Improvements in Fish Joints and Fish Joint Chairs for Railway and Tramway Rails.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 17th July, 1889--Accepted, 7th Sept., 1869
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fish Joints and Fish Joint Chairs for Railway
and Tramway Rails.
We FREDERICK CHARLES WINBY, of Brighton in the county of Sussex, Engineer
and WALTER STRICKLAND of Woodford in the county of Essex, Gentleman, both in
the Kingdom of Great Britain do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FISH JOINTS, AND FISH JOINT CHAIRS FOR RAILWAY AND
TRAMWAY RAILS," to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to give additional strength to the joints of railway
and tramway rails, and prevent vertical deflection at the joints, and also prevent
canting of the rail.
Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive are cross sections of the ends of the rails, fish plates, or
joints, and fish joint chairs.
Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive are side elevations of the two rails coupled together with
the fish plates embodying our invention together with the fish joint chairs.
The fish plates rest at each end on the fish plate joint chairs, and act as girders,
forming by this method of application a flexible bridge for supporting the ends of
the rails from sleeper to sleeper, and thus maintaining them in their vertical and
lateral position.
The fish plates are secured in the fish plate joint chairs by means of wedges,
bolts, keys or any other equivalent method or combination for producing a like
result.
The plates being as usual secured to the sides of the rails by bolts and nuts.
The same letters of reference indicate like parts shown in the several Figures.
As will be observed by the drawings the fish plates A, are fitted in the usual
manner between the head and foot of the rails. The feet 6 of these fish plates being
prolonged below the rail, lap beneath it, where they take their bearing and are fixed
in the fish joint chairs B, the whole being locked together to prevent spreading by
means of wedges, keys, bolts or some equivalent c.
On reference to the drawings it will be seen that the chairs in which the fish
plates are held are slightly modified in form but in all alike the principle of
construction is the same.
Figs. 1, 2 and 3, represent double headed or bull headed rails which are usually
supported on chairs.
Figs. 4, 5 and 6, represent flanged or Vignoles rails which are usually fixed
to the sleepers without chairs.
In cases where the bottom flange of the Vignoles rails are comparatively narrow
the fish plates are made to lap round them as in Fig. 5.
In cases where the bottom flange is formed comparatively broad we either turn
down a part of the flange as in Fig. 4. or cut a portion off the side as in Fig. 6
for such length say 18 inches at the ends of the rail where the fish plates are
brought in contact with the rails.
By this method of fishing joints of rails increased vertical and lateral strength are
obtained and consequently the vertical jolting so injurious to passengers and rolling
stock alike is rendered practically nil whilst at the same time affording increased
security.
11:02nd date of November 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fish Joints and Fish Joint Chairs for Railway
. and Tramway Rails.
We FREDERICK CHARLES WINBY, of Brighton in the county of Sussex, Engineer
and WALTER STRICKLAND of Woodford in the county of Essex Gentleman do hereby
declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FISH JOINTS, AND
FISH JOINT CHAIRS, FOR RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY RAILS and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
"
The object of this invention is to give additional strength to the joints of railway,
and tramway rails, and prevent vertical deflection at the joints, and also canting of
the rail.
The vertical jolting of the carriages in passing over the joints (such as at present
employed) and the shocks resulting therefrom are not only injurious to the health
and comfort of travellers, but are most destructive to the rolling stock.
These defects are entirely obviated by our system.
A newly made joint of the ordinary description on being tested, may be found
to bear a specified weight or load without any deflection, yet the same joint after
a few months wear and tear will become worn at the crucial points of the bearing
surfaces, that is between the rail and the fish plate, and in this condition although
worn only to the extent of 1.32 in. is in such a state as to admit of a very serious
deflection, before the points of bearing between the rail and fish plate meet in
contact metal to metal, to be of any vertical service, and so far as vertical support is
concerned are practically useless, except as regards the maintenance of the rails in
their lateral position.
The joints being in this state, the weight of the rolling load is unequally distributed
on the sleepers, and those sleepers next the joint, have to support a weight more than
double that borne by the intermediate sleepers, the result being that they are forced
lower in the ballast, and hence the cause of the deflection, jolting and noise.
Our improved fish plates are constructed in form of girders, and collectively they
possess about the same vertical strength as the body of the rail. They take their
bearings on joint chairs, and form a bridge to support the joints of the rails from
sleeper to sleeper, and thus distribute the rolling load equally on all sleepers alike,
and maintain a continuity of level.
Great lateral stability is ensured, and lines which have been constructed with a
comparatively light section of rail, are by the use of this system equal to a line laid
with a much heavier section of rail.
Rails worn at the ends so as to be practically destroyed and unfit for the reception
of ordinary fish-plates, can be rendered perfectly serviceable by the employment of
our system of fishing the joints, considerable saving is also effected in that no extra
attention is required to the sleepers next the joint.
Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive are cross sections of the ends of the rails provided with our
improved fish-plates, and fish joint chairs.
Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive are side elevations of the two rails coupled together with the
fish plates embodying our invention, together with the fish plate joint chairs.
As will be seen by the drawings the fish plates rest at each end on the fish plate
joint chairs, and as previously mentioned act as girders, forming by this method of
application a flexible bridge for supporting the ends of the rails from sleeper to sleeper,
and thus maintaining them in their vertical and lateral position.
The fish plates are secured in the fish plate joint chairs by means of wedges, bolts,
keys or any other equivalent method or combination for producing a like result. The
plates being as usual secured to the sides of the rails by bolts and nuts.
The same letters of reference indicate like parts shown in the several Figures.
As will be observed by the drawings the fish plates A, are fitted in the usual manner
between the head and foot of the rails. The feet b, of these fish plates being prolonged

page_text: below the rail, lap beneath it, where they take their bearing, and are fixed in the fish
joint chairs B, the whole being locked together to prevent spreading, by means of
wedges, keys, bolts, or some equivalent c.
On reference to the drawings it will be seen that the chairs in which the fish plates
are held, are slightly modified in form, but in all alike the principle of construction is
the same.
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 represent double headed, or bull headed rails, which are usually
supported on chairs. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 represent flanged or Vignoles rails which are
usually fixed to the sleepers without chairs.
In cases where the Vignoles rails have a comparatively narrow bottom flange, the
fish plates are made to lap round them as in Fig. 5.
In cases where the bottom flange is comparatively broad, we either turn down a
part of the flange as in Fig. 4, or cut a portion off the side as in Fig. 6, for such
length, say 18 inches at the ends of the rail where the fish plates are brought in
contact with the rails.
By this method of fishing the joints of rails, increased vertical and lateral strength
are obtained, and consequently the vertical jolting so injurious to passengers and
rolling stock alike is rendered practically nil, whilst at the same time affording
increased security.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
•
The combination with either a double headed, or a Vignoles or flanged rail, of the
fish plates A, supported in chairs B, from one sleeper to another, to form flexible
bridges or girders, supporting the ends of the rails from sleeper to sleeper in the
manner by the means and for the purposes herein setforth.
Dated LOIS 17
2009.
A. C. HENDERSON & Co.,
Patent Agents,
46, Southampton Buildings, Holborn, Agents for the Applicants.