Improved Overlapping Railway Rail Joint
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 23rd June, 1900-Accepted, 28th July, 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
An Improved Overlapping Railway Rail Joint,
We, JOHN STANLEY HOLME, of Southolme Villa, Egremont, Cheshire, Iron
and Steel Merchant, FRANK BROOKS HART, of Chingledale, Albert Road, Levens-
hulme, Manchester, Civil Engineer, and ARTHUR WATSON, of Moorfield, Dids-
bury, Manchester, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows
'
The improvements relate to overlapping railway rail joints, and have for object
the making of 1ail joints of the overlap or scarf character in such manner that
the expansion and contraction of the rails is provided for without detriment to
the security of the joint, and the present invention constitutes an improvement
upon an invention for which Letters Patent have been granted to John Stanley
Holme and Frank Brooks Hait, numbered 11889 of the year 1895.
In experimenting with the invention for which such Letters Patent above
named were granted we have found that if the bolts, provided for holding the
ails together, are placed so as to pass through the thin end of the taper of one
ail and the thick end of the taper of the other ail they cause the nails to bind
so as to prevent the necessary movement of the parts of the joint to allow for
expansion of the rail
And we have found that it is essential to success that
the bolt holes should be formed outside on beyond the angle of the overlapping
webs, which for this purpose are prolonged so far beyond the bend on angle as to
be capable of affording the necessary space for bolt holes in a length of parallel
formation carried beyond the taper of the rail
To accomplish this and to effect our improvements we form the joints on ends
of each af with a spliced nail head of the character named and described in
the specification above quoted, and with a bent or angle formed rail web,
preferably of full thickness throughout, which will enable the web of one tail to
pass by oi overlap the web of the other to which it is joined
The web is thon continued, respective of the splice in the 1ail head, in a
line parallel to the ordinary web of the rail and extended sufficiently to allow
of the requisite number of bolts to be employed as well as to form a locking of
the joint vertically
By which means, not only is the joint firmly secured, but parallel sliding
faces are provided where the jointed webs of the rails are bolted together.
enabling expansion and contiaction to take place as ficely as in an ordinary
fiched joint.
Dated this 31st day of August 1899.
WILLIAM GADD, C.E,
64, Barton Arcade, Manchester,
Agent for Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
An improved Overlapping Railway Rail Joint.
We, JOHN STANLEY HOLME, of Southolme Villa, Egremont, Cheshue, Iion
and Steel Merchant, FRANK BROOKS HART, of Cringledale, Albert Road, Levens-
hulme, Manchester, Civil Engineer, and AaгHUR WATSON, of Moorfield, Dids-
bury, Manchester, Civil Engineer, 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 improvements relate to overlapping railway rail joints, and have for object
the making of rail joints of the overlap on scarf character in such manner that
the expansion and contraction of the rails is provided for without detriment to
the security of the joint; and the present invention constitutes an improvement
upon an invention for which Letteis Patent have been granted to John Stanley
Holme and Frank Brooks Hart, numbered 11889 of the year 1895.
In experimenting with the invention for which such Letters Patent above
named were granted, we have found that if the bolts, provided to holding the
ails together, are placed so as to pass through the thin and of the taper of one
1ail and the thick end of the taper of the other rail, or through any part of that
portion of the overlapping webs which is bent out of parallelism with the axis of
the 1ail, they cause the rails to bind so as to prevent the necessary movement of
the parts of the joint to allow for expansion of the rail And we have found
that it is essential to success that the bolt holes should be formed outside o1
beyond the angle of the overlapping webs, which for this purpose are prolonged
so fai beyond the bend or angle as to be capable of affording the necessary space
for bolt holes in a length of parallel formation carried beyond the taper of the
rail.
To accomplish this and to effect our improvements, we form the joints or ends
of each rail with a spliced rail head of the character named and described in
the specification above quoted, and with a bent on augle formed ail web,
which will enable the web of one rail to pass by or overlap the web of the other
to which it is joined.
It is necessary to secure the highest economy in manufacture and the greatest
efficiency in use that the web should be continued of the full thickness through-
out its length. We find that ails 1olled to the form or approximately to the
form shown in the drawings attached hereto do not need to have then webs
thickened up at the overlapping ends.
The web is then continued to a point beyond the splice in the rail head, in a
line parallel to the ordinary web of the rail, and extended sufficiently to allow
space in the parallel portion of the extended web for the requisite number of
bolts to be employed, as well as to form a locking of the joint vertically
By these means, not only is the joint firmly secured, but parallel sliding
faces are provided where the jointed webs of the rails are bolted together,
enabling expansion and contraction to take place as freely as in an ordinary
fished joint.
But that the improvements may be better understood, we will, with the aid of
the accompanying drawings, proceed more fully to describe means employed
by us.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of two spliced
1
1
1

page_text: Fig. 2, 18 a side elevation of the same, and
Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, are cross sections thereof taken through lines e, e, f, f,
g, g, h, h, and h, k, respectively, in Fig. 1
u, b, are the two rails to be joined, their webs c, d, being bent, or formed at
an angle, foi a portion of their length, so as to pass by or overlap each other
In the example shown, the webs are so bent from about the points I, I, but
the extent of this angle formation may be varied, irrespective of the splice m, in
the rail head
Each web 18 continued, beyond the angle, in a line parallel to the ordinary web
of the rails, and 18 extended, as shown at n, o, sufficiently to allow of the requisite
number of bolt holes p, r, being formed in the webs, in such parallel portions
thereof
Each extended part n, o, fits in between the head and foot of its complementary
rail, and forms a locking of the joint vertically.
Elongation of the bolt holes, necessary to allow for movement in expansion or
contraction 18 shown at r.
It will readily be seen that, on expansion or contraction taking place, the
bent or inclined portions of the webe, between the points 1, 1, will approach or
recede, as the case may be, whereas those faces of the overlapping webs which
lie in a plane parallel to the ordinary web of the rail, and thiough which the
bolts are passed, will merely slide against each other. and thus the bolts offer
nc c1088-binding or unnecessary resistance to the aforesaid movement of the
rails, such as would be the case if the bolts were passed through the angled
portion of the overlapping webs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is:-
Forming rail joints, of the overlap or scarf character, with bent, overlapping
webs provided with extensions beyond the bends, which extensions lie parallel
to the ordinary webs of the rails, and are provided with a sufficient number of
suitably formed bolt holes for the secure attachment of the rails to one another,
the several parts being formed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore
described and as shown in the accompanying drawings
D1 110011 at Tn 1000
WILLIAM GADD, C.E.,
64, Barton Arcade, Manchester,
Agent for Applicant