Forgotten Steel Traditional Cache

Jointed track is made using lengths of rail, usually around 39 ft. or 78 ft. long, bolted together using perforated steel plates known as joint bars. Joint plates are usually 2 ft. long, used in pairs on either side of the rail ends and bolted together (usually four, but sometimes six bolts per joint). The bolts may be oppositely-oriented so that in the event of a derailment and a wheel flange striking the joint, only some of the bolts will be sheared. Because of the small gaps left between the rails, when trains pass over jointed tracks they make a "clickety-clack" sound.