IMPROVE- MENTS IN RAILWAY FISH PLATE JOINTS
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RAILWAY FISH PLATE JOINTS" (a communication to me from abroad by
Thomas Alfred Davies of the City County and State of New York United States
of America Gentleman,) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to construct railroad rail joints in such a manner
that they will give and take under all forces that may be applied to them, will be
as strong as any portion of the rails, and will continue so during the life of the
rails.
The invention consists in a fish plate of novel construction and self adjusting at
all times to three bearings, one against the web, one against the head, and one
against the base flange of the rail; in a powerful spring washer placed outside the
fish plate, and between it and the heads or nuts of the bolts, to feed the fish plate
up to its bearings, and take up any insensible wear or looseness, so as to always
maintain the before mentioned three bearings; and in the combination of the said
fish plate and spring washer with the rails and the bolts and nuts, as will be
hereinafter fully described and then claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the figures.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the adjacent ends of two railroad rails, to which
the improvement has been applied, two of the bolts being shown in section-
Figure 2 is a sectional plan view of the same, two of the bolts being shown with
their nuts screwed home and the other two being shown without nuts-Figure 3 is
a sectional end elevation of the same Figure 4 is the same view as figure 1, but
showing a different form of spring washer. Figure 5 is a sectional plan view of
the same, two of the bolts being shown with their nuts screwed home, and the
other two being shown without nuts,

page_text: ?
A. B. represent the adjacent rails of a railroad track forming a joint, C are the
fish plates, the side edges of which are beveled to fit against the beveled lower sides
of the heads, and the beveled upper sides of the base flanges of the rails A. B.
The fish plates C, are made of such a breadth that their side edges will come to
their seats against the heads and the base flanges of the rails, before the inner sides
of the said fish plates come in contact with the webs of the said rails.
Upon the inner sides of the fish plates C near their upper edges are formed
flanges D which rest against the webs of the rails A. B, as shown in figure 3.
In applying the improved fish plates to the rails, the upper edges of the fish
plates C are placed against the lower sides of the heads of the rails A. B, with the
flanges D resting against the webs of the rails, and the lower parts of the fish
plates are then forced inward to their seats upon the base flanges of the rails, so
that the said fish plates will always have three substantial bearings upon the rails,
the first and second against the heads and base flanges of the rails to hold the said
rails rigidly in a horizontal line, and the third against the webs of the rails to hold
the said rails rigidly from lateral movement.
The fish plates C. D are secured in place by the ordinary bolts and nuts E. F and
the angular spring washers G.
The spring washers G are made of bars of flat steel of suitable length, breadth
and thickness, are bent at an angle H in their middle parts and have slots or
elongated openings I in their ends to receive the bolts E by which they are held in
place, so that their said ends can have a longitudinal movement upon the said
bolts, as the said spring washers are drawn into place and tend to recover their
normal shape.
The arms of the spring washers can be made straight, as shown in the right hand
part of figure 2, and this form is preferred as giving the best results.
Or the arms of the spring washers can be arched or curved in the opposite
direction from the bend of the angle H, but should never be curved in the same
direction as the said angle, as such a shape would make the said washers less
effective.
The distance between the ends of the washers G is so short that the maximum
amount of metal must be used to get the necessary strength, and the form of the
washers must be such that all the elasticity of the metal will be retained and
utilized.
The spring washers G are placed with their angles as fulcrums against the fish
plates or other objects to be held, and their ends are forced down against the said
objects by screwing the nuts F upon the bolts E.
By this operation, the arms of the spring washers G, will not lie flat against the
said objects, but will have a curve in the opposite direction from the bend of the
angle H, as shown in the left hand part of figure 2.
By this construction, the fibres of the metal will not be upset or displaced to such
an extent as to injure or destroy the elasticity or life of the metal, but the said
elasticity will retain its full power..
By forming the angle or fulcrum H at one side of the centres of the washers G,
so as to make the arms of the said washers of unequal length, heavier metal can be
used and a longer and stronger spring will be obtained, the longer arm of the
washer acting as a spring, and the shorter arm acting as a lever.
With this construction, the tendency of the spring washers will always be to feed
-the fish plates to their bearings, so that any wear that may occur will be at once
taken up, and the joints kept rigid.
The nuts F are locked in place when screwed home, by breaking down the
threads of the bolts and nuts, or either of them, at the outer sides of the said nuts,
as indicated at the point J, in figure 3, so that it will be impossible for the said
nuts to work loose.
The form of spring washer herein before described, is the best that can be used,
when the bolt holes in the webs and fish plates are five and a half inches or more

page_text: apart, but when the said bolt holes are at a less distance from each other, the
metallic spring washer K figure 4 can be used.
The washers K are made in the form of sections of a hollow cylinder, have a hole
through their centres to receive the bolts E, and may be of any suitable shape, but
I prefer to make them square.
The washers K are made with the greatest thickness of metal opposite the bolt
holes and in the line of the length of the cylinder of which the said washers form a
part, and diminish gradually in thickness towards the bearing edges, whereby a
uniform elasticity will be given to all parts of the said washers.
With this construction, a separate washer is used for each bolt E, and the nut F
of the said bolt is screwed up until a pressure is obtained sufficient to straigthen
the said washer against the outer side of the fish plate C. The thread of the bolt
or nut is then broken down as hereinbefore described, to prevent the nut from
working loose.
'
By this improvement, any wear of the parts of the joints from use or expansion,
or contraction from heat or cold, will be taken up by the elasticity of the spring
washers, and the joints will be held firm and rigid during the life of the rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A fish plate C made substantially as herein shown and described, with a
flange D upon its inner side near its upper edge, whereby the said fish plate will
always adjust itself to three distinct bearings, as set forth.
2. The combination with the rails A. B. and the fish plates C fitting between the
heads and base flanges of the rails, and having flanges D along their inner sides,
near their upper edges, resting against the webs of the rails, of the angular spring
washer G and the bolts and nuts E. F. substantially as herein shown and described,
whereby the ends of the rails will be held rigidly from vertical and lateral move-
ment, as set forth.
3. The powerful metallic-spring washer G having apertured ends and an angle
in its middle part to serve as a fulcrum by resting against the object to be held,
substantially as shown and described.
4. A give and take railroad rail joint, consisting of the following elements in
combination, namely, two rails with proper holes in the webs at the ends thereof,
two fish plates with corresponding holes in them, two bolts each with two
immovable heads while in action and two metallic spring washers with holes in
them, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein described.
5. The combination with the rails A. B. the fish plates C and the bolts and
nuts E. F, of the angular spring washers G substantially as herein shown and
described, whereby the wear of the joint will be constantly taken up and the joint
held firm and rigid during the entire life of the rails as set forth.