Patent Publication Number: US-2007095242-A1

Title: Rail lifter

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      Not Applicable.  
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.  
      Not applicable.  
     SEQUENCE LISTING  
      Not applicable  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is related to an apparatus for assisting in the laying of a railroad track. More particularly, the present invention is an apparatus that raises railroad track attached to railroad ties that are laid on top of a railroad bed and places it atop the ballast.  
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART INCLUDING INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER 37 C.F.R. 1.97 and 1.98  
      In current practice these are the basic steps in laying new railroad tracks (the present invention cannot be used on replacement track laying).  
      First, a roadbed is graded. Second, a layer of asphalt is spread over the roadbed if desired. Third, a set of two parallel railroad tracks is laid over the bed using a machine that automatically draws straight railroad rail sections, which may be up to about 0.16 km (¼ mile) long, from a magazine and lays them out as a pair of properly spaced parallel rails that fall onto immediately previously set out cross ties and fastens the rails to the cross ties. When this operation is complete, there is a bare roadbed of dirt or asphalt with a completed railroad track lying on it, but the railroad track cannot be used by a train because there is no ballast to distribute the train&#39;s weight and to allow the track to move in response to changes in load or temperature. Fourth, a layer of gravel, i.e, ballast, is dumped onto the top of the railroad track and is spread out on the railroad tracks. Upon completion of this step, the railroad track is not usable for trains because the ballast is on top of the railroad tracks, which are not seated in the ballast.  
      Fifth, the rails are raised or lifted up, allowing the ballast to settle under the rails, and then the rails are lowered so that the rails and ties lie on top of the ballast. Sixth and finally, a tamper machine tamps down the ballast by plunging large tines into the spaces between the ties. The track is now ready for normal use by railroad trains.  
      In the prior art, a rail lifter rides on the railroad track that has just been laid, so it is basically lifting up on part of the track in front of the machine while at that same time the weight of the rail lifter device is riding on the rails that have just been lifted free of the ballast. To prevent bending the track too much, the rail lifting goes very slowly. That is, prior art rail lifters rely on a truck, boom or the like rides directly on top of the rails in the same fashion as a railroad train. The weight of the driving vehicle holds down the track it is sitting on, so that the rail lifter itself is required to pull up on rails that are being held down by the driving vehicle, requiring some upward bending of the rails being lifted in front of the drive vehicle and dramatically reducing the effectiveness of the rail lifter. This is always the case, regardless of the spacing between the driving vehicle riding on the tracks and the actual rail lifter mechanism. A conventional rail lifter having a truck or other driving unit sitting atop the tracks is always fighting itself and its own weight in attempting to lift the track above the ballast bed.  
      On effort to address this problem is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3, 274,952, issued to Fekete on Sep. 27, 1966, which utilizes a pair of spaced carts that ride the rails and support each end of an elongated boom, with the rail lifting clamps supported by the boom midway between the carts. This is a large and unwieldily apparatus. Further, no other vehicles can use the railroad while the apparatus is on the tracks. Uncompleted railroad tracks, that is, those that have not been settled into the ballast, can still be used by trains, very slowly, but the rail lifter must first be removed from the tracks. It can be removed from the tracks by moving it to a siding track, which may be many miles away from the job site, or by a large off-track crane, which must be on site and on standby. If, for example, a section of track is being replaced, it is likely to be bounded at each end by sound track that needs to be used during replacement of the track section. This is very difficult with Fekete &#39;952 and other prior art rail lifers, and their progress is very slow. Fekete &#39;952 discloses, however, a suitable rail lifter mechanism for gripping, raising, and and lowering railroad tracks by tightening pairs of opposed rollers against each rail and holding them by gripping under the rail flange throughout the work process.  
