Improvements in Rail-joints for Railways,
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 10th Jan., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rail-joints for Railways,
We, LOUIS DUBE of 360 S Pearl Street Albany County of Albany State of
New York United States of America, Manufacturer and LUKE MESSIER of
183 Eagle Street Albany County of Albany State of New York, United States
of America, Carpenter, 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 railway rail joints and in particular to that class of joints
wherein the abutting ends of the rails are connected by means of fish plates and by
bolts passing through said fish plates and the webs of the rails.
The object of our invention is to provide means for obtaining a reliable joint of
this character, and it consists as will be hereinafter more fully described in keys
provided with suitable detents acting in conjunction with one of the fish plates or
with a supplemental plate thereon, to hold the locking bolts securely and positively
in place, effectfully preventing any loosening of the same from the jars and strains
arising from the passing of trains, while at the same time permitting them to be
readily removed whenever desired.
Our invention also consists in certain details of construction and combinations of
parts as particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the drawings
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portion of two abutting rails having a rail
joint embodying our invention.
Figure 2 represents a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3, Figs. 1 and 2.
Figure 4 represents a detached isometric view of the retaining or locking plate
forming a part of our invention
Figure 5 represents an isometric view of the locking key.
Figure 6 represents a section on an enlarged scale on line 6-6 of Figure 1.
Figure 8 represents in detail two forms of locking bolt.
Figures 7 and 9 represent isometric views and sectional elevations respectively of
a key driver for inserting or removing the key.
The same characters designate the same parts throughout all the views.
A A represent the abutting ends of two railroad rails of ordinary construction.
B B are two fish plates; and CC, headed bolts (four of which are shown in the
present instance for one rail joint) passing through holes in the web of the rails and
in the fish plates, and which in conjunction with suitable locking devices are designed
to hold the fish-plates and consequently the rails in place.
Thus far the parts described are old and well known. It is in the devices for
locking these bolts and consequently the rails and fish plates in place that our
invention resides.
We provide keys D, one for each bolt, which keys pass through snitable
perforations c, formed in the protruding ends of the bolts C. These keys are
preferably wedge shaped as shown, and are provided with suitable detents, which
in the present instance are shown in the shape of a single tooth d projecting from
the inner side of the same; that is froin the side proximate to the fish plates.
Referring now to Figures 1 and 6, it will be seen that the tooth d engages with
suitable retaining surface on the fish plate at one side of the rail joint. In the
present instance we have shown this retaining surface as consisting of an oblique
series of serrations e formed in a locking plate E, it is manifest however that such
retaining surface could be applied directly to the fish plate B or that the retaining
surfaces could be arranged otherwise than obliquely.

page_text: "
It is also clear that in some instances we may dispense with the serrations or other
roughening of the locking plate or fish plate, by simply making the tooth or detent d
of metal sufficiently hard to imbed itself into the softer metal of the locking plate or
fish plate, when driven home into the perforation of the bolt C. It is also manifost
that instead of perforating the bolts, they may be simply shouldered or recessed, as
shown at c in Figure 8; either means of slotting the bolts enables them to perform
their function or retaining the wedges effectually.
When it is desired to join the two rails A A, they and the fish plates are put
together in the usual way, with the bolts C, passing through the perforations in the
said fish plates an. the webs of the rails. The locking plates are then mounted on
the projecting ends of the bolts, and the keys D inserted into the slots c or c¹ of the
bolts, and they can now be driven home by a hammer to securely lock the fish plate.
But in order to avoid any injurious wear upon the serrations e, or upon the detent d
by the abrasion of one upon the other, in driving the key home, we have devised the
driving tool shown in Figures 7 and 9, which consists of a stem or main body portion F
provided at its front end or head with a recess f, formed by the two cheeks f1f1,
bottom shoulder f, and upright driving shoulder. The front edge of the bottom
shoulder is, moreover, rounded off, as shown whereby said front bottom edge is
wedge shaped.
When it is desired to drive the key in to the desired extent and prevent the tooth d
from encountering the serrations until it is driven home, we place the front edge of
the shoulders under the tail of rear end d' of the said key, and by forcing the
stem F towards the locking plate, we lift the rear end of the key away from the
locking plate E, thereby permitting the front end of the driving tool to slip in under
the key, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 6. The key may then be driven home by
haminer blows upon the end of the driving tool, the tooth being held from encounter-
ing the serrations e, until the tool F is withdrawn, when the strain exerted by the
bolts C will immediately cause the tooth d to drop into engagement with the serrations,
there to be firmly and positively held until the tool F is again applied to lift the same
out of engagement with these serrations. No other agency, such as the jarring and
strains arising from the passing of trains or from "any of the forces acting upon the
tracks or rail-roads will be able to unlock the wedge or key.
This unlocking can be performed by the aid of the tool F, and by placing it in
the position indicated in Figure 6, thereby releasing the detent from engagement
with the serrations and then striking the forward end d² of said wedge or key with a
hammer, so as to force it backward and out of the bolt slot.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a rail joint, the combination with a slotted bolt, of a key provided with a
detent, and a contiguous plate provided with a retaining surface all substantially as
described.
2. A key for a rail joint, consisting of a wedge shaped body portion having a
detent and a tail as d' substantially as described.
3. In a rail joint, the combination with a slotted bolt, of a key having a detent,
and a contiguous plate provided with a series of serrations, all substantially as set
forth.
4. In a rail joint, the combination with a slotted bolt, of a key having a detent, a
fish plate, and a locking plate provided with a retaining surface for engaging the
detent, all substantially as described.
5. In a rail joint, the combination with a slotted bolt, of a key having a detent, a
fish plate, and a locking plate provided with a series of serrations for engaging the
tooth of the wedge, all substantially as described.
6. In a rail joint, the combination with a slotted bolt, of a key provided with a
detent, a fish plate, and a locking plate provided with an oblique series of serrations,
all substantially as described.

page_text: 7. A rail joint comprising the following combinations, two abutting rails, two con-
necting fish plates, a number of slotted bolts passing through perforations in the webs
of the rails and the fish plates, retaining keys provided with teeth, one key for each
bolt, and plates provided with retaining surfaces, all substantially as set forth.
8. A rail joint comprising the following combinations, two abutting rails, two con-
necting fish plates, a number of slotted bolts passing through perforations in the webs
of the rails and the fish plates, retaining keys entering the slots of the bolts and each
provided with a tooth, and washer plates having a series of serrations, all substantially
as described.
9. A driving tool, consisting of a stem or main body portion provided with a recess
at its head formed by two cheeks, a bottom shoulder und an upright driving shoulder,
all substantially as described.
10. A driving tool, consisting of a stem or main body portion provided at its head
with an upright driving shoulder and a bottom wedge shaped shoulder, all substantially
as described.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
LOUIS DUBÉ.
LUKE MESSIER.
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicants.