Found! A prototype insulated rail joiner.

[tomikawaTT]

Hi, everybody.

This afternoon I found the prototype for the ugly orange insulated rail joiners I'd been using for years.

Scene: Grade crossing of a switching lead in an industrial area, equipped with track-circuit-operated bells and flashers as required by local ordinance. Two feet off the crossing are the points of a turnout for a stub siding serving a warehouse. There, where the wing rail meets the frog, the joint bars are big, thick orange plastic forms, about twice as bulky as standard joint bars. The rail ends were held apart by a chunk of something grey about a half inch thick.

And here I'd been trying to hide those things all these years.

Incidentally, the turnout frog was #7, and the whole installation is 21st century. The rail is all dated 2000.

[jimrice4449]

You've found one prototypical use for insulated joints. They are also neccesary for block sugnal sytems

[TomDiehl]

No picture? [?]

[tomikawaTT]

Try this link:

www.akrailroad.com/ins_joints.html
This is the supplier of the described parts. The main drawing shows them in grey, but they are apparently available in color, too.

My main point is that the ones I found were the same ugly orange as some commercial HO joiners that I've had in service since 1980.

[TomDiehl]

Thanks Tomikawa, obviously ther IS a prototype for everything.

Might have to print out that picture for the rivet counter's book.

[Texas Zepher]

Theres a bunch around here in the Denver area. I think they've always been there, but the railroads are just now beginning to paint them bright colors. The ones a few blocks from my house are yellow. I'll grab some pictures and get them posted here. I've been meaning to do that anyway.

[Big_Boy_4005]

They are really quite common if you know where to look. TZ is right, they do come in yellow. The bright colors help the maintenance crews find them more easily. Maybe modelers need to rethink their dislike of the yellow ones.[;)]

[Anonymous]

They are all over the place where you have track circuits... otherwise the circuit wouldn't work. It seems that the current thing with ribbon rail is to fit the IBJ (Insulated Block Joint) in short lengths of rail and then insert them in the ribbon rail as whole units. They get moved to an access near where they will be used by extendable trucks with steered back axles. Seeing one of these trucks back down a long yard fast is quite something.
Foe a time the railbar (fishplate here in the UK) was made of something like glass impregnated nylon. Then they went to steel bars with plastic inserts everywhere between the plate/bar and the rail. i have several of the rail profile shaped inserts used between the rail ends to keep them from touching if the rail creeps/expands. they are great for winding up enthusiasts... telling them that the rail companies are developing plastic track...
Genuinely I have a wood rail bar in my van ('cos I keep forgetting to get it out) these were used before plastics. The local maintenance crew would have kept a special eye on these joints. This is the only one I recall seeing. It's a bit knackered but undoubtedly a used railbar. I "collected" it 'cos no one would ever believe me otherwise.

[BR60103]

A bit of observation showed me that CPR has an interesting insulating pattern in crossovers -- there is an insulated joint between the points and the frog in the diverging route but not the main route. Suggests they don't want to short the signal system when the switch is turned for the crossover. I think there are 2 more insulated joints past the frog to separate the main lines.

[Renegade1c]

i will post some pictures of these rail joiners later today. Now that I have pictures of the joint I will use them.