Expansion joint for railroad tracks

A railroad track expansion joint comprising:

• first and second elongated joint members each having one end adapted to be secured to the end of a conventional railroad track, said joint members having mating abutting faces at their other ends, said faces extending at an acute angle with respect to the length of said members, one of said faces being formed with a tongue means extending along the length of said face and parallel thereto, the other of said faces being formed with a groove means extending along the length of said other face and parallel thereto and receiving said tongue means whereby expansion or contraction of said track will cause said tongue and groove means to slide relative to one another, plate means adapted to be positioned between said joint members and supporting ties and providing a surface upon which said members may slide, said plate means having a pair of elongated slots extending at an angle to the length of said plate equal to and at the same attitude of said acute angle, each said members having a lug adapted to extend into one of said slots and having a smaller length than that of said slot by an amount equal to a predetermined amount of permissible expansion or contraction.