Patent ID: 8584804

Claim:
Apparatus for delivering a pumpable material to a top surface of a rail head of a metal rail, said apparatus comprising: an applicator assembly and a securing device for securing the applicator assembly to said rail; said applicator assembly comprising an applicator body having a plurality of orifices for delivery of said pumpable material to the top surface of the rail head, said body being resiliently yieldable against the urging of a first spring mechanism to permit the applicator body to move from a raised position, in which the orifices are positioned for delivering said pumpable material to the top surface of the rail head, to a depressed position in the event the applicator is contacted by a train wheel, the applicator body thereafter being adapted to return to said raised position; said applicator assembly further comprising a mount mounting the applicator body for movement between a working position in which the applicator body is closely adjacent the rail head and a rail-service position in which the applicator body is remote from the rail head; and said applicator assembly and securing device being configured such that when the applicator body is in its working position, a metal portion of the applicator body contacts the rail head to form a metal-on-metal hard seal extending lengthwise of the rail head for inhibiting leakage of said pumpable material from the top of the rail head, said applicator assembly being free of any non-metal seals for sealing against said leakage, and wherein said applicator assembly further comprises a second spring mechanism for urging the applicator body against the rail head to help maintain said hard seal.