US2689091A - Rail joint - Google Patents

Description

Sept- 14, 1954 M. SLYDER 2,689,091

RAIL JOINT Filed Jan. l2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l www ATTORNEYJ Sept. 14, 1954 M, SLYDER 2,689,091

I RAIL JOINT Filed Jan. l2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jen'ilb Jgdel:

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 14, 1954 UNITED STATES A'IENT OFFICE RAIL JOINT Merrill Slyder, Williamsport, Pa. Application January 12, 1951, Serial No. 205,703 4 Claims. (Cl. 23S-219) The present invention relates to improvements in rail joints, and more particularly to a joint which is designed to promote the safety of railroad operation.

It is an object of this invention to furnish a rail joint which Will prevent independent vertical movement between the ends of adjacent rails connected in a longitudinal line as the wheels of the locomotive move thereover.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a joint as described above which will prevent independent lateral movement between the adjacent ends of said rails, thereby adding to safety of operation as the locomotive wheels pass over the joint.

Another object of the invention is to design a joint which will reduce rail batter and wearing on the rail ends which is now prevalent in railroad operations. Also the joint is so fashioned to give a much stronger joint than those now in use. p

Still another object of this invention is to provide a locking type of joint which can be applied to any size, shape or type of rail and its associated fish plates now in use with a minimum cost.

These and other advantages will become apparent from the following description of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation view of a preferred form of the invention, parts thereof being broken away and shown with other parts in cross section;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the invention shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation view of the blocking assembly shown in Fig. 1

Figure 4 is a side elevation view of Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the rails used in a second form of the invention;

Figure 6 is a front elevation view of the block assembly used in the rail shown in Fig. 5;

Figure 7 is a side elevation view of Fig. 6;

Figure 8 is an elevation view of a third form of the invention, parts thereof being shown in section;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the rails used in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 8;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the block assembly used in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 8;

Figure 11 is a front elevation of the block assembly shown in Fig. 10.

Similar reference characters in the several figures indicate similar parts.

In the preferred modification of the invention, Figs. 1 4, I show a pair of rails I0 and I I. The ends of each of these rails are similar in construction and it is believed a detailed description of one end will suiiice. Rail I@ has a base portion I2, a web I3 and a head I4. The rail end is provided with a U-shaped slot I5 in head I 4, said slot being vertically aligned with web I3, the latter having a out-away portion I6 to furnish a shoulder Il adjacent base I2. Slot I5 has laterally spaced side walls I8 and I9, each wall tapering upwardly and inwardly from the lower end thereof.

When the rail ends are placed adjacent and in line with each other, slot I5 in each rail end and the cut-away portion I are in registering relation.

A metallic locking' block assembly 2@ constructed -of suitable material is adapted to be positioned in said registered slots and cut-away portions. The assembly is constructed in two parts and includes an upper part 2I and a base part 22.

The upper part comprises a head portion including laterally spaced tapered sides 23 and 2li terminating at the upper end thereof in a horizontal top surface 25. The taper extends the full height of the head and results in facing tapered sides. Side 26 is a continuation of side 23 and is substantially vertical. On the opposite side of the upper part a vertical side portion 2l' continues downwardly from. side Zll to a shoulder 28. Side 29 continues from this shoulder and is tapered laterally outwardly. The bottom surface of upper part 2| is of step-like formation and includes a pair of spaced horizontal surfaces 38 and 3l connected by a vertical surface 32.

The lower or base part 22 has upper surfaces 33, 34 and 35 complementary with surfaces 3G, 32 and 3l, respectively, on part 2 I. Side 3S is positioned to be in alignment with side 26 of the upper part and side 3l is adapted to be positioned laterally outwardly and parallel with side 29 of the upper part. The bottom surface of the base member is rep-resented by the numeral 33. An aperture 39 is fashioned in the upper part eX- tending from side 26 to side 28. This aperture is for the purpose of accommodating a bolt for l securing the assembly to sh plate 48.

The method of assembly is to first place the ends of adjacent rails in abutment and in longitudinal alignment. The upper part 2I of the locking block is then placed in the cut-away portions I of each rail end. The part is then lifted vertically until the tapered head is wedged against the sides of slot I5 on ea'ch rail end. Then the base portion 22 is inserted beneath the upper part and from one side thereof. It will be noted that the bottom 38 of the base portion is adapted to rest on shoulder I1 of each rail end. The top 25 of the block assembly bridges the space between rail ends allowing for expansion and contraction during varying weather conditions.

The block assembly is then secured to an adjacent fish plate 4l! by means of a bolt 4I. Due to the looking effect between the upper and lower parts of the assembly the lower part is held firmly in place on shoulders I1 and against the fish plate. It will be seen that this is a quite simple method of assembly. Then sh plate 42 is secured to plate 4U by a plurality of bolts and the' joint is ready for operation.

As the locomotive wheels approach the joint the wedging action of the head of the block as sembly prevents lateral movement of one rail end relative to the other rail end. Also the head cooperates with the base portion and shoulders I1 to prevent independent vertical movement between independent rail ends. As stated above, the top of the head portion permits the wheels to roll thereover and provides a smooth entry from one rail to another. There is no battering of the ends of the rail as in the conventional joint. This type of joint further provides greater strength on curves when there is more of a tendency of the rails to move laterally.

