IMPROVED MEANS FOR JOINING RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY RAILS
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I JAMES MARLOW BURKE of Belsito Lodge Inchicore Dublin Ireland Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of said invention for IMPROVED MEANS FOR JOINING
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 :-
My Invention has for its object to join railway and tramway rails together by
means of fish plates without the use of screwed bolts and nuts which are liable to
become loose and are then a source of considerable danger.
I will explain my Invention with reference to the accompanying drawing
wherein Figure 1 is a transverse section figure 2 a side elevation and figure 3
a horizontal section of the ends of rails and a portion of the fish plates sufficient to
illustrate the means for joining rails-The other Figures represent details as
hereinafter described.
According to my Invention I pass bolts A through the fish plates B and rail O
at a short distance apart the said bolts being without screw threads and having
a head or enlargement A' at one end bearing upon the one fish plate and a hooked
undercut or recessed or equivalent part a at the other end which projects beyond
the other fish plate-A wedge D and koy E are driven between the opposito
hooked undercut or recessed part of each of the bolts A and the fish plate as shewn
or there may be if desired a long wedge and key extending to two or more or all
of the bolts used for cach joint-The wedge is prevented from rising by means of
a Cotter pin F or the like which may be situated below the bolts instead of above
them if desired-Figure 4 sbews in transverso section a slightly modified arrange-
ment wherein the key is formed upon the fish plate as shown at b the wedge D
bearing upon the part b as it bears upon the part E in the arrangement figures 1, 2
and 3.
According to a modification illustrated in figures 5 and 6 I dispenso with the
Cotter pin F and interpose between the fish plato B and the wedge D a steel
spring key F of a convex form presented outwards as shewn by the dotted line
marked F in figure 5.
When the wedge D is driven into place the said spring key F" is somewhat
flattened as shewn in the thick line inarked F and secured the parts together. The
part of the wedge D against which the spring key bears is preferably formed with
a curved recessed part as shewn in Figure 5 for the reception of the said spring keyį

page_text: The bolts A may in either of the arrangements have a slot at their projecting
increased ends a cotter pin or the like being passed through the said slot.
The said bolts may be made of a rectangular or an oval shape and have an
enlargement at their projecting unsecured ends the holes in the Rails and fish
plates being made of a sufficient size for them to pass through.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
For joining Railway and Tramway rails the arrangement of bolts with a head at
one end and an undercut or recessed or equivalent part at tho.other end between
which or each of which and the fish plate a wedge and a rigid key and cottor pin
or its equivalent or a spring key are situated substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in tho accompanying drawings.