Improvements in the Construction of Railway and Tramway Rails, for Joining same, and in Fish-plates to be used therewith.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 9th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 14th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Railway and Tramway Rails,
for Joining same, and in Fish-plates to be used therewith.
I WINFIELD CURTIS of Carbondale, Amador, State of California, United
States of America Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In rails as at present constructed, the underside of the face is rounded or curved
or inclined towards the web, the fish plates being made correspondingly to fit in.
As the face of the rail becomes forced down by the frequent blows of the traffic
the incline of the underside of face gradually squeezes out the fishplates at the
joints and breaks the bolts.
The object of this invention is by a simple alteration of the shape of the rail and
fish plates to obviate these defects and at the same time strengthen the rail at the
joint part and make it wear longer.
According to this invention the underside of the face is made at right angles to
the web or a right angle and a bevel, the fish plate being made to fit in and bolted
in the usual way, by this way the face of the rail is held up on each side by the
fish plate and two thirds of the weight of the traffic taken off the central web, by
being supported by the two fish-plates.
Dated this 10th day of December 1892.
FREDERIC PRINCE,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Railway and Tramway Rails,
for Joining same, and in Fish-plates to be used therewith.
I, WINFIELD CURTIS, of Carbondale, Amador, State of California, United
States of America, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in means for joining together the
abutting ends of rail-road rails, ordinarily known as "rail-joints."
The object of my invention is to provide a joint which will resist the jar and
pounding to which it is ordinarily subjected, the effect of which is, as is well
known to loosen the fish plates and in some cases to break the bolts which secure
them.
To enable this invention to be properly understood I will proceed to describe the
same with aid of the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1-is a perspective view;
Figure 2-a cross section of the rail and fish-plates.
:-
The ordinary rail-road rail consists of a head, web, and base, the web having
straight vertical faces, against which plane flat fish-plates abut at each joint, secured
by bolts passing through the plates and web. In forming the rail the web at top
and bottom joins the head and base, respectively, on curved or inclined lines, as
viewed in cross section, so that the fish-plate, although abutting squarely against
the web, is not squarely seated upon the base, nor does it have a square bearing
against the lower part of the head. The pounding of the wheels at the joints has a
tendency to push the lower edge of the fish-plate outward, and as this edge rests
upon a curved or inclined surface it is permitted to yield slightly, putting a great

page_text: strain on the bolts, sometimes bending them and sometimes breaking off the bolt-
heads.
I have provided a rail and fish-plate of improved cross section by which this
difficulty is entirely obviated. My invention can be applied either to new rails
when being rolled or to old ones by planing or shaping them to conform to the
cross section required.
A represents the head of the rail, B the web, and C the base. The sides of the
web are, as usual, vertical; but at the intersection of the head and web and of
the head and base instead of a curve or incline is a flat bevel, as shown at a h.
Adjoining this beveled surface on both the head and the base is a horizontal flat
face, as shown at cd. The object of the beveled surfaces is to strengthen the web,
as a right-angled intersection of the web and head would tend to weaken
the rail.
D represents the fish-plate, which is a straight iron bar provided with elongated
slots e for the fastening bolts, such slots permitting the rails to contract and
expand, according to the temperature. The cross-section of the fish-plate is such
as to accurately fit the web and the surfaces a b c d, so that the upper and lower
edges have a square bearing at top and bottom, respectively. It is thus enabled to
resist the pounding much better, as well as the tendency to be pushed outwardly at
the bottom, and in this way not only makes a more secure joint, but causes a great
saving in bolts now destroyed or rendered useless. In other words, the vertical
strain caused by the pounding of the wheels is transmitted vertically through the
fish-plates on the line of the flat surfaces cd, so that a large part of the strain
resisted is by the surface which will not permit the fish-plate to yield. When
the lower edge of the plate rests upon an inclined or curved surface, as usual, the
greater part of the strain is brought upon the bolts, as they are the only means for
keeping the lower edge of the plate from slipping outward.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what I
claim is :-
The combination, with two abutting rails having the vertical webs B, the beveled
surfaces a and b and the flat horizontal surfaces c and d, of fish-plates of such shape
in cross-sections as to fit the said web and said beveled and horizontal surfaces,
substantially as set forth.
Dated this 9th day of September 1893.
FREDERIC PRINCE,
1, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London, Agent for Applicant.