      Therefore it would be useful to provide a rail lifter that does not fight itself and its own weight in lifting the rails and tie assembly free from the ballast bed; that does not sit on the very rails it is lifting, thereby vastly increasing productivity, and that can easily be moved on and off the tracks to allow train traffic to proceed as the newly laid railroad track and tie system is being raised above the ballast, allowing the ballast to settle under the rails and ties.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a rail lifter that does not fight itself and its own weight in lifting the rail.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rail lifter that does not sit on the very rails it is lifting, thereby vastly increasing productivity.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rail lifter that can easily be moved on and off the tracks to allow train traffic to proceed as the newly laid railroad track and tie system is being raised above the ballast, allowing the ballast to settle under the rails and ties.  
      These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a rail lifer comprising a front loader having four wheels equipped with rubber tires that straddle the railroad ties widely and that contact the ground well outside the outer ends of the ties. An elongated boom is attached to the front of the front loader and can be raised and lowered with hydraulic rams. At the distal end of the boom is a set of small rail-riding wheels and a plow for leveling and scraping excess ballast from the rails. A rail gripper assembly, or rail lifter mechanism, is connected to the boom at about the midpoint of the length of the boom. The rail gripper assembly is hydraulically operated and actually grips the rails for lifting by the boom, which then lowers the rails onto the ballast. In a continuous process, the gripper never releases its grip on the rails during its work. The eight gripper mechanism rollers each spin about a shaft, so the that rail gripper assembly is in contact with the rails at all times. The rail lifter of the present invention is useable only on new track construction and is used only for step  5  above. A rail lifter according to the present invention can prepare a new railroad as described at the rate of about 3.1 km (5 miles) per day, whereas the prior art rail lifter can prepare about only 0.9 km (1.5) miles per day of the same track, a productivity increase of 333%. The increased productivity in track laying leads to dramatically lower labor and capital costs in preparing the new railroad. Further enormous benefits arise from the ability to quickly move the rail lifter off the tracks and allowing trains to pass.  
      Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the best mode currently known to the inventor for carrying out his invention.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a rail lifter according to the present invention shown on the tracks.  
       FIG. 2  is a fragmentary side view of the rail lifter of  FIG. 1  showing the boom member.  
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the lifting pad mechanism of the rail lifter of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged side view of the boom supporting wheels and plow attached to the front end of the boom.  
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of the rear of the wheel and plow assembly at the front of the boom of the rail lifter of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 6  is a rear isometric view of the rail lifter of  FIG. 1  showing the front loader portion.  
       FIG. 7  is a rear oriented isometric view of the rail lifter of  FIG. 1  shown on a railroad track.  
       FIG. 8  is a schematic top view of the rail lifter of  FIG. 1  shown on the railroad track during use in preparing a new railroad track.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , the rail lifter  10  includes a front loader  12 , or other suitable self-propelled vehicle, having an elongated boom  14  having a proximal end  16  attached to the front end  18  of the front loader  12 . Directional word are oriented from the point of view of an operator person sitting the driver&#39;s cab  13  in a normal driving position; e.g., front, rear, left and right are defined relative to this person; for example, the elongated boom  14  extends forward of and from the front of the rail lifter  10 . A plow  20  having a left-hand side face  22  and a right-hand side face  24  that are joined together at an angle at the inner edges  26  of the two faces is mounted on a distal end  28  of the elongated boom  14 , which is supported by a left-hand side rail engaging wheel  30  and a right-hand side rail engaging wheel  32 , both mounted for rotational movement about an axle  34 , with the rail engaging wheels  30 ,  32  and associated axle  34  forming a truck  35 , and both rail engaging wheels  30 ,  32  having an inner flange  36  to keep them on the respective left-hand rail  38  and the right-hand rail  40  when the elongated boom  14  is lowered to place the wheels  30 ,  32  in contact with the rails  38 ,  40 , which are parallel to each other and generally follow the ground-following contours of the ground upon which the rail bed is built. The plow  20  disperses excess ballast and other debris from the rails  38 ,  40 . The elongated boom  14  pivots about its mounting system at its proximal end  16  by means of a winch mechanism that extends or withdraws, that is, shortens or lengthens the pair of cables  42 , each having a distal end attached at the cable bracket  44  about mid-way along the length of the elongated boom  14 . The distal end of  28  of the elongated boom  14  can be raised well off the tracks  38 ,  40  for transportation to a new job site, or maybe lowered into the rail-engaging position shown in  FIG. 2 . Located intermediate of the two ends of the elongated boom  14  is a conventional rail lifter mechanism  48 .  
