Improvements relating to Devices for Clearing and Drying Railway Tracks.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Devices for Clearing and Drying Railway
Tracks.
I, REGINALD HADDAN, of the Firm of Herbert Haddan & Co., of 18, Bucking-
ham Street, Strand, W.C., Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention a communication to me from abroad by James Dixon, of the City of
Painesville, Ohio, U.S.A., Agent, and Henry Charles Howard, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, U.S.A., Capitalist, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to devices for clearing and drying railway tracks.
This invention consists in means for clearing and drying the tracks of a
traction or locomotive engine by projecting dry heated air under pressure in
advance of the traction wheels of a traction engine or locomotive.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. I is a side view of a locomotive provided
with the aforesaid improved track clearing and drying device.
Fig. II is a plan view of a portion of a locomotive provided with the said
device for clearing and drying the track.
Figs. III, IV and V show a track-rail in section, a portion of a traction-
wheel and a discharging-end of the device or apparatus for clearing and drying
the track in advance of the said wheel.
The object of this invention is to project dry heated air upon the rails in
contradistinction to projecting commingled air and steam or steam alone. A
further object of this invention is to drive the moisture, grease, and the like from
the rails toward the inner sides of the rail so that the same may serve, to a
certain extent, as a lubricant for the flanges of the driving wheels of a locomotive,
between the said flanges and the sides of the rails.
Heretofore and before my invention, steam has been projected upon the rails of a
railway, but this is objectionable because steam, even in a superheated state,
when so projected upon the rail, quickly condenses, especially when the tem-
perature is at or below the freezing point and interferes with the traction between
the driving wheels and the rail. Air has been taken from the fire-box of a
locomotive and projected by means of steam jets and this is objectionable
because, when the air is projected by steam, even when such air is taken from
the fire-box, a certain amount of moisture is projected upon the track, and also,
when air is taken from the fire-box a certain amount of the products of com-
bustion, which contains carbon, cinders, and other foreign matter, will be pro-
jected with the air. The objectionable features hereinbefore mentioned are
avoided in the use of the novel subject-matter of this specification. The air
projected according to the present invention, is supplied under pressure in
advance of the locomotive wheels-and-is-heated, preferably under pressure by
means of the heat generated by the boiler furnace. This is an important feature
of the invention because air under pressure may be more easily heated and air
taken directly from the atmosphere instead of from the fire-box of a locomotive,
contains less foreign matter.
Another object of the present invention is the delivery of heated air under

page_text: pressure in contradistinction to air projected by steam pressure, because the
delivery of only dry heated air under pressure thoroughly dries and clears the
tread of the track-rails. The use of steam-pressure or any blast that is moist
or not sufficiently dry and pure must be avoided because an adequate track
clearing device or apparatus must remove moisture as well as solid foreign matter
from the track since sand and other foreign matter, upon being moistened, would
become more or less plastic and adhere to the track.
Referring to the drawings, A represents a fire-box of a locomotive which is
provided at its sides, with the usual water-legs B and B.
C designates the smoke-chamber or smoke-box of a locomotive which is located
at the front end of the locomotive.
D represents an air-pump of any approved construction and operated in any
suitable manner, either by steam-pressure or otherwise, as found necessary or
convenient. Pump D has its air inlet & communicating with the external
atmosphere.
The pump D supplies air under pressure to a pipe E which, in turn com-
municates with a reservoir-tank F and keeps the said tank supplied with air
under pressure..
Leading from the tank F are two pipes G and G which are formed into, or
include, coils g g. The coils and g are, preferably located within the water-
legs B and B respectively, for the purpose of heating the air, and are provided
with ejecting supply-pipes H and H respectively leading therefrom.
Pipes H and H may, if found necessary and do in the locomotive illustrated
pass to the chamber C and include coils J and J respectively, which coils are
suitably arranged within the said chamber. The coils J are provided with eject-
ing pipes K and K having branches which have their lower downwardly dis-
charging ends located at or near the track L and in advance of the wheels M
at the side of the traction engine or locomotive.
The lower end of the most forwardly located branch pipes kk, and preferably
one or more of the remaining branch-pipes may have the lower ends turned
inwardly, as illustrated in Fig. III, so as to clear and dry the track, and at
the same time, throw any moisture that is upon the track to the inner sides of
the rails of the track and against the wheel-flanges, and thereby lubricate the
bearing between the said flanges and the inner side of the rails of the track.
The discharging ends of other air-ejecting branch-pipes may have their lower
ends turned outwardly so as to discharge upon the treads of the rails
of the track near the outer sides of the rails, as shown in Fig. IV.
The discharging ends of other air-ejecting branch-pipes have their
lower ends preferably arranged to discharge straight downwardly upon the
heads of the track-rails, as shown in Fig. V.
The location of the air-pump D and the method of operating the same is
optional, as is also the number of air-ejecting pipes and k.
Inasmuch as the object of the invention is to clear the track in advance of
the traction wheels and also, to dry the same the invention is not limited to
the details of construction as hereinbefore set forth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1
1. In a track-clearing and drying device of the type set forth, the combination
with a track, and a wheel operating upon the said track; of a pipe having its
outlet in close proximity to the track and in advance of the wheel, and means
for supplying the said pipe with heated air under pressure.
2. In a track-clearing and drying device of the type set forth, the combination
with a traction wheel and a track upon which the said wheel operates, of means
located in proximity to the track and in advance of the wheel for ejecting heated
air under pressure on to the track, and means for heating the air,

page_text: 3. In a track-clearing and drying device of the character indicated, the com-
bination with a traction-wheel of a locomotive, and the track upon which the
said wheel operates; of means for ejecting heated air under pressure upon said
track in advance of the wheel, means for heating the air and also means for
supplying the air under pressure.
4. In a track-clearing and drying device for railroad tracks, the combination
with the wheels of a locomotive or traction engine and its track; of pipes
located in advance of the traction wheels and having their outlets located in
close proximity to the track, and means for supplying the said pipes with air
under pressure, and the lower ends of the said pipes being so arranged as to
project the air inwardly and toward the flanges of the wheels, for the purpose
set forth.
5. A locomotive having a track-clearing and drying device comprising the
following-pipes arranged to discharge upon the track in advance of traction-
wheels of the locomotive, and means for supplying unmoistened heated air under
pressure to the said pipes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 12th day of September 1899.