Patent ID: 8245950

Claim:
A rail seal for sealing a gap between a rail and a surrounding surface material, the rail having a rail head, a rail base and a web portion interconnecting the rail head and rail base, the rail seal comprising: an elongated elastomeric seal body; a first surface formed along the length of the seal body for generally abutting and sealing with a corresponding side of the web portion of the rail; a second surface formed along the length of the seal body generally opposite to the first surface, the second surface generally abutting and sealing with a corresponding edge of the surrounding surface material; an upper surface formed along the length of the seal body, the upper surface extending between the rail head and the upper surface of the corresponding surrounding surface material; and a hinge element formed in the second surface of the seal body, the hinge element having a closed position and an open position, the hinge element comprising: a slit formed within the elastomeric material of the seal body, the slit having opposed faces, the opposed faces being in face-to-face contact when the hinge element is in said closed position, the second surface thereby forming a generally continuous surface.