      The front loader  12  of the rail lifter  10  includes four wheels, which are preferably metal wheels having rubber tires mounted on each of them, which will be referred to as “wheels,” including the front left-hand side wheel  50 , a rear left-hand side wheel  52 , a front right-hand side wheel  54  and a rear right-hand wheel  56  ( FIG. 8 ). In the appropriate type of wheel, such as an all metal or steel wheel, continuous belt tractor treads mounted on two or more front-to-rear mounting wheels or gears, pneumatic rubber tires, solid rubber tires, or the like may be utilized with the rail lifter  10 . Further, the number of wheels beyond four is likewise an important, as a large rail lifter  10  may employ three or more wheels on each of the left-hand and right-hand side of the rail lifter  10 . The left-hand side wheels  50 ,  52  form a left-hand side ground engaging drive means and the right-hand side wheels  54 ,  56  form a right-hand ground engaging drive means. As shown, the two front wheels  50 ,  54  are the same distance apart as the two rear wheels  52 ,  56 , but this need not be the case. In particular, spacing the two rear wheels  52 ,  56  farther apart than the two front wheels  50 ,  54  may provide a smaller turning radius and greater vehicle stability.  
      Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the rails  38 ,  40  are mounted on a plurality of spaced apart parallel railroad ties, or ties,  58 , all of which lie under the rails  38 ,  40  and are perpendicular to the rails  38 ,  40 . The ties  58  are each perpendicular to the rails  38 ,  40  and are seated in a bed of ballast  60 , such as gravel. The rails  38 ,  40  are normally fixed to the ties  58  by spikes, bolts, or the like. They assembled left-hand rail, right-hand rail  40 , and the ties  58  that are fastened to the rails  38 ,  40  form a collective assembly sometimes referred to as the tracks  59 . All four tires  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56 , are well off of the tracks and clear the underlying ties  58  by a substantial distance, which is great enough to insure that the rail lifter  10  does not ride on or rest on either the tracks  38 ,  40  or the ties  58 , but rest on the outer edges of the ballast or on the adjoining ground. That distance is generally in the range of 4-10 cm (10-24 inches) outside of each track  38  and  40 , or a lesser amount if workable. That is, the inside edges of the left-hand side wheels  50 ,  52  engage the ballast  60  or the ground about 4-10 cm (10-24 inches) outside of the left-hand ends  62  of the ties  58  and inside edges of the right-hand side wheels  52 ,  54  engage the ballast  60  or the ground about 4-10 cm (10-24 inches) outside of the right-hand ends  64  ( FIG. 8 ) of the ties  58 , as shown with greater clarity in  FIG. 8 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , elongated boom  14  has been lowered into its working position with the plow  20  just above the tops of the rails  38 ,  40  and the debris catcher wheels  30 ,  32  in contact with the rails  38 ,  40 . The rail lifter mechanism  48  is adjacent to the rails  38 ,  40  for gripping and raising the rail and tie combination out of the ballast  60  bed. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the rails  38 ,  40  and associated ties  58  have been raised out of the ballast  60  bed from the location of the rail lifter mechanism  48  to all the track behind it, while the track and tie system in front of the rail lifter mechanism  48  remains buried in the ballast  60  bed. The elongated boom  14  and its associated proximal end mounting bracket  66  can be raised and lowered by a pair of double-acting hydraulic rams  68 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , the rail lifter mechanism  48  includes a left-hand side pod  70  and a right-hand side pod  72 , each of which is mounted at the end of a pod axle  74 . The left-hand side pod  70  includes a pair of downwardly projecting front opposed rollers  76  and a pair of rear opposed rollers  78 . Similarly, the right-hand side pod  72  includes a pair of downwardly projecting front opposed rollers  80  and a pair of rear opposed rollers  82 . Using the double-acting hydraulic ram  84 , powered through the hydraulic lines  86 ,  88 , the two left-and side rollers  76  can be moved apart, as indicated by the double-headed arrow  90  or closer together, as shown by the arrows  92 . When moved closer together, the rollers of the  76  grip the underlying rail, such as the rail  38 , below or on its flange. Each of the other opposed pairs of rollers  78 ,  80 ,  82  operate in the same fashion and in concert. When the rails  38 ,  40  are gripped by the rollers  76 ,  78 ,  80 ,  82 , the cables  90  are pulled to lift the rail lifter mechanism  48  up and the cables  90  are released to lower the rail lifter mechanism  48 . Repeated raising and lowering of the rail lifter mechanism  48  while the rails  38 ,  40  are being gripped, releases the rails  38 ,  40  and attached ties  58  from the ballast  60  and raises the rail and tie assembly onto the top of the ballast  60 . The gripping rollers  76 ,  78 ,  80 ,  82  grip and engage the rails  38 ,  40  continuously during work. The rail lifter mechanism  48  is suspended from the elongated boom  14  by the bracket  93 , which supports the pod axle  74  that the left-hand and right-hand side pods  70 ,  72  respectively, are suspended from. The bracket  93  can be moved back and forth along the elongated boom  14  for maximum efficiency in a particular application, but is usually in a fixed position along the elongated boom  14  during use.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , the left-hand side face  22  of the plow  20  includes a downwardly projecting debris dispersal portion  94  disposed at an angle  96  lying in a range of 25° to 35° from the horizontal to remove excess ballast  60  from the rails  38 ,  40  and attached ties  58  prior to lifting the rails  38 ,  40  and includes a left-hand side notch  98  cut into its leading edge  100  so that the leading edge  100  is actually slightly below the top of the rail  38 . The notch  98  further comprises a U-shaped upper end  99  flowing downward into a pair of opposed straight parallel side walls which are the left-hand side wall  101  and the right-hand side wall  103 . The actual angle of attack  96  of the leading edge  100  can be adjusted by turning the adjustment bolt  102  by means of the attached T-handle  104 . An upper plowing portion  105  of the left-hand side face  22  is angled upwardly at a steeper angle as indicated by the angle arrow  107 , which is preferably about 120° to the horizontal, but may lie in a range of about 115° to 125° as needed. In any event, the angle  109  between the debris dispersal portion  94  and the upper portion  105  is fixed by bending, welding or the like at about 135°. The plow  20  is symmetrical about the inner edges  26  lying where the left-hand and right-hand side faces  22 ,  24  meet, forming a nose portion  26  that is forward of the left-hand outer edge  25  of the left-hand face  22  and that is forward of the right-hand outer edge  27  of the right-hand face  24  so that all the foregoing observations, angles and so forth regarding the left-hand side face  22  applied to the right-hand side face  24  which he is more clearly visible in  FIGS. 1, 5 . Other suitable plows can be designed, but the notches  98 ,  106  ( FIG. 5 , below), are critical to effective and efficient operation of the rail lifter  10 . Scraping excess ballast  60  and other debris from the tops of the rails  38 ,  40  makes lifting the rails  38 ,  40  to place them on top of the ballast  60  both easier and faster. More importantly, ensuring that all ballast  60  is scraped from the tops of the rails  38 ,  40  and downward from the tops of the rails to the ties  58  prepares the track  59  for normal use by railroad trains, which cannot operate at normal speeds if the ballast  60 , or other debris remains on the tops of the rails  38 ,  40  or their side walls, which could prevent proper engagement between the railroad wheel flange and the track flange. The notches  98 ,  106  provide a means for ensuring that the leading edge  100  of the plow  20  clears the ballast  60  and any other debris from the tops and upstanding side walls of the rails  38 ,  40 . Using the adjustment screw  102 , the angle of attack  96  of the leading edge  100  can be adjusted within a range of about 15° to 60°, as dictated by working conditions.  