Patent Application
20240227874
Overhead cable or catenary systems are common in electrical traction rail systems for providing electrical power to traction engines. The overhead cable systems typically include a series of poles or masts disposed spaced apart alongside a railway or tracks. The poles each carry an arm, which may also be referred to as a catenary arm or simply a catenary, that extends toward and/or over the tracks and supports a variety of cables including a contact cable and a messenger cable. Negative return and ground or earth cables are also often installed on the pole. Each of the cables extends from one pole or catenary to the next longitudinally along the length of the tracks.
The contact cable is suspended from the arm so as to be contacted by a pantograph of a traction engine traveling thereunder to transfer electrical power to the engine. The messenger cable is suspended above or away from the contact cable so as not to be contacted by the pantograph. The messenger cable is electrically coupled to the contact cable by jumpers provided at one or more of the arms to supply electrical power to the contact cable. The cables are pulled in tension during installation and the tension is maintained by weighted tension assemblies and/or fixed terminations at one or both of their terminating ends. The negative return and ground cables are typically installed on insulators coupled to the poles near a top end thereof.
Current installation practices for installing poles and negative return and ground cables of overhead catenary systems use a plurality of road-based vehicles which may be fitted with hi-rail systems that enable travel along the tracks of a rail system. For example, a typical installation team may include one or more delivery vehicles or semi-tractor trailers that transport the poles to their intended installation locations or as near as possible to such locations. In many instances the terrain or other obstacles prevent the delivery vehicles from reaching the installation locations, and thus the poles must be transported from a drop-off or staging location to the final installation location by another smaller or rail-bound vehicle.
One or more crews of installers employ pole-setting vehicles such as flat-bed trucks with integrated crane arms or other lifting apparatus to transport the poles from the drop-off location to the final installation locations and to lift the poles into position for installation on a previously installed base or foundation. The crew may install travelers or blocks for the negative return and ground cables on the poles as well as the catenary arm among other components on the poles prior to or following installation of the pole on the base. Additional vehicles may be required to lift one or more crew members for installation of components on the poles. The pole-setting vehicles and any additional vehicles must be provided access to the installation locations via travel alongside the tracks or be configured for travel along the tracks. These vehicles are typically equipped with outriggers which must be deployed and retracted at every installation location for use of their associated crane arm or bucket lift.
Another crew follows the pole-setting vehicles to string the negative return and ground cables on the poles. This crew may include a first vehicle that carries and feeds out the cables and a second vehicle that follows behind to lift crew members to the top of the poles for installation of travelers, blocks, or the like for linking the cables with the poles. The travelers or blocks generally comprise a pulley through which the cable is threaded to allow the cable to be pulled into tension at a later time.
One or more additional finishing crews may follow to complete remaining installation steps such as installing terminations and balance weight assemblies that provide tension in the cables, replacing the travelers or blocks with insulators to affix the cables to the poles, and making electrical couplings of the cables.
Such installation teams may require greater than twenty vehicles to accommodate the crews and their activities just for installation of the poles and the negative return and ground cables. Each of the vehicles must be driven to and from the installation locations daily and stored overnight at another location which may be miles from the installation location. One or more vehicles may travel down a section of rail from an access or staging point to complete one of a plurality of steps in the process and then return to the access point or staging location before one or more vehicles used to complete a subsequent step in the process may travel down the section of rail to complete the subsequent step in the process. For example, a first set of one or more vehicles may first travel down a section of rail from an access point or staging location to deliver poles to their intended installation locations and then return to the drop-off location so that a second set of one or more vehicles for a pole setting crew may travel down the section of rail to install the poles on previously poured foundations. Once the poles are installed on the section of rail, the second set of vehicles of the pole setting crew then returns to the staging location or access point and a third set of one or more vehicles for a cable setting crew travels down the section of rail unspooling negative return and ground cables and attaching them to the installed poles. When the negative return and ground cables are installed, the third set of one or more vehicles may then return to the staging location or access point.
Travel to the installation location may require additional travel due to accessibility issues surrounding the installation locations and roadway access thereto. Additionally, crew members must be provided with restroom and break facilities during the workday which may require additional travel to and from the installation site. These aspects, among others, lead to a great deal of inefficiency, logistical problems, and large overhead and equipment costs.
