Rail lubricator

A rail lubricator system for applying lubricant to the flange of a railroad car wheel riding on the head of a rail. The system has a lubricant reservoir with pumps therein for supplying lubricant to a delivery assembly attached to a rail. The pumps are mounted on a support which is connected to the reservoir cover. The lubricant delivery assembly clamps to a rail without the need for bolts or bolt holes extending through the rail web.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to rail lubricators which apply lubricant to the 
flange of a railroad car wheel riding on the head of a rail. Such systems 
are used to apply lubricant or grease at the entrance of a curve for the 
purpose of reducing railwear, flange wear and noise, as the car travels 
through the curve. Utilization of such systems in the past has been 
hampered by high installation costs and maintenance problems. In 
particular, the portion of the system which applies the grease to the 
wheel flange, the so-called delivery assembly, has been fastened to the 
rail by bolting through the rail web. This requires either a special, 
pre-drilled rail, or field drilling of bolt holes. If the track is made 
with welded rail the problems of inserting a special, pre-drilled rail 
section make installation even more troublesome. 
Another difficulty with present lubricator systems is the need for polymer 
seals in the delivery assembly. Such seals are used in the parts which 
define the lubricant ports but they are subject to deterioration due to 
aging, weather and related environmental factors. Seal failure can lead to 
uneven application of the lubricant. Another drawback of present systems 
is maintenance of the lubricant pumps. These pumps are mounted in the 
bottom of the lubricant reservoir which is buried in the wayside area of 
the track. This limits access to the pumps for performing maintenance 
work, such as cleaning the pump input screens, and maintenance is a messy, 
dirty job besides. Also, refilling the lubricant reservoir in its buried 
position requires great care to prevent introduction of dirt or other 
foreign matter into the reservoir. 
It is an object of the present invention to avoid the above difficulties by 
providing a rail lubricator system which is readily installed and easily 
maintained. In furtherance of this objective, the present invention 
provides a lubricator delivery assembly which clamps onto a rail without 
the need for bolts or bolt holes extending through the rail web. Instead 
the delivery assembly clamps on to the rail with a tightening bolt 
extending underneath the rail base. The lubricator delivery ports are 
defined by channels in the face of a delivery bar, the face having a 
milled surface. A cover plate encloses the channels while defining 
delivery ports at the top edge of the delivery bar. The delivery bar face 
and cover plate form a metal-to-metal seal which eliminates the need for 
any polymer seals. 
The present invention further includes a lubricant reservoir cover assembly 
having a depending support frame which carries the lubricant pumps. The 
pumps can be removed from the reservoir by taking off the cover assembly. 
The lubricant supply is replenished by removing the empty lubricant drum 
and replacing it with a full one. The cover assembly including the pumps 
is then placed back on the full drum to make the system ready for use. 
This arrangement of pump supports and clamp-on delivery assemblies affords 
a modular design which allows installation of as many lubricators as 
desired. Additional pumps can be readily installed on the support frame 
and corresponding delivery assemblies can be added to the rail. Thus a 
single design for the reservoir cover assembly and delivery assembly can 
be used to accommodate a range of application rates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 shows portions of a rail lubricator system installed on a railroad 
track. The track comprises rails 10 attached to a plurality of ties 12 by 
tie plates 14. The rail lubricator system may include a plurality of 
lubricant delivery assemblies 16. The delivery assemblies 16 receive 
lubricant through a lubricant conduit, as at 18. The conduits may be 
secured to one or more ties by clips 20. The conduits are connected at one 
end to a lubricant reservoir and at the other end to a T-fitting 22. The 
T-fittings have internal divider fins which divide the lubricant flow into 
a pair of branches 24. Each branch supplies a single delivery assembly. 
The lubricant is forced through the conduit 18 by one or more pumps in the 
lubricant reservoir. These pumps are operated by a pump drive unit 26 
mounted near a rail 10. The drive unit has a plunger 28 which is actuated 
by the tread of passing railroad car wheels. A one-way clutch inside the 
drive unit housing converts the linear motion of the plunger 28 into 
rotational motion which turns a torque rod 30. The torque rod 30 drives 
the lubricant pumps by way of connections which will be shown below. 
FIG. 2 shows the lubricant reservoir 32 which is preferably buried 
alongside of the track on the field side. The reservoir includes a drum 34 
and a removable cover assembly 36. As seen in FIG. 3, the torque rod 30 
extends to and is supported by the cover assembly 36. The lubricant 
conduits 18 also connect to the cover assembly. 
