Improvements in Railway Rail Joints.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 8th Oct., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway Rail Joints.
I, ROBERT HINCHLIFFE, of 6,606, Lowe Avenue, in the City of Chicago, State of
Illinois, U.S.A., Civil 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 :-
וי
It has been found by experience that railway rails seldom break between the ends.
The joint is the weak part of the track. I can make the joint, by the construction
described, stronger than the body of the rail.
Fig.
My improved rail joint is illustrated in the annexed drawing, wherein :
is a side elevation of a rail joint with two bolts omitted;
Fig. 2 is an end view of joint plates applied to section of rail
Fig: 3 is a similar view of a modification, and
.
Fig. 4, a modification for rails with heavy base flange.
Referring to the drawings:
;
A, A, indicate railway rails of various usual constructions, laid on any usual
sleepers or ties B, B.
The joint plates C, C, Fig. 2, are duplicates of each other and rectangular in side
elevation. The upper edge of plate C fits under the head A¹ of the rail, the inner
face of the joint plate having inside ribs c, c¹, which project toward the web A² of
the rail, from the upper section of the joint plate, as is common. The rib c', is just
above the flange A³ of the rail, when applied thereto.
The body of the plate curves around the flange of the rail, and the lower
section C², below the rail flange, is in the same vertical plane as the upper
section C¹, but extends below the rail flange. By preference, the plate section C²
has projections c² and c³, the former extending nearly into contact, and the latter
quite in contact with each other below the rail, when the joint is complete. That
part Cs of the joint plate which connects the top and bottom sections curves round
the rail flange.
The bolts
Bolts D pass through holes h in the joint plates and rail above the rail flange, and
bolts D' pass through the lower sections of the plates, below the rail.
have nuts E, and may have washers or lock nuts F.
In the modification Fig. 2, the sections of the joint plates below the rail form
a trough or box under the rail, the ribs of said joint plates extending nearly or
quite into contact at c² and also at 3. This makes an extremely stong construction
to resist borizontal or lateral strains, and the whole width of the joint plate is
brought into use to resist vertical strains.
The joint plates shown in Fig. 3 are somewhat lighter, and the ribs c¹, c² are
omitted. The sections C1, C2 of the plates above and below the rail flange are
in the same vertical plane.
The joint plates of Fig. 4, applied to a rail with a heavy narrow flange A³, omit the
central curved section from the plate; the sections C³ and C2 are in the same vertical
plane, as before, and the ribs c, c¹, c² and c are arranged as in Fig. 2, but differing
lightly in width.

page_text: From the foregoing it will be seen, that with very slight modifications my joint
plates are adapted to any usual form of rail; that when applied between the ties
or sleepers the joint does not depend for its strength on the strength of the ties or
sleepers, but on the rail, joint plates, and locking means, and as the joint plates form
substantially a box below the rails, great strength and stiffness are imparted to the
'joint.
The joint plates may be of cast or rolled metal, the form being such that the plates
may be rolled in long strips and then cut to proper length. As the plates are alike,
they can be applied to either side of the rail, by simply reversing one plate.
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. The novel rail joint plate having the sections which extend below the railway
rails substantially in form of a box, and having ribs to come in contact with the rails,
and provided with bolt holes.
2. The railway rail joint, consisting of two joint plates of the form.described
connected to the rail by bolts passing through the plates and rail, and by bolts
passing through the plates below the rail, the, plates forming a box beneath the rail,
and bracing the joint both vertically and laterally.
Dated this 15th day of August 1898.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents for the 'Applicant.