A mechanical splice holding two sections of rail end-to-end. Maintenance crews bolt heavy steel joint bars across the web of both rails to keep them aligned and transfer wheel loads. While continuous welded rail has replaced them on main lines, joints remain common in yards, sidings and branch lines.
Heard on the job
We've a battered rail joint at milepost 12 that needs new bolts and a tamp.
Insider tip
Jointed rail gives trains their classic clickety-clack sound, which is actually the sound of wheels hitting the slight gap left for thermal expansion.