Improvements in Rail Joints.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 17th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 23rd Sept., 1899
I, RICITARD PRICE-WILLIAMS, of 32, Victoria Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows;-
The object of this invention is largely to add to the strength of the rails
at the rail joints and to dispense with entirely depending upon bolts and nuts
for holding the fish plates to the sides of the rails.
According to this invention I form a rail joint by means of a short length of
rail, a pair of double fish plates and a double dovetail key.
The short length of rail is parallel to the main rails and a short distance
below them. The double fish plates fit the hollows of the main rails and of
the short length, one on each side, and each has at its middle a dovetail groove
to receive one of the large ends of the double dovetail key the smaller part or
web of which lies between the main rails and the short length.
The dovetail key may itself be a short piece of rail and in any case may be
in two or more lengths.
Dated thin 17th day of November 1908
Improvements in Rail Joints.
I, RICHARD PRICE-WILLIAMS, now of 15, formerly of 32, Victoria Street, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
The object of this invention is largely to add to the strength of the rails
at the rail joints and to dispense with entirely depending upon bolts and nuts
for holding the fish plates to the sides of the rails.
According to this invention I form a rail joint by means of a short length of
rail, a pair of double fish plates and a double dovetail key.
The short length of rail is parallel to the main rails and a short distance
below them. The double fish plates fit the hollows of the main rails and of
the short length, one on each side, and each has at its middle a dovetail groove
to receive one of the large ends of the double dovetail key the smaller part or
web of which lies between the main rails and the short length.
The dovetail key may itself be a short piece of rail and in any case may be
in two or more lengths.

page_text: The drawings annexed to the specification show transverse sections of three
joints made in accordance with this invention.
In Figure 1 the double dovetail key is formed specially for the purpose.
In Figure 2 the dovetail is itself a short piece of rail, and Figure 3 shows the
invention applied to flat footed rails.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the joint.
Figure 5 is a modification in which the short length of rail abuts directly
against the under side of the main rails."
In all the figures the same reference letters apply.
a is the main rail, and b is the short piece of rail below it.
cc are the
fish plates fitting into the hollows of the rails a and b. d is the double dovetail
key.
ee are bolts and. nuts.
Preferably the double dovetail key is in two lengths, and these are driven in
from the two ends of the joint, one from one end, the other form the other,
and when driven in they hold the fish plates firmly against the sides of the
rails. The bolts may be put in place either before or after the driving in of
the double dovetail key.
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:-
1. A rail joint formed by two deep fish plates which fit the hollows of the
main rails and of a short length of rail beneath them.
2. A rail joint formed by two fish plates which fit the hollows of the main
rails and of a short length of rail beneath them and each having a dovetail
groove to receive one of the correspondingly formed large ends of a double dove-
tail key the smaller part or web of which lies between the main rails and the
short length of rail.
3. Rail joints substantially as described and shown in the drawings.