Patent ID: 7909293
Filing Date: 2011-03-22
Classification: B61K

Abstract:
1. A low profile derail assembly for derailing a wheel of a lead wheel of a moving railway vehicle when said railway vehicle is undesirably moving along a pair of laterally spaced rails, railroad ties being securely and transversely mounted to and between said rails, each of said rails having an upper surface, an outer side and an inner side, said derail assembly being secured to a portion of one of said rails, said derail assembly comprising: an elongated rigid derail plate being in direct contact with substantially the entire upper surface portion of said one rail upon which said derail assembly is secured, said elongated derail plate having a wheel entrance end and a wheel exit end longitudinally spaced from said wheel entrance end, an upright rigid derail bar being rigidly secured to said derail plate, said upright derail bar being angled outwardly from said wheel entrance end to said wheel exit end for engaging a wheel of said undesirably moving vehicle to thereby cause a desired safe derailment of said undesirably moving vehicle, at least two longitudinally spaced unitary rigid hooks fixedly secured to said derail plate at said wheel entrance end and at said wheel exit end, each of said hooks including means operably mounted on said hooks for securing said derail assembly along one side of said rails, said entrance end hook having a lower inwardly directed portion extending toward said rail, a screw being received in said lower portion of said entrance end hook for bearing against said rail, a unitary upright outer portion, and a unitary upper inwardly directed portion extending inwardly toward said upright derail bar and passing beyond and below said upright derail bar, said inwardly directed portion of said hook being rigidly connected to said derail plate and to said derail bar, said exit end hook having a lower, inwardly directed portion toward said rail, a screw being received in said lower portion of said exit end hook for bearing against said rail, a unitary upright outer portion, a unitary upper inwardly directed portion extending toward and below said derail bar, and a unitary upright inner portion bearing against the inner side of said derail bar, said upright portion being rigidly secured to the inner side of said derail bar at said exit end, and a clamp assembly secured to said derail plate on the opposite side of said derail plate from said hooks, said clamp assembly including means for releasably securing said derail assembly to said one rail opposite said hooks, said hooks and said clamp assembly cooperating to secure said derail assembly to said rail on the opposite side of said rail from said hooks.