An Improved Joint and Bearing for Railway Rails.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Dec., 1890-Accepted, 3rd Jan., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Joint and Bearing for Railway Rails.
I, FREDRIK ALMGREN, of Stockholm, Sweden, Chief Director in the Royal Swedish
Railway Administration, 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 :-
The invention refers to an improved joint for railway rails wherein the fish plates
forming the joint at the same time constitute the bearing or chair for the same, for the
purpose of obtaining a continuous track.
I will proceed to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying
drawing which shews by way of example one arrangement for carrying it into
effect.
Fig. 1 is a sile elevation of a joint of rails according to this invention applied to
Vignoles-rails,
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same and
Fig. 3 the same seen partly from the end and partly in section on the lines A-B
and C-D, Fig. 1.
The heads a a of the rails are supported by the inclined fish plates at the joint,
while the foot of the rails does not even need to touch the bed. The pressure exercised
on the fish plates by the load on the rails is received partly by the spikes e, partly by
the abutments d, which are connected by means of a plate f, and in the construction
shewn in the drawing, they are made in one piece with the same, but they can also be
made in one piece with the sleeper.
In the middle of this plate may be fixed the stud g. The cramps e are inserted
through holes in the fish plates into cavities in the sleeper, and take hold of the fish
plate with the upper end and of the plate with the lower. These cramps serve to
prevent displacement of the fish plates by shocks on the ends of the rails or by lifting
of the same, but other devices may be used for the same purpose. The stud g serves
to prevent the displacement of the rails in longitudinal direction.
The head of the fish plate may be rounded in the manner in which the left hand
fish plate Fig. 3 is drawn, or it may be of a form more approaching to the head of the
rail, as the right hand fish plate in the same figure. The ribs on the fish plates
partly strengthen the latter and partly help to keep the rail in position. It is not
necessary that they fit tightly against the foot of the rail.
The object of the invention is:
1. To prevent knocking off and flattening of the ends of the rail and to diminish
the wear of the same more effectually and with more certainty than by using common
angular fish plates, inasmuch as the exact fitting of the fish plates to the heads of the
ends of both the rails is in this construction brought about by the pressure of the
railway vehicle on the rail, and is thus independent of the tightening of fish bolts,
such as are ordinarily used.
2. To provide perfect safety against any upsetting of the rail by lateral pressure
against the head of the rail, this heing effected by so arranging the angle of inclination
of the fish plate against the rail that the resultant of the vertical and horizontal
pressures on the joint always falls within the angle formed by the fish plates.
3. To prevent the weakening of the rail by bolt holes, which is inevitable in using
ordinary fish plates.
4. To allow the free expansion and contraction of the rail during variations of
temperature, as the friction between the rail and the fish plates is very small, when
the rail is unloaded.
5. To prevent the longitudinal displacement of the rail, for which purpose a stud
can be placed in the middle of the bottom plate against which the foot of the rail bears

page_text: during the expansion. When the rails have attained a maximum of expansion in the
longitudinal direction, the foot of the rail bears at both ends against the corresponding
stud while the heads only just touch each other. For this purpose the rail ends may
be cut off obliquely, as shewn.
With suitable modifications of the construction, the invention may be readily
adapted for use with sleepers of any material and for rails of other forms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The construction of combined joint and bearing or chair for rails consisting of
two inclined fish plates, not bolted, bearing at top against the rail so as to support the
heads of the rail ends and at the bottom against fixed abutments on the sleeper for
the purpose of transferring the pressure on the former directly to the sleeper,
substantially as described.
2. A bearing rail joint consisting of two inclined fish plates, not bolted, bearing
against abutments fixed to or forming part of the sleeper and supporting the heads of
the rail-ends, substantially as described.
3. A bearing rail joint consisting of the combination of two inclined fish plates b,
with or without ribs k, bottom plate f with abutments d, cramps e and spikes c
substantially as described.
4. A bearing rail joint, consisting of the combination of fish plates b, bottom
plate f, abutments d, cramps e, spikes c and stud g, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1890.
ABEL & IMKAY,
Agents for the Applicant.