Patent ID: 6988451

Claim:
A rail car mover apparatus for a loader vehicle, the loader vehicle comprising ground tires spaced to roll along a pair of railroad rails, a drive to rotate the ground tires, loader arms extending forward of the loader vehicle, and a tool attachment mechanism at a lower front portion of the loader arms adapted for attachment to a tool such that the tool can be raised and lowered by the loader arms, the apparatus comprising: a front wheel bracket adapted for attachment to a front end of the loader vehicle; a pair of front wheel arms pivotally attached to the front wheel bracket about a substantially horizontal front pivot axis and extending forward from the front wheel bracket, and a pair of front rail wheels spaced to engage the pair of railroad rails wherein a front rail wheel is rotatably attached to a front end of each front wheel arm; a front actuator operative to move the front wheel arms up and down about the front pivot axis; a rear wheel bracket adapted for attachment to a rear end of the loader vehicle; a pair of rear wheel arms pivotally attached to the rear wheel bracket about a substantially horizontal rear pivot axis and extending rearward from the rear wheel bracket, and a pair of rear rail wheels spaced to engage the pair of railroad rails wherein a rear rail wheel is rotatably attached to a rear end of each rear wheel arm; and a rear actuator operative to move the rear wheel arms up and down about the rear pivot axis; a coupler adapter adapted at a rear end thereof for attachment to the tool attachment mechanism and adapted at a front end thereof for coupling to a rail car hitch; where in operation the ground tires bear against the railroad rails to propel the loader vehicle along the railroad rails, and the front and rear rail wheels rotate freely in response to movement of the loader vehicle along the railroad rails; and wherein the loader vehicle can be converted to ground operation for maneuvering and manipulating a tool by removing the front wheel arms, front rail wheels, and coupler adapter and attaching the tool to the tool attachment mechanism.