and fitted into the chair provided
for the purpose, that is to say, my improved fish-plate is channel-shaped so that it
encircles the foot of the rails and extends upward on both sides of the web thereof
to the under side of the head of the rails, and the bottom of the fish-plate may rest
upon the bed of the chair.
The requisite number of holes (usually four) are made in each side of the fish-
plate so that they correspond with those in the opposite side thereof, and so that
they also correspond with the holes in the web of the rails to be joined. The fish-
plate and rails are bolted together and screwed up with bolts, nuts and washers in
the ordinary manner.
The metal chair to fit the improved fish-plates is made somewhat like the other
chairs used for the same set of rails, and is secured to the sleepers in a similar
manner; the improved chairs are, however, so formed that they allow the bottom
of the fish-plate to rest well, and be fairly bedded in them, leaving a space at either
one or both sides for wedging. The upper edges or jaws of the chair should not
project so high as to cause the same, or the wedges driven between them and the
fish-plate, to interfere with the manipulation of the bolts and nuts.
The outer sides of the fish-plates and the jaws of the chair are made of such
shape in transverse section (not necessarily both sides alike) that the fish-plate
which joins the ends of the two rails may be firmly fitted and wedged into the said
chair.
The transverse section of the fish-plate may be varied to suit rails of different
patterns and weights. The inner edges of the ends of the fish-plate may be
chamfered or curved slightly so as to readily permit the insertion of the rail-ends
into the same; and, to allow for contraction and expansion, the holes in both the
fish-plates and rails may be drilled or punched slightly elongated in the direction
of the length of the rail.
The parts of the fish-plate which bear against the web of the rails may be made
with a slightly convex set, so that they will, when the fish-plate is bolted to the
rails and screwed up, act as powerful springs, thereby preventing any tendency of
the nuts to become unscrewed by reason of the great vibration set up when vehicles
or trains pass over the joints. The same object can be attained by having slightly
raised ribs or projections formed on the inner sides of the fish-plates so that they
will come in contact with the upper and lower portions of the web of the rails.
The advantages of my improved fish-plate and chair, when applied to railway-rails
or to rails for street and other tramways, are that great strength is obtained and a
considerably increased support is afforded at the joints, giving the rails a rigidity
throughout, and thus ensuring freedom of the vehicles from the vibration usually
D
073

page_text: caused by the yielding of the rail at the joints with the rails as now generally laid
on cross-sleepers and chairs.
My said invention can be applied to permanent ways on which metal sleepers are
used, and the improved chairs to be employed with these sleepers may be made of
wrought iron or steel and riveted thereon.
Dated this 3rd day of September 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fish-plates and Chairs for Railway and
other Rails.
I, CHARLES BERRY PHILLIPS, of Parkgate Road, Chester, in the County of
Chester, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to fish-plates and chairs for railway and other rails, and is
designed to afford greater strength and stability at the rail-joints.
For this purpose I employ, in lieu of the two fish-plates generally used, a single
fish-plate forged, drawn, rolled or cast in one piece of metal, and of such shape and
size that it will approximately fit the web and lower bull-head or flange of the rails,
allowance being made for any slight inequality in the dimensions of the rails. In
other words, my improved fish-plate is channel-shaped so that it encircles the foot
of the rails and extends upward on both sides of the web thereof to or nearly to the
underside of the top flange of the rails. The bottom of the said fish-plate may,
desired, rest upon the bed of a chair provided for the purpose, the under and outside
part of the said fish-plate, in this case, being preferably of such form as to ensure
its having a solid support or hearing when bedded and fitted into the chair.
if
The requisite number of holes (usually four) are made in each side of the fish-
plate so that they correspond with those in the opposite side thereof, and so that
they also correspond with the holes in the web of the rails to be joined. The fish-
plate and rails are firmly secured together by means of bolts, nuts and washers in
the usual manner.
The improved fish-plate is preferably so made that the parts thereof which bear
against the web of the rails will, when the fish-plate is bolted to the rails and
tightly screwed up, act as powerful springs, thereby preventing any tendency of
the nuts to become unscrewed by reason of the great vibration set up when vehicles
or trains pass over the joints.
In the accompanying drawings, I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a pair of rails united by means of a fish-plate
made according to my said invention and supported in one of my improved chairs,
shewing also an ordinary chair supporting one of the said rails.
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line a, a, Figure 1, drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the rail and a fish-plate constructed to act
as a spring, the said fish-plate being shown in the position it occupies before the
bolts are screwed up.
