US1154771A - Rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

Em: AWaEL-ABLE 3% 1. M. HINKLE & J. s. COOPER.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICAHON FILED APR. 14. 1915.

1 1 54,77 1 Patented Sept. 28, 1915.

CQPY

UNITED stratrnsramawr orr oiz.'

JAMES MJHINKLE AND JOHN S. CBOOPER, OF SOMERSET, KENTUCKY.

' RAIL-JOINT.

accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to rail joints, and particularly to that class of wherein fish-plates are used, engaging on each side of the rail and extending over and around the base flanges thereof.

The primary object of thisinvention is to provide a railjoint which will not only hold the rails in absolute alinement with each other, but will also act to support the rails from downward deflection at their meeting ends.

A further objectofthe invention is the proiision of a joint of this character so formed that only one bolt may be used to hold the fish-plates in engagement with" the meeting rails, and this bolt not being passed through either of the rails but being disposed beneath the base of the rail in such-a position that it will not be liable to accidental detachment.

A furtherv object of the invention is to provide a joint having fish-plates which are so formed as to support the rail against lateral thrust and tipping strain, these fish plates also extendinglbeneath the rail and being so constructed as to providestrengthening webs or thickened portions beneath the joint meeting rails so as to additionally guard against any downward deflection of i the rails at the joints.-

A further object of the invention is to so form the fish-plates that they may be spiked to the tie in the same manner as the flange of the rail itself, and that these fish-plates shall have relatively thick and strong marginal edges in engagement with the spike so that the heaving of the track will not tend to break or crack the fish-plates as is often the case wherespikes engage the relatively thin base flange of the rail.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description. I

This invention is illustratejd in the accompanying drawings, wl erein;

Figure 1 is a side e citation of arail joint railapplied thereto, the

with my improved head of the rail being partly broken away;

rail joints Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. .28, 1915., Application filed April 14, 1915. Serial No. 21,379. i

Fig. 2 is a perspective detail view of one of the splice-bars or fish-plates; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. v

Referring to these drawings, '2 designates a rail of the usual form having the base 3 I and the head l. The under side of the head of each rail adjacent its ends is formed with the upwardly extending recesses? It will of course be understood that there are two rails :2 which are abutted against each other at the'jointsbetween their ends.

For the purpose of supporting the two. abutting rails and holding them in alinement. 1 provide the oppositely disposed fish-plates 6.

Each fish-plate has a base portion 7, an upwardly and inwardly extending web 8-which extends over the upper face of the adjacent base flange of the rail, and the upwardly extending portion 9 which extends up against the web of the rail. This portion 9 at its upper edge is formed with the tenons or lugs 10 which are received within the recesses or mortises 5. 'The base of each fish-plate is formed on its under side and adjacent its middle with the longitudinally extending rib or thickened portion 11. This thickened portion may extend out to the outer edge of the corresponding fish-plate but preferably the outer edge of the thickened portion does not extend outward beyond the inner face of the bracing portion 8 of the fish-plate.

Preferably, each rib 11 or web has an upwardly and longitudinally curved or inclined face 12, and each rib is provided with holes 13 for the reception of one or more bolts 14. The ribs or thickened portions 11 have a length approximately equal to the usual distance between two ties, so that the thickened portions 11 will extend downward between the ties andwill bear at their ends against the'ties, thus holding the fish-plate from longitudinal movement relative to the ties. These downwardly depending ribs 11 also engage withthe ballast of the road bed, and this assists in holding the rails, fishplates, and the ties securely'in place from longitudinal mo 'ementr Furthermore, the fish-plates are each cut away at their edges, as at 15, to provide for the engagement of the fish-plates by spikes 16.

fish-plates 6, the oint between the meetingvious that these thickened portions will so rails being disposed above the middle of the" thickened'portion 11. It will be obstrengthen the bases of the fish-plates that downward strain upon the rails will be fully resisted, andjtherfore there will be no downward deflection of the. rails at the joint; notwithstanding the 'fact that the joint does not come over the ties. It will be obvious that there can beno upward de-' flection of one'rail with relation to the other because of the fact that the ends, of-

the rails are clamped securely from either upward, downward, or lateral movement. Creeping of the rails with relation to. the

fish-plates is prevented by the interlocking lugs and recesses in the fish-plates and heads of the-rails. And-furthermore. by the use of these lugs interlocking with -the rail.

heads, the upper portion of each fish-plate will be interlocked with the rail, while the lower portion is held'clamped by the bolt' or bolts 1- Because of this interlocking of the upper edges of the fish-plates with the rail, only one bolt is neededto hold the fish-plates securely in position.

