IMPROVEMENTS IN FISH PLATES FOR RAILS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Griffith Brewer, of Chancery Lane, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FISH PLATES FOR RAILS." A com-
munication from abroad by Hjalmar Bergman, of Stockholm, Sweden, a
Captain in the Corps of Engineers.
Sealed the 24th April 1877, and dated the 25th October 1876.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Griffith Brewer at the
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th October 1876.
EDWARD GRIFFITH BREWER, of Chancery Lane, London.
FISH PLATES FOR RAILS." A communication from abroad by Hjalmar Bergman, of
Stockholm, Sweden, a Captain in the Corps of Engineers.
The object of this Invention is to diminish or do away with the shocks or blows
experienced in travelling on old permanent way of railways, and which act
detrimentally, especially on the rail ends, and also on the rolling stock. Various
fishing appliances have been proposed to do away with this evil, but without much
success, thus may be named amongst others, the construction of fish plates of such a
width that the fisher part of the permanent way is stronger or stiffer than any
other part, but it does not appear to be promising when the cause of the shocks is
taken in account. That the shocks do not proceed directly from the end distance
between the rails or from the depression of the rail ends is tolerably easy to prove,
because the shocks are scarcely or not at all felt in newly laid permanent way with
same distance of rail ends, and quite as much elasticity, but in course of a few years
The reason must,
(with ordinary traffic) the shocks become very troublesome.
doubtless, be sought in the foliation or wear near the rail ends, amounting to 1/24 to
1/12 of an inch; this wear must ordinarily always take place so long as the ends are
loaded as much as the other parts of the rail, because the upper part of the rail at
the end, being there in the form of a beam supported at one end only, have only
half the force of resistance of the intermediate parts, and consequently must be
sooner squeezed down and towards the outside where they do not find any
resistance. This is, no doubt, the true cause of the shocks which can only be done
away with by protecting the rail ends against a proportionately too strong load.
In the so-called free or not supported fish plates this object is to a great extent
attained by the resulting depression of the rail ends, and the resulting diminution
of the load and the shock, but the repeated bending down of the ends causes
[Price 6d.]

page_text: damage to rails and fish plates. It has been tried to remove the load to better
supported parts by cutting the rail off slanting at the ends whereby the foliation is
somewhat delayed, but the slanting ends lose in power of resistance and suffer
harder blows because of the greater distances which the wheels have to jump over.
The shocks will also take place there, although somewhat later, because of the
delayed foliation, the whole widths of the slanting surface being pressed forward
and downward.
According to this Invention the load on the rail ends is lessened.
And in order that this Invention may be fully understood, I will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying Drawings, of which Figure 1
is a section through a rail with fish plate, according to this Invention, and shewing
part section of wheel tyre in outside of curves. Figure 2 is a similar view of a
slightly modified arrangement of fish plate, but with wheel tyre in under side of a
curve of say 1,000 feet radius. Figure 3, a similar view of a fish plate arrangement
like at Figure 2, but with tyre in a straight piece of road and with a differently
formed back plate under the bolt heads. Figure 4 is a side elevation, and Figure 5
a plan of the arrangement shown at Figure 3. The outer plate a has the same
height as the rail b in order that the wheel tyre in passing may take its bearing on
the said plate a also, and thus prevent the rail ends from being pressed down. As
the inner part of the tyre is worn hollow by the top of the rail while the outer part
is not worn, the lash plate or fish must at each end be gently and slightly sloping,
as shewn at Figure 4, in order that the outer part of even the most worn wheel
tyre may meet a sloping surface, and no shocks be produced, the wheel running
easily and gently on and off. In order that these slopes be not too steep but yet
incline so far as to be below the most worn out wheel tyre, even after a very
considerable wear of the rail top the lash or fish plate must be much larger than
usual, or say 1 to 2 feet. As these fish plates thus pass on to and rest on the
cross sleepers at this place they possess the advantage that they carry the load
better on to the sleepers. In order to increase the pressing surface against these
sleepers, but chiefly in order to be able to fasten the first plate directly to these
sleepers they are made with a broad foot or bottom flange resting on the sleepers,
see Figures 3, 4, and 5. They are firmly fastened thereto by means of inner spike
holes and notches for hook spikes outside. The fish plate is united to the rails by
screwed bolts passing through holes large enough to allow for longitudinal
expansion. The rails are thus perfectly secure against every change in position
without having to make notches in the bottom flange for the hook spikes, a point of
great importance, especially for steel rails.
If the cost of the addition of the aforesaid broad foot to the fish plate be
considered out of proportion to the advantages gained the fish plates may be made
without one or both of them, see respectively Figure 2 and Figure 1.
In order to prevent the bolt nuts from working loose a thin steel plate is put
underneath each nut. This plate is made with diagonally cut flaps c bent up
towards the left upper side of the nut, when its diagonal is vertical; this flap is
hammered so that it can feather or spring about 1/12 of an inch towards the outside,
and when the nut is turned it keeps the nut from going back, resting with its
edge against one side of the nut, but when turning the nut a quarter turn in the
right direction the flap is depressed by each square corner of same and jumps up
when the nut stands with its diagonal vertically.
When the nut is to be undone the spanner must be pressed hard against the
spring flap, and then the nut can be turned back over it.
It is obvious that the fish plates constructed according to this Invention may be
variously modified in form, but what I claim as the Invention is,―
First. The construction and form of fish plate, as herein described and shewn,
that is, carried up for forming a wheel bearing surface and formed with gentle slope
at each end for enabling worn out wheel tyres to run on to it without shock.
Second. Constructing the said fish plates with feet or bottom supporting flanges
or brackets for increasing the supporting surface on the sleepers, also forming

page_text: therein holes and notches for fastening, as set forth, for preventing their shifting
endways, and,
Third. The construction of steel plates, as set forth, for preventing the fastening
nuts from working loose when applied in combination with fish plates, constructed
substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Griffith Brewer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
E. G. BREWER. (L.S.)