IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING THE BOLTS IN THE JOINTS OF RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY RAILS to be as follows:-
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY JAMES SAUNDERS of Rock Fawr House Tondu near Bridgend in the
County of Glamorgan Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING THE BOLTS IN THE JOINTS OF RAILWAY AND
TRAMWAY RAILS to be as follows:-
"
This Invention relates to improved means for securing the bolts in the joints of
railway and tramway rails.
For this purpose I form one of the fish plates with a flange having an incline
which forms one side of a dovetail when the parts are in position. The fish plate
on the other side of the rail is of the ordinary form.
The screw nuts which secure the bolts of the fish plates are advantageously
formed with inclined surfaces inwards so as to form (when fully screwed up in
position) a dovetail key-way one side of the dovetail being formed by the sides
of the screw nuts and the other, the inner inclined surface of the flange on the fish
plate.
A key (or keys) is driven into the key-way thus formed so as to retain the screw
nuts in position and prevent them from becoming loose from vibration.
The keys are driven in from either or both ends and are slightly taper.
It is not absolutely necessary that the screw nuts should be formed with inclined
surfaces as they may be of the ordinary kind square, hexagonal, or other form, the
key being formed accordingly.
This improved method of securing the screw bolts of the fish plate joints of
railway and tramway rails is applicable to different forms of fish plates.

page_text: "
I HENRY JAMES SAUNDERS of Rock Fawr House Tondu near Bridgend in the
County of Glamorgan, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING THE BOLTS IN THE JOINTS OF 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 :-
"
This invention relates to improved means for securing the bolts in the joints of
railway and tramway rails.
For this purpose I form one of the fish plates with a flange or ledge having an
incline which forms one side of a dovetail when the parts are in position. The fish
plate on the other side of the rail may be of the ordinary form.
The screw nuts which secure the bolts of the fish plates may if desired be formed
with inclined surfaces inwards so as to form (when fully screwed up in position) a
dovetail key way or space one side of the dovetail being formed by the sides of
the screw nuts and the other by the inner inclined surface of the flange on the fish
plate.
A key or wedge is driven into the space thus formed between the under sides of
the nuts and the ledge so as to retain the screw nuts in position and prevent them
from becoming loose from vibration.
:
The keys or wedges may be driven in from either end or otherwise and maybe
slightly taper.
It is not necessary that the screw nuts should be formed with inclined surfaces
as they may be of the ordinary kind square, hexagonal, or other forin, the key or
wedge being formed accordingly.
.
This improved method of securing the screw bolts of the fish plate joints of
railway and tramway rails is applicable to different forms of fish plates.
In carrying out my improved method of securing the bolts in the joints of
railway aid tramway rails a ledge or flange a! is rolled on one of the fish plates a a
with its upper face at a² inclined inwards as represented in the drawings hereto
annexed Figure 1 being a side view and Figure 2 a plan. The ledge or flange a
forms the support for bevel shaped wedges c which (when the nuts 6 are tightly
screwed on to the bolts b¹) are driven into the space left between the undersides
of the nuts b and the ledge a¹. Each wedge serves to secure two nuts or one
wedge may be of sufficient length to secure the four nuts thus forming a perfect
lock to the nuts so as to resist the effect of any vibration to which they may be
subject and without risk of shaking out the wedges.
The addition of the flange or ledge a¹ and wedge c adds very little to the weight
and cost of the material already in use and as far as the addition of the fish plate
is a distinct accession of strength to the weak portions of the road viz the rail
joints at little extra cost my improvements also admitting of the use of all the
ordinary fish plates bolts and nuts in road and stock or the fellow fish plate (to
the new one with the ledge a¹) may be the same as the one in present use conse-
quently none of the existing materials in road or stock are rendered useless by the
adoption of my improvements.
My improvements are particularly applicable to the heel joints of switches where
a difficulty now exists in keeping two out of the four bolts slack (in order to allow
the proper travel to the point of the tongue) without the risk of their coming
undone. By my improvements this can be easily and safely done as it is impos-
sible for the partially slackened nuts at the heel of the joint to come off when
secured by the wedge.

page_text: I would remark that I make no claim to any of the parts separately which are
well known and in common use.
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 ;-
The improved method of securing the bolts in the joints of railway and tramway
rails by forming a flange or ledge on one of the fish plates and securing the nuts
and bolts by means of a key or wedge substantially in the manner and for the
purpose herein before fully described and represented in the Drawings annexed.
Dated this 25th day of November 1884.