What is this thing?


Thesaff

New Member
I pretty much know most track parts but came across this today and have no clue.. to big and flimsy for an anchor. Plus it has notches on the end like it adjusts does any one know or who to ask.
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Yep, I know exactly what that is. They're rare, so it's understandable you don't recognize it. You also have that one bit backwards.

It's used to hold rubber flangeways in place on a crossing. It's sort of like this drawing, but it was an earlier version so the clip is now U shaped. For the version you have, it came with a prybar to pull it into place and the bottom piece then seated in the notches. Kind of like a rail anchor.

General concept:
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Grainy video showing the version you have:

New version with the improved clips.
 
BTW, no railroader on this side of the Atlantic would call that a "fish bolt" or use the term "fish plate". Those are European terms, and I think they're outdated too, but maybe they still use them? Those are simply track bolts, and and the "fish plates" are Joint Bars.

 
Thank you for the great info and video. I was baffled by that one.. and the joint bars and bolts.. I've always called rail joiners and bolts but I keep getting corrected by my British speaking son inlaw.. to fish plates so I put a sticker on it to mess with him.. I'm in the heart land and yes I agree joiners and bolts.. the main lines here are welded solid but our short lines and sidings are still using rail joiners...
 
Vewy Intewesting. Obviously to me, they don't use that method on rail crossings here. I was interested in watching when they re-laid the roadbed, tracks and tarseal on the one near me. Just put the seal over the top of the ballast up to the track and between, then let the next passing train provide the groove for the flange. The consequence of that being a ridge of seal on the inner edges.
 
Thank you for the great info and video. I was baffled by that one.. and the joint bars and bolts.. I've always called rail joiners and bolts but I keep getting corrected by my British speaking son inlaw.. to fish plates so I put a sticker on it to mess with him.. I'm in the heart land and yes I agree joiners and bolts.. the main lines here are welded solid but our short lines and sidings are still using rail joiners...
Rail joiner is purely a model railroad term.

We call them joint bars. They’re sold in pairs. There are several styles, “head free” “toe-less” as well as number of bolt holes 4 hole bars are usually 24” long, 6 hole bars are 36”

If I called my supplier, I’d say something like this:
“I need 12 pair of 6 hole 115RE bars and 72 1” x 6” track bolts” That would be enough for them to know what I need, though they’d ask “new or used” on the bars and whether they had to be domestic manufacturer.
 
Vewy Intewesting. Obviously to me, they don't use that method on rail crossings here. I was interested in watching when they re-laid the roadbed, tracks and tarseal on the one near me. Just put the seal over the top of the ballast up to the track and between, then let the next passing train provide the groove for the flange. The consequence of that being a ridge of seal on the inner edges.

It’s an unusual style, I’ve only installed a few. Light traffic areas, but also areas where they want the rubber edging. Often it’s due to forklift traffic in the area. It’s far more typical to use just plain asphalt as you suggest, or to install a prefab panel of concrete. Rubber was popular years ago, but it crumbled under load over the years, so they’re out of fashion now.
In case of extreme load, like this container terminal with constant traffic we do cast in place concrete

878F2D7D-E1BE-4B5C-92E4-87E2CB58500D.jpeg
 
Interesting stuff Bob, I’ve never dealt with these but have with the rubber matting.
I did deal with joint bars tho, particularly “compromise bars”.

For inquiring minds compromise bars are joiners for mating different size rails together.
These come in a set of four, left, right, inside and outside.
Think of joining code 100 to 83 keeping in mind that the real rail heads need to be even on the inside surface, hence the need for joiners that shift everything towards the inside.

036E3107-2294-4739-9FBB-03CAD4E1EACD.jpeg
 
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Yep, comp bars are important. They come in “right” and “left” in many cases, any time the head width is different. They also compensate for a height difference as well, as the photo shows.
 



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