Improvements in Rail Joints.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June, 1892-Accepted, 16th July, 1892)
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rail Joints.
1, RICHARD ROXBY, of Dartmouth, in the County of Halifax, and Province of
Nova Scotia, Dominion of Canada, Naval Architect, do hereby declare the nature
ot 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 joints for railway rails by means of which the meeting
ends of the rails may be held together so that they cannot move either laterally or
vertically in relation to each other but may have the necessary longitudinal play to
allow for expansion and contraction under the influence of heat and cold and also
to construct a device which may be used to unite the ends of rails without regard
to whether or not the joint comes above a supporting tie or sleeper. To this end
my invention consists in a rail joint the construction of which will be hereinafter
described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which
Figure 1 is a broken sectional plan of the joint embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is a broken side elevation partly in section, of the same.
Figure 3 is a cross-section on line - Figure 2, and
Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the pin which is used to lock the
fastening nuts and bolts together.
Similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.
The rails 10 are of the usual form and they are enveloped by a sheath 11 which
is shaped to fit snugly to the rail, the sheath completely enveloping the lower
portion of the rail and having vertical sides 12 which are adapted to fit snugly
against the web of the rail and beneath the shoulders of the sume, thus forming a
support for it and these side pieces of the sheath are preferably thinned at the ends
and rounded slightly at the top corners, as shewn at 13 in Figures 1 and 2, so that
the sheath may be easily slipped to place and may also be easily made to enter the
fastening sheath or jaw on the opposite rail. The sheath 11 is intended to envelope
the meeting ends of two rails, but it is fastened to one rail only and the
fastening is effected by means of bolts 14 which extend transversely through the
side pieces of the sheath ard through the web of the rail, the bolt having
the part 15 next its head squared so as to fit in a square hole in the sheath and
prevent it from turning and nuts 16 are fastened to the bolt so as not to be
accidentally removed, by means of pins 17 which are driven through a slot in the
bolts and fit in a recess or groove in the front side of the nut, as best shewn in
Figure 3, one end of the pin being preferably doubled under as shewn, and it will
thus be seen that the nut cannot possibly be accidentally removed. On the rail
opposite that to which the sheath 11 is secured is fastened a sheath 19 the fastening
being effected by a bolt or bolts 14 in the manner already described and this
sheath is enlarged at its free end, as shewn at 20 in Figures 1 and 2, and this
enlarged portion fits snugly upon one end of the sheath 11 and it will thus be
seen that the two sheaths and the rails will be held so firmly together that the
rails will practically form a continuous rail and cannot have any movement in
relation to each other except longitudinally.
It will be seen that this joint may be very easily made as it is only necessary to
fasten the sheaths to the rails and slip one within the other and this is easily effected
on account of the thin or tapering ends of the sheath 11. It will be understood
that the sheath 19 can be made so as to fit against the web of the rail to which it
is secured and not extend beneath the same, but it is desirable that the two sheaths
be made as described so as to form a strong joint.
n

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is-
1. A rail joint comprising overlapping sheaths adapted to be secured to the
meeting ends of railroad rails the sheaths being disconnected at their overlapping
ends to form a sliding joint shaped to fit the lower portions of the rails, substantially
as described.
2. A rail joint comprising sheaths adapted to be secured to the meeting ends of
railroad rails one of said sheaths having thinned ends and the opposite sheath
having an enlarged portion to fit over the adjacent sheath, substantially as
described.
Dated this 14th day of June 1892
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
K. KOMBI,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.