When were Fishplates first introduced to railtracks ?

Question

A fishplate has 4 round holes in it, so as to link one length of rail to the next one. And is about 18 inches long, and rectangular-looking.

Answer 1

It was the only way they had to connect the rails so look up when the first rail was put down and you have your answere

Answer 2

The first guy is right. As soon as the steel rail was in someone's mind, back in the 1840s, that person had probably already an idea on how to join them at the ends too.

Answer 3

As soon as they started to make iron rails

Later:- In response to Rango, the UK term is 'fish plate'. the interesting question is why?

Answer 4

Yep, they are as old as steel rails, the very first rails had to be joined together somehow.

They are called either angle bars or joint bars and a lot of them for heavier rail have 6 holes.

and yes I have heard the term fishplates or fishplating  as a means of joining two peices of metal, I think it is because the patch or joint is laid over the outside of the metal much like a fish scale would.

For instance if a farmer's truck frame breaks he would fishplate it back together with any old peice of metal he could find to get it back into the field.