Rail-bound vehicles have been developed to reduce some of the accessibility issues associated with such installations, however issues associated with the number of required vehicles, daily travel requirements, and crew requirements, among others, persist. One such exemplary rail-bound configuration is depicted in PCT Patent Application Publication No. WO2011141089 ('089) to Theurer and Fletzer. The '089 publication depicts a plurality of separate rail-bound vehicles each configured to carry out a particular step in installation of an overhead catenary system. Most of the vehicles include flat-bed cars that carry the components to be installed and articulated lifting arms affixed to one of the cars. Additional, separate vehicles are provided to carry and pay out the cables as well as to raise crew members to the erected masts for installation of the cables thereon. Each of these vehicles must be independently driven along the tracks to the various installation locations in sequence to carry out their designated tasks and each carries crew and supplies needed for such installations. Additionally, separate rail- and/or non-rail-bound vehicles are likely required to provide transportation and accommodation for crew members before, during, and after working hours.
Completion of the build out of the catenary system requires installation of catenary arms on the poles as well as stringing of the contact and messenger cables thereon. Additional crews of installers with equipment configured similarly to that described previously transport the catenary arms to the install locations and raise and mount the catenary arms on the poles. The contact, messenger, and any other desired cables must also be played out, raised up to and coupled with the catenary arms, and tensioned which may include installation of static anchors, or weighted tensioning assemblies, among others.
Available equipment and systems used for installation of the catenary arms and cables suffer similar drawbacks and shortcomings as those used for the pole-setting tasks described above. These drawbacks include the great number of crew members and equipment required to complete the tasks, transport and storage of the equipment and materials to and from the installation location, and the need for accommodations for the crew members, among others.
A high-level overview of various aspects of exemplary embodiments is provided here to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described in the Detailed-Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of embodiments, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the described subject matter. In brief, this disclosure describes a pole-setting consist for installing poles or masts and negative return and ground cables of overhead catenary systems and a catenary arm fabrication and installation consist that can follow the pole-setting consist to complete the build out of the overhead catenary system.
The pole-setting consist comprises a series of rail-bound cars coupled together to form a consist that can be coupled to or include a motive means, such as a locomotive or other powered rail-bound vehicle. The consist includes a pole-setting segment, a crew-segment, a cable-deployment segment, and a cable-stringing segment.
The pole-setting segment includes a plurality of gondola-cars in which a supply of poles may be disposed and carried to the installation locations. Top edges of the gondola-car's longitudinally extending walls or sidewalls are provided with a rail upon which wheels of a pole-handling apparatus may traverse and bridge members are provided between the sidewalls of adjacent ones of the gondola-cars to allow travel of the pole-lifting apparatus therebetween. The pole-handling apparatus includes an articulated arm with an end-arm tool configured to lift and position the poles from within a cargo area of the gondola-car to a base or foundation alongside the consist for installation thereof.
The crew-segment comprises one or more cars and includes one or more portable restroom facilities and an enclosed breakroom or office, among other facilities for use by the crew.
The cable-deployment segment comprises a plurality of gondola-cars configured to carry a plurality of coils of cables for installation as the negative return and ground cables of the overhead catenary system. The gondola-cars of the cable-deployment segment are configured like those of the pole-setting segment to include rails on which a cable-lifting apparatus may travel. The cable-lifting apparatus includes an articulated arm with an end-arm tool configured to position and feed out the negative return and the ground cables for coupling with the poles as the consist travels along the tracks. The cable-lifting apparatus may also be configured to move coils of the cables from within the gondola-cars to a cable reel or stand when a previous coil is exhausted.
The cable-stringing segment follows the cable-deployment segment and comprises one or more similarly configured gondola-cars on which a man-lift apparatus is disposed. The man-lift is fitted with wheels and is moveable along the rails of the gondola-car sidewalls to move longitudinally along the cable-stringing segment. Crew members can thus be lifted to the poles to install travelers, insulators, and/or other components on the poles and/or to install the cables in the travelers and/or insulators.
A method for installing poles and cables for a catenary system comprises the steps of providing a pole-setting consist comprising a plurality of railcars coupled together into a single unit that includes a pole-setting segment, a cable-deployment segment and a cable-stringing segment. The pole-setting segment comprises one or more of the plurality of railcars having a cargo area in which a plurality of catenary poles may be disposed. A pole handling apparatus is moveably mounted relative to the railcars of the pole-setting segment and includes an articulated arm configured to selectively retrieve one of the plurality of catenary poles from the cargo area of the one or more railcars and to position selected ones of the catenary poles alongside the consist for installation on successively positioned foundations.
The cable-deployment segment comprises one or more of the plurality of railcars on which at least a first spool of a first cable and preferably also a second spool of a second cable are rotatably supported. The cable-deployment segment further includes a cable-lifting apparatus having an extendable arm with an end arm tool configured to raise the first cable unspooled from at least the first spool and in an embodiment a second cable unspooled from at least the second spool to a desired height and location for installation on the catenary poles.
The cable-stringing segment comprises one or more of the plurality of rail cars having a man-lift disposed thereon. The man-lift is configured to raise one or more crew members to a desired height and location alongside the pole-setting consist for installation of at least the first cable and in an embodiment, the first and second cables on the catenary poles.
The method includes moving the pole-setting consist along a section of rail and relative to the successively positioned foundations to successively position the pole-setting segment adjacent to selected ones of the foundations; operating the pole handling apparatus to retrieve successive ones of the catenary poles from the cargo area of the pole-setting segment; positioning and operating the pole handling apparatus to successively position the catenary poles retrieved from the cargo area alongside the consist for installation on successively selected ones of the foundations; installing the catenary poles retrieved from the cargo area on the corresponding selected ones of the foundations; moving the pole-setting consist along the section of rail to advance the cable-deployment segment relative to successive ones of the catenary poles installed on the selected foundation; positioning and operating the cable-lifting apparatus to successively raise at least the first cable and preferably the first and second cable relative to a successively selected catenary poles; positioning at least the first cable and preferably the first and second cable proximate the successively selected catenary pole; moving the pole-setting consist along the section of rail to position the cable-stringing segment relative to successively selected catenary poles and at least the first cable and preferably the first and second cables; positioning and operating the man-lift to raise one or more crew members to a desired height and location alongside the pole-setting consist and proximate successive ones of the catenary poles for installation of the first cable and preferably the first and second cable thereon; and installing the first cable and preferably the first and second cables on successively selected ones of the catenary poles.
The method for installing poles and cables for a catenary system may include providing a crew-segment for the pole-setting consist including one or more restrooms and a crew quarters structure disposed thereon, the crew quarters structure providing an enclosure in which crew members may inhabit.
The one or more railcars provided in the pole-setting segment, the cable-deployment segment and the cable-setting segment may include rails mounted along longitudinal sidewalls thereof configured to enable a wheeled apparatus to move longitudinally therealong. The pole-handling apparatus provided may include a platform operationally associated with the rails of the railcars of the pole-setting segment with the platform configured to move the pole-handling apparatus longitudinally along the rails of the railcars of the pole-setting segment. The cable-lifting apparatus provided may include a platform operationally associated with the rails of the railcars of the cable-deployment segment with the platform configured to move the cable-lifting apparatus longitudinally along the rails of the railcars of the cable-deployment segment. The manlift provided may include a platform operationally associated with the rails of the railcars of the cable-stringing segment with the platform configured to move the man-lift longitudinally along the rails of the railcars of the cable-stringing segment.
Exemplary embodiments may also include a catenary arm fabrication and installation consist, hereinafter referred to as the catenary consist, that can follow the pole-setting consist to complete the build out of the overhead catenary system. The catenary consist may be coupled to or be integrated with the pole-setting consist or may follow along separately. The cars forming the catenary consist comprise gondola and/or flat-bed cars configured similarly to those of the pole-setting consist and are arranged to include one or more crew-segments, a termination-installation segment, a catenary arm-installation segment, an inventory-staging segment, a secondary-assembly segment, and a primary-fabrication segment. The crew-segments may be configured similarly to that described above with respect to the pole-setting segment.
The termination-installation segment includes an articulated boom or other lifting means configured to raise and aid installation and/or distribution of weighted termination assemblies at desired locations. Components and/or preassembled termination assemblies may be stored within a bay of the gondola car proximate to the boom. Both the termination-installation segment and the catenary arm-installation segment include one or more cars in which pre-fabricated catenary arms are stored and that are provided with one or more mobile man-lift devices configured to travel longitudinally along the sidewalls of the cars and between the cars. The man-lift devices are configured to raise one or more operators and a catenary arm from a storage location within the respective car to a mounting location on a previously installed pole alongside the tracks. The catenary arm-installation segment may also include a mobile gantry crane that is operable to transfer pre-fabricated catenary arms longitudinally along the consist for access by operators using the man-lift devices on the termination-installation segment and the catenary arm-installation segment.