In the second form of the invention shown in Figs. -'1 the rail ends are of somewhat different construction than the preferred embodiment. Here the cut out portion, illustrated by the numeral 43, extends from a shoulder 44 in the base of the rail upwardly into the head I4. It will be noted however, that the cutaway portion terminates at the upper end at 45 and therefore does not extend to the top of head I4.

The metallic locking block assembly in the second modification is the same as that in the preferred embodiment with the exception that the former does not contain a tapered head which extends into the head of the rail terminating at the top thereof. The assembly here shown (Figs. 6-7) is illustrated generally by the numeral 51S and includes the upper part 41 and the base part 48. The sides on one side of the assembly illustrated by the numerals 49 and 5B are in substantial vertical alignment. The top of upper part 4'! is illustrated by the numeral 5 I. Opposite to these sides, sides 52, 53 and 54 are provided and are of similar design to sides 21, 29 and 31 of the preferred embodiment. An aperture 55 is positioned in the upper part 41 similar to aperture in part 2 I The complementary surfaces 56, 51, 53, 59, t@ and 6I on assembly 46 are similar to surfaces 3B, 3|, 32, 33, 34 and 35 of assembly 2i).

The method of assembly in the second modiiication is to position the rails in abutting relation in longitudinal alignment and insert the upper part 41 into the cut-away portion of the two rails. The top 5I is adapted to abut the surface of each rail. Next the base part is placed in position beneath the upper part and then the assembly is bolted to the fish plate as in the rst embodiment.

The third embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figures 8-11. The cut-out portion of the end of the rail forms a vertical wall 62 terminating at its lower end in a horizontal shoulder 63 and at its upper end in a horizontal surface 64.

The metallic block 65 which is adapted to be placed in the cut-out portion of the rail ends is in one single piece and is furnished with lateral walls 66 and 61 connected by side walls G8 and S9. A flange 10 projects downwardly from wall 66 and is adapted to abut the side of the web adjacent shoulder 63. The bottom 1I of the block is positioned to rest on shoulder 53. A threaded bolt 12 is formed integral with the block and extends perpendicularly from wall 61. A shoulder 13 is formed at the upper end of wall 66 to permit a portion of the fish plate to fit thereagainst. The top surface 14 of the block is adapted to t against surface 64 of the rail. Flange 1G is narrower than wall 66 associated therewith, the corners of the block being tapered to accommodate the arcuate corners of the cut-away portions of the rail.

The assembly of this block into the rail ends is simply to t the block in the cut-away portions in the position described above. Then the iish plate next to bolt 12 is placed in position, bolt 12 extending therethrough. The two parts are locked together by means of a nut on bolt 12. Then the other fish plate is placed in position and bolted to the rst-mentioned iish plate.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that variations in details of form may be made without departure from the invention as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A rail joint comprising a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the heads and registering cutaway portions in the web thereof, said slots in the heads being tapered throughout their full length so as to produce facing tapered sides defining at least a part of said slots, a metallic block assembly including a tapered upper part and a lower part, said upper part being inserted in said registering slots and cut-away portions and being in contact with said heads along said tapered sides, said lower part being positioned beneath the upper part and substantially filling the remainder of the cutaway portions, a pair of fish plates of similar design positioned on opposite sides of Said rail ends and securing said ends, and means securing said block assembly to one of said fish plates only.

2. A rail joint comprising a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the heads and registering cut-away portions in the webs thereof, said slots in the heads being tapered, a metallic block assembly including an upper part having a tapered head adapted to t within said tapered slot and complementary therewith, said upper part being secure-d by bolt and nut means to a fish plate on one side of said rail ends, a lower part positioned below said upper part, complementary means on said upper and lower parts locking said parts together, a second fish plate on the other side of said rail ends, and means securing said fish plates together.

3. A rail joint comprising a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots extending longitudinally of said rail ends and registering cut-away portions in the webs thereof, said slots being vertically tapered, a metallic block assembly including an upper part having a tapered head adapted to fit within said tapered slot and complementary therewith, said upper part being secured by bolt and nut means to a sh plate on one side of said rail ends, a lower part positioned below said upper part, means for locking said upper and lower parts together comprising vertically spaced horizontal surfaces formed on said upper part and cooperating complementary vertically spaced horizontal surfaces formed on said lower part.

4. A rail joint comprising a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the heads of said rail ends and registering cut-away portions in the webs of said rail ends, said cut-away portions being defined in part by a shoulder adjacent the base portion of said rail ends, said shoulder being aligned longitudinally with said rail, Said slots in the heads being tapered so as to produce facing tapered sides defining at least a part of said slots with the narrow point of the taper being at the top of said rail ends, a block assembly including a tapered upper part and a lower part, said upper part being inserted in said registering slots and cut-away portions and being in contact with said slots along their tapered sides, said lower part being positioned beneath the upper part and substantially filling the cut-away portions and seating on said shoulder, a pair of fish plates positioned on opposite sides of said rails, means securing said rail ends, sh plates and said upper and lower parts together including complementary means on said upper and lower parts locking said parts together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 898,799 Stitzell Sept. 15, 1908 1,465,263 Glanzer Aug. 21, 1923 2,079,533 Slyder May 4, 1937

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