The details of lubricant delivery assembly 16 are shown in FIG. 4. The 
delivery assembly is designed to clamp onto a rail 10. The rail 10 has the 
usual configuration including a head 38, a web 40 and a base 42. The gauge 
side of the head 38 may have an undercut 44, the purpose of which will be 
explained below. The delivery assembly itself comprises a first member 46. 
This member includes an elongated, generally vertical lubricant delivery 
bar 48. The first member 46 also has at least one arm 50 attached to the 
delivery bar 48 and depending therefrom. In a preferred embodiment the 
first member has two arms 50. The arms extend to a point below the rail 
base 42 and terminate in an enlarged shoulder portion 52. The shoulder 52 
has an opening 54 extending through it. 
A first spacer or D-bar 56 is attached to the delivery bar 48. The spacer 
or D-bar contacts the rail web 40 and a portion of the head 38 and base 
42. The spacer can be sized according to the dimensions of a particular 
rail. This permits application of a standard-sized first member 46 to the 
various rail sizes. The D-bar has a notch or undercut 58 which permits the 
head of a connecting bolt 60 to lie flush with the inside surface of the 
D-bar. The spacer positions the first member 46 such that the delivery bar 
48 is mounted underneath the undercut 44 of the rail head. The undercut 
permits the mounting of the delivery bar near the top of the rail head 
while maintaining clearance between the delivery bar and the path of the 
wheel flanges. Further adjustment of the delivery bar position can be 
obtained by use of shims such as at 62 interposed between the delivery bar 
48 and D-bar 56. 
A second member 64 of the delivery assembly 16 engages the field side of 
the rail 10. The second member 64 has at least one arm 66 extending to a 
point below the rail base and terminating at an enlarged shoulder portion 
68. The shoulder 68 is in facing relation with the shoulder 52 on the 
first member 46. There is an opening 70 through the shoulder portion 68 of 
the second member 64. This opening 70 is in line with the opening 54 in 
the first member 46. The shoulder 68 of the second member further includes 
a laterally projecting lug 72. The lug 72 has a rounded end which engages 
an indentation 74 in the shoulder of the first member. In a preferred 
embodiment the second member engages a second spacer or D-bar 76 rather 
than contacting the rail directly. This has the advantage mentioned above 
that a standard-sized member can be universally applied to all of the 
various rail sizes by supplying an appropriate D-bar. 
Tightening means in the form of a tightening bolt 78 extends through the 
openings 54 and 70 in the shoulders of the first and second members 46 and 
64. The tightening means is located so as to urge the arms of the first 
and second members into clamping engagement with the rail. Thus with the 
bolt 78 located between the lug 72 and the rail base 42 moments are 
applied to the first and second members which urge the upper extremities 
of those arms into engagement with the rail. 
In a preferred embodiment both the first and second members 46 and 64, 
respectively, are one-piece castings. FIGS. 5-8 show some of the details 
of the first member casting and the delivery assembly. In addition to the 
delivery bar 48 and the arm 50, the first member has a central portion 80 
to which the branch of the lubricant conduit connects. The delivery bar 48 
has a face 82. Formed in the face are lubricant channels 84. An entry 
passage 86 extends through the central portion 80 and opens out on the 
face of the delivery bar into a channel 88. A cover plate 90 is attached 
to the face of the delivery bar. The cover plate may be attached to the 
delivery bar by epoxy glue or other suitable attachment method. The cover 
plate encloses the channels in the face of the delivery bar so as to form 
lubricant passages. These passages are fully sealed except at the upper 
edge of the delivery bar. The channel 84 terminates just at the edge of 
the cover plate 90 so as to form delivery ports 92. These are the points 
where lubricant is released onto the wheel flange. 
FIG. 6 is another view of a portion of the delivery bar. The central 
portion 80 has a plurality of bolt holes 94 for connection of a fitting on 
the lubricant supply conduit. 
FIGS. 7 and 8 show alternate views of the first member 46 together with the 
cover plate 90 and the first spacer or D-bar 56. It will be noted that the 
cover plate fits directly on the face of the delivery bar. The face is a 
milled surface so a tight joint can be obtained. This eliminates the need 
for elastomeric seals. 
