Patent ID: 8051951

Claim:
An apparatus for providing access to railcars on a pair of adjacent railways, each of said pair of adjacent railways having a clearance envelope, said apparatus positioned between said pair of adjacent railways and comprising: a raised walkway, said walkway being substantially parallel to said pair of adjacent railways and having a length; a tracking platform, said tracking platform carried by and longitudinally moveable along substantially all of said length of said walkway; a turret pivotally attached to and carried on said tracking platform, said turret being able to pivot horizontally at least 180 degrees; a bridge rotatably attached to said turret, said bridge being rotatable between a horizontal position and an upward vertical position thereby defining a vertical plane, said bridge being carried by said turret so that said bridge can be directed laterally toward said each of said pair of adjacent railways or longitudinally between and parallel to said pair of adjacent railways; and a cage rotatably attached to said bridge, said cage vertically rotatable so that said cage remains horizontal when said bridge is in said horizontal position and when said bridge is in said vertical position, said bridge and said cage dimensioned so that, when said turret is pivoted so that said bridge is directed longitudinally between said adjacent railways and said bridge is rotated to said upward vertical position, said bridge and said cage do not intrude into said clearance envelope of said each of said pair of adjacent railways.