Notched tie plate insulator

1. A notched tie plate insulator for electrically insulating a tie plate, the tie plate having a recessed area adapted to receive a railroad rail, the insulator comprising:

a bottom plate having a first side and a second side and adapted to be received within the recessed area of the tie plate, wherein each side defines a notch therein; and

a pair of side plates attached to said bottom plate, said side plate includes a longitudinal extending body having an upper surface and a lower surface and defining a recess on said upper surface and a protrusion on said lower surface, wherein said protrusion of each of said side plates is received within said notches of said bottom plate to interlock said side plates to said bottom plate, and wherein portions of said bottom surfaces of said side plates adjacent to said protrusions extend along the respective first and second sides of said bottom plate.

2. The notched tie plate insulator as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said bottom plate and said side plate are made of an insulating material capable of withstanding the high impact and high compression forces exerted thereon by a railcar.

3. The notched tie plate insulator as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said bottom plate and said side plate are made of fiberglass.

4. The notched tie plate insulator as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said bottom plate and said side plate are made of a high strength polymeric material.

5. The notched tie plate insulator as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said bottom plate and said side plates are interlockingly secured to each other.

6. A tie plate, comprising:

a base plate having a recessed area adapted to receive a railroad rail, the recessed area is defined by two spaced-apart sidewalls and a recess surface therebetween;

a separate layer of electrically-insulating material covering the side walls and the recess surface of the recessed area of the base plate, said layer of electrically-insulating material comprising a bottom plate and a pair of side plates attached to said bottom plate, said bottom plate having a first side and a second side, each side defining a notch therein, said side plate including a longitudinal extending body having an upper surface and a lower surface and defining a recess on said upper surface and a protrusion on said lower surface, wherein said protrusion of each of said side plates is received within said notches of said bottom plate to interlock said side plates to said bottom plate, and wherein portions of said bottom surfaces of said side plates adjacent to said protrusions extend along the respective first and second sides of said bottom plate; and

a plurality of slots defined on said base plate, wherein said slots are adapted to receive fasteners for securing a railroad rail.

7. The tie plate as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the recess surface of the base plate is planar.

8. The tie plate as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the recess surface of the base plate is tapered.

9. The tie plate as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said base plate further includes a ledge adjacent to one of said side walls.

10. A tie plate assembly for a railroad rail, comprising:

a tie plate having a recessed area adapted to receive a railroad rail;

a layer of electrically-insulating material covering the recessed area of said tie plate, said layer of electrically-insulating material comprising a bottom plate having a first side and a second side and adapted to be received within the recessed area of the tie plate, and a pair of side plates attached to said bottom plate, said side plates include a longitudinal extending body having an upper surface and a lower surface and defining a recess on said upper surface;

a plurality of slots defined on said tie plate;

a fastener passing through one of said slots for securing said tie plate to a rail tie; and

an electrically-insulated clip secured to said tie plate via said fastener, said clip having a surface received by said recess on said upper surface of one of said pair of side plates such that lateral movement of said clip is limited when securing a railroad rail to said tie plate.

11. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 10 , wherein said layer of electrically-insulating material is adhesively secured to said tie plate.

12. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 10 , wherein said layer of electrically-insulating material comprises a bottom plate having a first side and a second side, wherein each side defines a notch therein, and a pair of side plates attached to said bottom plate, said side plate includes a longitudinal extending body having an upper surface and a lower surface and defining a recess on said upper surface and a protrusion on said lower surface, wherein said protrusion of each of said side plates is received within said notches of said bottom plate and, wherein said surface of said clip is received within the recess of said body of said side plate.

13. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the recessed area of said tie plate is defined by two spaced-apart sidewalls and a recess surface therebetween, wherein said bottom plate covers said recess surface and said side plates cover said side walls of the recessed area of said tie plate.

14. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 13 , wherein said bottom plate and said side plates are interlockingly secured to each other.

15. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 13 , wherein said recess surface of said tie plate is planar.

16. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the recess surface of said tie plate is tapered.

17. The tie plate assembly as claimed in claim 16 , wherein said tie plate further includes a ledge adjacent one of said side walls, wherein a surface of said ledge is adapted to abut against a portion of said surface of said clip.