Various Types of AREMA Standard Railway Joint Bars from AGICO Rail Are Hot Sale

The purposes of the railway joint (made up of two joint bars or more commonly called angle bars) are to hold the two ends of the steel rail in place and act as a bridge or girder between the rail ends. The function of railway joint bars is preventing lateral and vertical movement of the rail ends and permitting the longitudinal movement of the steel rails for expanding or contracting. The AREMA railway joint is considered to be the weakest part of the track structure and should be eliminated wherever possible. Railway joint bars are matched to the appropriate rail section. Each rail section has a designated drilling pattern (spacing of holes from the end of the rail as well as dimension above the base) that must be matched by the joint bars. Although many sections utilize the same hole spacing and are even close with regard to web height, it is essential that the right bars are used so that fishing angles and radii are matched. Failure to do so will result in an inadequately supported railway joint and will promote rail defects such as head and web separations and bolt hole breaks.
Three basic types of AREMA railway joints:

• Standard
• Compromise
• Insulated

Standard AREMA Railway Joints

Standard railway joints bars connect two rails of the same weight and section. They are typically 24" in length with 4-bolt holes for the smaller rail sections or 36" in length with 6-bolt holes for the larger rail sections. Alternate holes are elliptical in punching to accommodate the oval necked track bolt. Temporary joints in CWR require the use of the 36î bars in order to permit drilling of only the two outside holes and to comply with the FRA Track Safety Standards requirement of maintaining a minimum of two bolts in each end of any joint in CWR.

Compromise AREMA Railway Joints

Compromise AREMA railway joint bars connect two steel rails of different weights or sections together. They are constructed such that the bars align the running surface and gage sides of different rails sections.

There are two kinds of compromise railway joints in AREMA standard:

• Directional (Right or Left hand) compromise bars are used where a difference in the width of the head between two sections requires the offsetting of the rail to align the gage side of the rail.
• Non-directional (Gage or Field Side) are used where the difference between sections is only in the heights of the head or where the difference in width of rail head is not more than 1/8" at the gage point. Gauge point is the spot on the gauge side of the rail exactly 5/8" below the top of the rail.

To determine a left or right hand compromise joint:

• Stand between the rails at the taller rail section.
• Face the lower rail section.
• The joint on your right is a "right hand".
• The joint on your left is a "left hand".

Insulated AREMA Railway Joints

Insulated joints are used in tracks having track circuits. They prevent the electrical current from flowing between the ends of two adjoining rails, thereby creating a track circuit section. Insulated joints use an insulated end post between rail ends to prevent the rail ends from shorting out.

There are three types of AREMA standard insulated joints:

• Continuous Insulated Railway Joints
• Non-continuous Insulated Railway Joints
• Bonded Insulated Railway Joints

Continuous insulated joints are called continuous because they continuously support the rail base. No metal contact exists between the joint bars and the rails. Insulated fiber bushings and washer plates are used to isolate the bolts from the bars. The joint bars are shaped to fit over the base of the rail. This type of insulated joint requires a special tie plate called an "abrasion plates" to properly support the joint.
Non-continuous insulated railway joints are called non-continuous because these joints don't continuously support the rail base. A special insulating tie plate is required on the center tie of a supported, non-continuous insulated joint. Metal washer plates are placed on the outside of the joint bar to prevent the bolts from damaging the bar.

There are two common kinds of non-continuous insulated joints:

• Glass fiber
• Polyurethane encapsulated bar

Hot Sale AREMA Standard Railway Joint Bars from AGICO Rail