Improvements in or connected with Railway Rail-joints.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 27th Dec., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Railway Rail-joints.
We, MAX JOSEPHSON and MAX FRIEDLAENDER of 6, Soller Strasse, Berlin,
Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, Manufacturers, 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 :-
Our invention relates to an auxiliary safety-rail the object of which is to increase
the bearing surface of rails at their ends or joints, and to prevent any possible
extension of the gauge, also in case of a broken joint to replace that joint auto-
matically in the manner afterwards described, thus to prevent accidents resulting from
the above mentioned causes.
In order to make our invention more clear, we refer to the accompanying drawing
in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout the different views, and in
which,
Figure 1 is an upper view of a track with the auxiliary safety-rail attached
thereto.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through a main rail with its safety-rail, taken on the
line 4. 5. of Fig. 1.
Figure 3 is an upper view and a side view of the auxiliary rail above.
In carrying our invention into effect we take a piece of rail a of sufficient longth to
reach from one sleeper to the next one. The ends b. c. of said rail a are bent
outwards, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 3. A part of the base d parallel to the central
straight portion is cut away, and the auxiliary safety-rail so prepared is placed against
the outside of the main rail e in such a manner, that both bearing surfaces aro
perfectly side by side, and touching each other, as shewn in Figs. 1 & 2.
the safety-rail to the sleepers by means of spikes or chairs in the same manner as with
Wo attach
ordinary rails, in such a way, however, that the fastening of the auxiliary-rail is
perfectly independent of that of the main-rail. The safety-rails are arranged opposite
to each joint, and outsido the track as described above.
Thus, in case the fish-plates fg by which the adjacent ends of two rails are con-
nected be loosened or broken, the strength of the rails is lessened considerably and
the ends thus freed from the joints will be bent downwards under the load of the
train. This is the cause of so many railway accidents. By the adoption of our
invention, however, nothing of that kind can possibly happen, as (even if several
joints be broken) the auxiliary safety-rails are perfectly capable of taking up the
whole load of the train, for the diminished bearing surface of the joints or of the
adjacent ends of the main-rail respectively is altogether replaced by the bearing
surface of the auxiliary rails aforesaid.
of
Trains are frequently derailed by a gradual and unnoticed extension of the
he track, this also being duo to a broken or loosened joint. By the adoption of our
gauge
nvention no such extension of the gauge can possibly happen, as the heads of the
afety-rails lie directly against the heads of the main-rails. The auxiliary safety-rails
astened separately and independently of the main track are not in the least affected
by accidents to the latter.
In certain cases the ends b. c of the rails need not-be bent outwards, but the wholo
afety-rail may remain straight. In this case, however, the whole base of one side
aust be cut away in order to allow of the perfect alignment of both heads.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of our said invention,
nd in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
laim is :-
In railway-tracks; the construction and use of an auxiliary safety-rail. placed

page_text: opposite the joints and outside the tracks, said rails being separately secured to the
sleepers and independently of the main-rails; the heads of said auxiliary safety-rails
being placed close and parallel to the head of the main-rail, substantially as and for
the purposes as herein described and shewn by the appended drawing.
Died this 15th day of November 1890.
FREDK. WALKER,
11, Farnival Street, Holborn, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.