... wrote: I never thought much about rail joints occurring in a section of rail that was checked. Presumably you would have to remove the check rail to replace the fishplate bolts? Roughly when were safety check blocks introduced on check rails rather than just having the running rails/check rails secured in the chair by keys? Hi Rob, Rail joints frequently occur behind check rails. In an ordinary crossover across 6ft way it is very often inevitable if the vee splice rails are of standard length. Templot marks such rail joints: 2_140558_440000000.png Yes as Phil says it is necessary to remove the check rail to gain access to the fishplates and bolts. The presence or otherwise of spacer blocks and bolts in check rails (usually 2 per check rail) depends on the company and period. They were not part of the original REA specification, but seem to have arrived following their necessary use in FB track introduced in the 1950s. On the other hand, they are shown on some pre-group drawings, e.g. NER. Not used on the GWR, ...