It will be seen that the angular form given to the fish-plates is very much stronger than the flat form ordinarily given to fishplates, andthat there will be less tendency of the fish-plates to be deflected or strained. And again it will be noted that the rail is braced between the two fish-plates andsupported" against tipping strain or any tendency to break, and again even if the rail should break the two port-ions of the rail on each side of the'break cannot get out of alinement with each other.- a

In modern railway practice. with the high speed trains now in use and with theincreasing weight of the rolling stock. there is a very great strain upon the 'rails which is 1 met today by increasing the weight of the rails. Ouinintention is to resist this strain very largely by the use of these fish-plates, which need not be used necessarily at a joint but might be used at'intervals' entirely along the rail. Furthermore. under the conditions of 'inodernpractice, flat morn-and these flat wheels result in constant bi' eak'ages of the rails. \Yith our improved oint, even though therails do break, there can be no danger of de-railment inasmuch as the two portions of the rail will be held' to tipping thrust upon the rail. With our Again it is to be rail, and this often construction the spikes are applied to the edges of the, fish-plates or splice bar, and

these edges arerelatively thick. As a consequence, these edges are not so liable to break or crack under strain, and even if appear it will of oppositely disposed complementary fish plates formed to embrace'th'e base flange of the rail and confront each other-below the rail. each of said fish plates having aver- -tical web, an ol'itwardly and downwardly extending web, the under face of which is inclined to contact with and have \vcdging engageiiient with the upper face of the corresponding base flange. and a horizontal web, the horiZontal web engaging beneath the base of the rail and means disposed below the rail for urging said fish plates toward each other and against the rail, the upper edge of the vertical web of each il ll plate'enga-ging beneath the head ofthc rail and being formed with a plurality of studs, the rail being formed upon the under face of its head with a plurality of stud-receiving vertically extending recesses, the outer faces of whichare inclined outward and downward, whereby upon the forcing of y the fish'pla tcs toward each otherthe 'vcr- 'tical flanges of the fish plates will be urged into wedging engagement between the base flange of the rail andthe head to thereby clamp the fish plates intowvedging engagement with the base and head of the rail.

2. The combination with a rail having a base flange formed with oppositely dis-- posed upwardly and inwardly beveled faces.

of oppositely disposed complementary fishplates formed to embrace the base flange of ,the rail and confront each other below the rail, each of said fish-plates having a} vertlCzlhWQl), an outwardly and downwardly engagement with the upperface ofthe corextending web; the under face of which is I I nclined to contact with and'have wed'ging wheels on freight trains are relatively coinengage" beneath the base Ofthe rail, the

upper edge of the vertical web of each fishplate being provided with a. plurality of studs.' and the under face of the'horizontal web'being provided with a longitudinally extendingthicken'ed \veb less in width than the width/of the horizontal weband terminating short of outer edge face? and perforated for the passage of a bolt the portions of the horizontal web overhanging the longitudinally extending -web acting;' to protect the ends of the bolt from moisture, the rail being formed upon the under face upon theforcing of the fish-plates toward nesses.

the rail.

of its head with a plurality of stud-receiw In testimony whereof we hereunto atfix ing vertlcally extending recesses whereby our slgnatul es in the presence of two \nt- 10 JAMES M. HISKLE.

each other and in Contact with the rail, the

7 JOHN S. COOPER.

studs 0n the upper edge 'of the vertical flange of each jsh-plate will be forced into Witnesses:

engagement wi 11 the recessesin the head of J. V. SMITH,

- R. H. \VEI-CIL Jr.

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