Improvements in Rail-joints.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 9th Feb., 1892-Accepted, 4th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rail-joints.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of 3S, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent (communicated to me from abroad by Joseph
Addison Eno, of 261 Broad Street Newark, Essex County, and State of New
Jersey U. S. America), do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in rail-joints the object of same being to
provide a reliable railway-joint, simple and economical in construction, and one that
will maintain a uniform connection without spreading or enlargement of the ends of
the rails. According to my invention I form the chair in which the rail joints rest
with upwardly turned and perforated flanges, the lower part of the chair passing
completely under the base of the rail.
Bearing against the underside of the bearing surface of the rail, is the upper
portion of an angle-plate, one on either side of the rail, the lower legs of the said
plates being curved outwards and provided at their marginal ends with hooks, which
pass through the before mentioned perforated flanges of the rail-chair, being after-
wards bent upwards by hammering or other suitable means, without removal of the
angle-plate, for the purpose of tightening the various parts, should they become
loose from wear. The rail-chair may be provided with hooks of a similar nature,
when desired, extending through perforations in the angle-plates, for the same
purpose.
The before described angle-plates are bolted to the rails in the ordinary manner.
Dated this 25th day of November 1891
HUGHES, SON & Co.,
38, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rail-joints.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of 38, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent (a communication to me from abroad by Joseph Addison
Eno, of 261, Broad Street, Newark, Essex County, and State of New Jersey,
U. S. America, 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 object of this invention is to provide a reliable railway-joint and one that
will maintain a uniforin connection without spreading or enlargement of the ends of
the rails, and also simple and economical in construction.
The invention consists in the improved railway-joint and the combination and
arrangement of the various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth,
and finally embodied in the claims.
Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures,
Fig. 1 is a front view of a rail-joint embodying my improvement.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line x Fig. 1, and
Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line y, Fig. 1.
In the drawings, a. a represent rails as in ordinary use on railroads; b. b, are
angle-plates, and c represents a rail-chair extending under and beyond the ends of
the chair a. a as shown. The upper portion of the angle-plates is designed to bear

page_text: against the under side of the bearing-surface of the rail, the lower legs of said plates
being curved and provided at their marginal ends with hooks e. e.
The bottom angle of the plates is designed and arranged to leave a slight opening,
as shown at din Figs. 2 and 3.
The lower legs of said angle-plates are provided on their margins with hooks e,
extending through the perforations in the rail-chair and adapted to be struck up or
bent up by a hammer without removal of the angle-plate for the purpose of taking
up the wear. The rail-chair can be provided with hooks of a similar nature when
desired, extending through perforations in the angle-plates and adapted to be struck
or bent up by a hammer for the same purpose.
The rail-chair is made wide enough to furnish a complete and effective support
for the base of the rails, and is provided on its sides with upwardly-turned and
perforated flanges, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The hooks or prongs on the
margins e. e. of the lower legs of the angle-plates must extend through and
sufficiently beyond the perforated flanges to be upturned outside of the same to be
struck or bent up by a hammer, as before described.
The angle-plates are secured to the rails by bolts g in the ordinary manner.
In operation as the bolts are screwed up the angle-plates are drawn or pressed
against the rails and the hooks or prongs on the margins of the lower legs of the
angle-plates are then bent or turned by a hammer, thus clinching all the parts
together. Should the parts become loose from continual wear, they can be again
tightened firmly by a few strokes of hammer on the upturned hooks, thus firmly
drawing the upturned flanges of the chair toward each other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a railway-joint, the combination with the rails, of a chair provided with
upwardly-turned and perforated flanges, angle-plates the lower legs of which are
curved and provided at their margins with hooks extending through the perforations
in the chair and adapted to be struck or bent up by the hammer without removal of
the plate, to take up wear, and bolts securing the said plates to the rails, all as set
forth.
2. In a railway-joint, the combination with the rails, of a chair provided with
upturned and perforated flanges, angle-plates provided at their lower margins with
prongs or hooks extending through and sufficiently beyond the perforated flanges to
be upturned outside the same, and bolts securing the said plates to the rails, all as
set forth.
3. In a railway-joint, the combination, with the rails, of a chair provided with
upturned and perforated flanges, angle-plates provided at their lower margins with
prongs or hooks extending through and sufficiently beyond the perforated flanges to
be upturned outside the same, and bolts securing the plates to the rails, whereby
when the bolts are tightened, the upturned ends of the prongs counteract any
tendency of the flanges to spread apart, all as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 9th day of February 1892.
HUGHES, SON & Co.,
38, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.