Figure 4 is a transverse section of the same, shewing the flattening of the sides
of the fish-plate by the screwing up of the bolts.
Figure 5 is a transverse section of another form or modification of my improved
fish-plate and chair applied to a rail, the position of the sides of the fish-plate
before the bolts are screwed up being shown by the full lines and the dotted lines
indicating the position occupied by the sides of the said fish-plate after the bolts
are screwed up.

page_text: Figure 6 is a transverse section of another form or modification of my improved
fish-plate applied to a rail, the chair being omitted.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the rail; B is the fish-plate, which is secured in the chair C by the
wedge D. E, E are the bolts and E', E' the nuts for securing the fish-plate to the
rails. F is the sleeper, to which the chair C is secured by the chair-bolts or spikes G
in the usual manner.
The fish-plate B, as will be seen, encircles the lower flange or foot of the rails
and extends upward on both sides of the web of the rails to or nearly to the under-
side of the head of the rails. Therefore the said fish-plate, when secured to the
rails by tightly screwing up the bolts, will impart great strength and stability to
the rail-joint.
The transverse section of the fish-plate may be varied to suit rails of different
patterns and weights. The inner edges of the ends of the fish-plate may be
chamfered or curved slightly, so as to readily permit the insertion of the rail ends
into the same; and, to allow for contraction and expansion, the holes in either
the fish-plates or the rails may be drilled or punched somewhat larger than the
bolts or elongated in the direction of the length of the rail.
The fish-plates shown in the drawings, are made to fit into the chair C in such a
manner as to permit the insertion of a wedge D between one side of the said fish-
plate and the corresponding jaw of the said chair. If desired, they may be so
formed that a wedge can be inserted at each side of the fish-plate.
The metal chairs to fit the improved fish-plates are made somewhat like the
ordinary chairs used for the same set of rails, and are secured to the sleepers in a
similar manner; the improved chairs are, however, so formed that they allow the
bottom of the fish-plate to rest well, and be fairly bedded in them, leaving a space at
either one or both sides for wedging. The upper edges or jaws of the chair should
not project so high as to cause the same or the wedges driven between them and
the fish-plate, to interfere with the manipulation of the bolts and nuts.
The outer sides of the fish-plates and the jaws of the chair may be made of any
suitable shape in transverse section (not necessarily both sides alike) so that the
fish-plate may be firmly fitted and wedged into the said chair.
To prevent the slackening of the nuts E¹ by vibration, I find it advantageous to
make the parts of the fish-plate which bear against the web of the rails, with a
slightly convex set, as shown in Figures 3, and 6, so that, when the nuts E' are
screwed tightly upon the bolts E, the said parts of the fish-plate will be more or
less flattened and caused to bear firmly against the web of the rails, and will then
act as springs and put a constant tension upon the bolts, so as to effectually prevent
any tendency of the nuts to become unscrewed from the bolts by vibration. Or
I construct the fish-plate in such a manner that, before the nuts are tightly screwed
up, the two parts of the fish-plate will be out of contact with the web of the rails,
as shown by the full lines in Figures 5 and 6, and, by tightly screwing up the said
nuts, the two parts of the fish-plate will be caused to bear firmly against the web
of the rails as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 5.
The same object can be attained by having slightly raised ribs or projections
formed on the inner sides of the fish-plates so that they will come in contact with
the upper and lower portions of the web of the rails.
The advantages of my improved fish-plate and chair, when applied to railway-
rails or to rails for street and other tramways, are that great strength is obtained
and a considerably increased support is afforded at. the joints, giving the rails a
rigidity throughout and thus ensuring freedom of the vehicles from the vibration
usually caused by the yielding of the rails at the joints, with the rails as now
generally laid on cross-sleepers and chairs.
My said invention can be applied to permanent ways on which metal sleepers are
used, and the improved chairs to be employed with these sleepers may be made of
wrought iron or steel and rivetted thereon.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
First. A fish-plate so constructed that it encircles the lower flange or foot of the
rails and extends upward on both sides of the web of the rails to or nearly to the
underside of the head or top flange thereof.
Second. The modification of my invention wherein I construct my fish-plate in
such a manner that the parts thereof which bear against the web of the rails act
as springs, substantially as, and for the purpose, above specified.
Third. The combination of the fish-plate constructed substantially as herein before
described, and the chair adapted to hold and support the same, as, and for the
purpose, above specified.
Dated this 30th der of Me 1800
CHAS. B. PHILLIPS.