Patent ID: 7735607

Claim:
A rail lubricating apparatus for use on a railroad track having rails supported by ties resting on ballast, each rail having a field side, a gage side, a top surface and a gage corner, the rails adapted for passage of wheels thereover, wherein the wheels have a flange that runs along the gage corner of the rail and the flange extends to a level below the top surface of the rail, the rail lubricating apparatus comprising: at least one nozzle defining a passage therein which terminates at a discharge orifice, the nozzle being adapted to be supported by one of the rails, ties or ballast in a position wherein the nozzle is adjacent to the gage side of the rail and located below the top surface of said rail and below the flange level of the passing wheels, the orifice aimed to discharge a jet of lubricant upwardly, substantially longitudinally of the rail, and laterally toward at least one of the top surface and gage corner of the rail; a railroad car sensor mounted in operative proximity to a rail; a lubricant reservoir including pressurizing means for supplying lubricant under pressure to the nozzle passage; a supply line providing fluid communication between the lubricant reservoir and the nozzle passage; a controller connected to at least one of the lubricant reservoir and the supply line, the controller being responsive to the sensor to start and stop lubricant flow to the nozzle, the controller causing a jet of lubricant to be discharged from the discharge orifice, the jet of lubricant wetting the gage corner and top surface of the rail.