Heel Joints for Rails used in Railroads, Cranes, Mines, and Tunnelling

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Heel Joints

Design 990 Heel Joints are commonly used with narrow gage mining turnouts to prevent looseness at the heel of the switch point. Use of a pipe thimble permits the heel joint to be drawn up absolutely tight while at the same time allows the point to move freely. These heel joints are made of plain splice or angle bars only. A pipe thimble is welded to one bar, and the other bar is bent slightly. Normally three-hole bars are used when the switch is less than 5', and four-hole bars are used for switches that are 5' or longer.

Heel Block Assemblies are used in most standard gage industrial switches. They hold the switch point firm at the heel, maintain proper spread, and keep closure rail and switch point in correct alignment. These assemblies consist of a block, bent and planed bar, outside bar, thimble and bolts. The block can be made of cast iron or steel, or of welded steel construction. The outside bar can be a "D bar" strap or a standard joint bar. Square-head bolts are usually used with the D bar and track bolts are used with the joint bar. A shoulder-bolt is sometimes used instead of the thimble and regular bolt.

Other heel joint designs, such as floating heel blocks are specified by some railroads and are available on request. Floating heel blocks do not bolt through the stock rail, and can be supplied in several different designs.

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