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , a right-hand side notch  106  is formed into the leading edge  100  of the right-hand side face  24  of the plow  20  and corresponds to the left-hand side notch  98 . The notch in  106  further comprises a U-shaped upper end  109  flowing downward into a pair of opposed straight parallel side walls which are the left-hand side wall  111  and the right-hand side wall  113 . The distance between the center lines of the left-hand side notch  98  and the right-hand side notch  106  is the same as the distance between the centers of the rails  38 ,  40 , which is conventionally about 23 cm (57.5 inches), thereby insuring that the notches  98 ,  106  scrap both rails  38 ,  40 . Further, each of the left-hand side face  22  in the right-hand side face  24  extends outwardly from the respective notches  98 ,  106 , by about 6.3 cm (16 inches) to ensure that excess ballast  60  is spread well off of the rails  38 ,  40 . A sprocket gear  108  is disposed about the axle  34  to provide a means for driving the wheels  30 ,  32  by means of a chain if desired. A frame  110  for connect in the plow  20  and its associated truck  35  to the proximal end  16  of the elongated boom  14  includes a horizontal cross member  112 , having an upwardly and inwardly projecting left-hand strut  114  connected at its lower end to the horizontal cross member  110  and at its upper end to the proximal end  16  of the elongated boom  14  and a corresponding similarly attached right-hand upwardly and inwardly projecting strut member  116 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 6 , with a front loader  12  includes a radiator  118  mounted in the rear end  120  of the front loader  12  to protect the radiator  118  from debris at the front of the front loader  112  and to disperse excess heat from the internal combustion engine (not shown) or other means for driving and operating a front loader  12 . The rear right-hand wheel  56  includes an inner edge  122  resting well out side of the right-hand ends  64  of the ties  58 . The rear left-hand side wheel  52  includes an inner edge  124  that lies well outside the left-hand ends  62  of the ties  58  by straddling the entire rail  38 ,  40  and tie  58  assembly, the wheels  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56  of the front loader  12  of the rail lifter  10  the front loader  12  does not interfere with the lifting of the rails by the rail lifter mechanism  48 , greatly increasing the speed at which new track assemblies can be raised above the ballast  60  and preparation of the railroad track for normal use by trains. Further, the distal end of the elongated boom  14  is a sufficient distance from the rail lifter mechanism  48  that it too does not interfere with the lifting of the rails  38 ,  40  and associated ties  58  and that distance desirably lies in a range of about 5.6-7 m (17-21 feet), with the preferred distance between the rail lifter mechanism  48  and the distal end  28  being about 6.5 m (19.5 feet).  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , the rail lifter can is shown in the process of raising the rails  38 ,  40  and associated ties  50  above the ballast  60 , creating the gap  126  between the ballast  60  and the rails  38 ,  40  and ties  58 . The actual laying of the track on the ballast  60  bed is complete along the stretch of track behind and under the front loader  12  and forward of the front loader at distance of about 5.6 m (17 feet), while all the track forward of that point remains buried under the ballast  60 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 8 , clearly visible are the inner edges of the four wheels, in particular, the inner edge  128  of the front left-hand side wheel  50 , the inner edge  130  of the front right-hand side wheel  54 , the inner edge  124  of the rear left-hand side wheel  52  and the inner edge  122  of the rear right-hand wheel  56 . Again, the inner edges  124 ,  128  of the front and rear left-hand side wheels  50 ,  52 , respectively are well clear of the left-hand ends  62  of the ties  58  and the inner edges  122 ,  130  of the front and rear right-hand wheels  52 ,  56  are well clear of the right-hand ends  64  of the ties  58 , so that the front loader  12  of the rail lifter  10  widely straddles the tracks  59 .  
      While the present invention has been described in accordance with the preferred embodiments thereof, the description is for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.