US612891A

US612891A - Rail-joint

Info

Publication number: US612891A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1898-10-25
Anticipated expiration: 1915-10-25

Description

Patented Oct. 25, |898.

N. BENJAMIN RAIL JOINT.

(Application led s H, i

No Model.)

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NEWTON BENJAMIN, OF ELMIRA, NEW YORK.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,891, dated October 25, 1898.

Application filed December 1, 18 9 '7.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEWTON BENJAMIN, a resident of Elmira, in the county of Chemnn g and State of New York, have invented eertain new and useful Improvements in Rail- .lointsg and I do hereby declare the following to be af ull, clear, and exact description of the invention, sneh as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in rail-joints, and more particularly to such as are adaptable for use with rails of steam or similar railroads with which heavy ears and locomotives are employed.

Heretofore it has been the usual custom to provide iish-plates formed of angle-iron and so made as to terminate at their upper edge under the head of the rail and so as to project at their lower edge over the flange of the rail. ln some eases fish-plates have been so constructed as to be disposed parallel with the web of the rail, terminating at the upper edge under the head and at the lower edge above the lian ge of the rail without extending over the latter.

Practical experience has demonstrated that fish-plates constructed-and applied in the ways above mentioned are open to very serious objection, owing to their inability to withstand the immense strain to which they are subjected. It is a matter of common knowledge among those familiar with the practical operation of railroads that on account of the strain to which the fish-plates are subjected at the meeting ends of the rails they are liable to break or become strained, and this has become a source of great annoyance, expense, and danger. It has also been proposed to construct ish-plates so that their Lipper edge will terminate flush with the tread of the rail, and some have formed the upper edge with an enlargement the entire upper surface of which has been made flush with the tread of the rail, so as to form a continuous rolling surface for the wheels over the meeting ends of the rails. Such construction is wholly impractical, because it is evident that when the wheels become grooved (as they will do in the course of a comparatively short time on account of being made to rotate on the rails without rolling thereon when too great amount of steam is ap- Serial No. 660,408. (No model.)

plied in starting or pulling a train, particularly with a heavy load and especially when the rail is wet or slippery) they will forcibly strike the upper edges of the fish-plates, with the result that the latter will be liable to be broken, or, which is equally as probable, to cause the breakage of the bolts which secure `the fish-plates to the rail, in either ease rendering the replacing of the plates with new ones or the provision of new bolts necessary and in the meantime endangering the safety of travel over the road.

It is to overcome these defects and objections without appreciably adding to the cost of construction and application of fish-plates that constitutes the object of my present invention; and with this object in view the inventiorpconsists in certain novel construction of a rail-joint, as will be hereinafter specifically set forth, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a View illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view.

A represents one rail-section,and Banother, the two being united by means of my improvements, of which 1 illustrates an angular fishplate, preferably having its inner face next to the web of the rail grooved, as at 2. The base portion 3 rests upon the flanges of the abutting rail-sections and extends over the same, terminating at its outer edge in a depending flange or -lip 4. The upper portion of the body of the plate forms a shoulder 5, which is disposed under and in contact with the head of the rail. The upper edge of the fish-plate is provided with an enlargement or head 6, preferably of steel, which abuts the full length ofthe plate against the side faces of the heads of abutting rail-sections. The head or enlargement 6 is so made as to terminate below the tread of the rails, so as to be entirely out of reach of the wheel of the cars and locomotives, and its upper face is preferably beveled inwardly, as at 7. The enlargement or head 6 is of a diameter substantially equal to one-half the diameter of the head of the rail. By providing the fishplate with the head of steel extending from end to end thereof the plate will be strengthened and breakage thereof by the strain brought to bear thereon will be effectually obviated, and the additional amount of metal IOO distributed in the heed end depth ef plateA obviates the possibility of allowing the joints to work or become low. In other Words, it is possible for the rail to be as rigid and stiff at the joint as at any other part. Furthermore, said head or enlargement bearing against the sides of the heads of the abutting rail-sections will prevent the latter from getting out of line with each other. Again, by my improved construction I am able to secure greater depth of iish-plate than any now in use.

The iish-plate above described will be disposed on the outside of the rail-sections, and against the inner, faces of the webs of said rail-sections I prefer to place a plate 9 and to connectthis with my improved fish-plate by means of bolts l0, passing through them and the webs of the rail-sections.

My improvements are simple, but they 0bviate a serious defect which has been the cause of great annoyance in the practical operation of railroads and which, so far as I am aware, has never before been effectually overcome. Having fully described my invention, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a rail-joint, the combination with two rails, of a {ish-plate bolted to the adjacent ends thereof for securing them together, said fish-plate having a large head of metal at its upper edge engaging the lower side face of the head of the rail below the tread thereof and out of reach of the car-wheel treads and projecting a distance beyond the side face of the head of the rail insucient to permit injury thereto by the car-wheels should the latter leave the track, said head of metal on the fishplate being 0f a diameter substantially equal to one-half the diameter of the head of the rail, whereby to enlarge and reinforce the npper edge of the fish-plate and prevent the cracking of 'the lat-ter When subjected to pounding strain caused by the engagement of the car-wheels with the far ends of the rails with which the fish-plate is connected.

In testimony whereof I have signed this speoiiication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NEWTON BENJAMIN.

Vitnesses:

I-I. A. MILFORD, H. B. CLEVELAND.