FIGS. 9 and 10 show the lubricant reservoir 32 and its associated pump 
supports and pump drive connections. The lubricant reservoir cover 
assembly 36 has a dome portion 96 and a lid portion 98. The lid is held on 
the reservoir drum 34 by a plurality of clamps 100. Each clamp has a pair 
of retainer lugs 102 to which the clamp handle may be secured. The dome 96 
of the cover assembly has a plurality of openings which include fittings 
or unions 104 for connection of the lubricant conduits. Inside the cover 
the unions 104 connect to hoses 106. The hoses extend to the bottom of the 
reservoir where they are connected by elbows 108 to the output of the 
lubricant pumps. The pump themselves are shown at 110. They may be gear 
pumps, suitable for use in pumping grease impregnated with messy graphite. 
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 there are four lubricant pumps 
but it will be understood that there could be a different number depending 
on the number of delivery assemblies needed. The pumps 110 are held in 
place by retainer rods 112. There are spacer sleeves 113 on the retainer 
rods 112 to hold the pumps in position on the rods. The retainer rod ends 
are held in a support frame which includes vertical members 114, bottom 
horizontal members 116 and mounting plates 118 (FIG. 10). The entire 
support frame is fastened to the top of the dome portion 96 of the cover 
assembly 36. Support frame bolts 120 (FIG. 9) extend through the mounting 
plates 118 of the support frame to secure the frame to the cover assembly. 
Thus it can be seen that all the inner workings of the reservoir are 
attached to the cover assembly. Any maintenance work required for the 
pumps, or installation of additional pumps can be performed by releasing 
the cover clamps 100 and removing the cover assembly. The pumps 110 and 
hoses 106 are removed from the drum as a unit with the cover assembly and 
it is not necessary for anybody to be inside the drum to get at the pumps. 
The rotational motion of the torque rod 30 is transmitted to the pumps by a 
chain drive. An upper drive sprocket 122 is mounted on a shaft 124 which 
in turn is connected to the torque rod 30. A shaft 124 is supported by a 
pair of pillow blocks 126 which are fastened to the top of the dome 96 by 
bolts 128. A chain, shown schematically at 130 in FIG. 10, drives a lower 
sprocket 132. The sprocket 132 is fixed on a pump drive shaft 134. The 
shaft 134 is a common drive shaft for all of the pumps 110. 
FIG. 11 shows the connection between the torque rod 30 and the upper drive 
shaft 124. A coupler 136 is provided just inside the dome 96. The torque 
rod 30 can be disconnected by removing the fitting 138. 
Details of the clamp 100 are shown in FIG. 12. The clamp includes a handle 
140 pivotally connected to a cap 142. The cap contains a bolt 144 which 
extends through a hole 146 in the lid 98. A retaining band 148 engages the 
rim of the drum 34 and urges it into sealing relation with an annular 
groove 150. The lid 98 is provided with two grooves to accommodate 
different drum sizes. 
As stated above the present invention can be utilized with different 
numbers of lubricant pumps. FIG. 13 shows the mounting of a single pump at 
the bottom of the support frame. The single pump unit utilizes a 
forshortened drive shaft 134A. Also, the spacers on the retainer rod 112 
would be different from the four pump unit shown in FIG. 9. And three of 
the unions in the dome would be plugged with a single pump set-up. Aside 
from these modifications, the reservoir is the same regardless of the 
number of pumps installed therein. 
The use, operation and function of the invention are as follows: 
When a railroad car passes the pump drive mechanism 26 the tread of the 
wheel depresses plunger 28 causing the torque rod 30 to rotate. The 
rotation of the torque rod is transferred to the upper drive shaft 124 
which turns the sprocket 122, the chain 130 and the lower drive sprocket 
132. When the lower sprocket rotates, the drive shaft 134 operates the 
pumps 110. The pumps force grease through the hoses 106 to the lubricant 
conduits 18. The lubricant passes through the T-fitting 22 and branches 24 
to the central portion of a delivery assembly. The lubricant passes 
through the entry passage 86 into the channel 88 and through channels 84. 
The lubricant is applied to the wheel flange through port 92 on the top 
edge of the delivery bar. 
When it is time to replenish the lubricant supply in the reservoir, the 
user releases the clamps 100 and removes the cover assembly 36. Since the 
support frame is attached to the cover assembly all the working parts of 
the system are removed therewith. There remains only the empty drum 34 
which can be replaced with a new, full drum. The cover assembly is then 
replaced, the clamps tightened and the torque rod reconnected to the cover 
assembly. After the pumps are primed the system is again ready for use.