The inventory-staging segment provides additional storage for pre-fabricated catenary arms and a stationary gantry crane that is operable to move the catenary arms toward the termination-installation and the catenary arm-installation segments. The inventory-staging segment may also provide storage for coils of cable for guy wires that can be distributed as the catenary consist moves along a route among other materials that need storage or distribution.
The secondary-assembly segment and the primary-fabrication segment each provide enclosures and facilities useable by crew members for fabrication of catenary arms and components needing assembly and installation on the catenary arms as well as storage for supplies and raw materials used in such fabrication. These segments enable fabrication of the catenary arms on the catenary consist and to specific specifications required by particular characteristics of the overhead catenary system.
Illustrative embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, and wherein:
The subject matter of select exemplary embodiments is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But the description itself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope of embodiments. Rather, the subject matter might be embodied in other ways to include different components, steps, or combinations thereof similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described. The terms “about” or “approximately” as used herein denote deviations from the exact value by +/−10%, preferably by +/−5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that are insignificant to the function.
With reference to
The cargo area of each car 102 is bounded on its longitudinal sides by a pair of vertical sidewalls 106. As known in the art, the sidewalls 106 are of a vertical height sufficient to form the cargo area but less than that of a common box-car or hopper car. The cargo area may be low slung to shift the cargo area and/or sidewalls vertically downward toward the tracks.
As depicted in
The consist 100 comprises a plurality of segments that are each formed from one or more of the cars 102. Although discussed herein with respect to segments, the consist 100 is a continuous, single unit; segmentation of the consist 100 is merely used herein for clarity and ease of description and is based on the functions performed at different locations along the consist 100. The segments include a pole-setting segment 112, a crew-segment 114, a cable-deployment segment 116, and a cable-stringing segment 118. It is understood that although the segments and the functions performed thereby are described as being provided in a particular order, such is not intended to be limiting on the scope of exemplary embodiments. For example, the crew-segment 114 might be provided at a leading or trailing end of the consist 100, among other configurations.
The pole-setting segment 112 comprises a plurality of cars 102 configured as gondola-style cars as described previously above with a cargo area 120 and rails 108 provided along top edges of the sidewalls 106 thereof. Although four cars 102 are shown in the pole-setting segment 112 in
Atop the cars 102 of the pole-setting segment 112 is disposed a pole-handling apparatus 124. The pole-handling apparatus 124 comprises a wheeled vehicle configured to travel longitudinally along the consist 100 along the rails 108 on the sidewalls 106 of the cars 102. Wheels 126 of the pole-handling apparatus 124 may be flanged like those of common rail-bound vehicles or may take another configuration. For example, the pole-handling apparatus 124 may be configured with on-highway wheels and/or tires and include a hi-rail apparatus to adapt the pole-handling apparatus 124 for travel along the rails 108.
As depicted in the drawings, the pole-handling apparatus 124 includes a body 128 disposed on a platform 130 and rotatable relative thereto about a vertical axis. The body 128 includes an operator's cab 132 and an elongate arm 134 pivotably coupled thereto. The body 128 may house an engine, generator, and hydraulic pump among other components for powering the pole-handling apparatus 124, moving the apparatus 124 along the rails 108 of the cars 102, and manipulating the arm 134, among other functions. In one embodiment, the apparatus 124 may be remotely operated from elsewhere on or near the consist 100 by, for example an operator in a remote control-cab or using a wireless or wired control station. In another embodiment, the apparatus 124 may be at least partially electrically powered by a generator disposed at another location along the consist 100. In one embodiment, the apparatus 124 is configured similarly to an excavator disposed on the platform 130 which is specially adapted for travel on the cars 102.
The arm 134 includes an end-arm tool 136 that is adapted to grasp the poles 122 disposed in the cargo areas 120 of the cars 102 of the pole-setting segment 112 and to lift the poles 122 into position on foundations 138 installed alongside the railway as depicted in
As depicted in
With reference now to
As depicted in
Also as depicted in
With reference to
The cable-lifting apparatus 154 may have a substantially similar configuration to that of the pole-handling apparatus 124 or may take another configuration as needed based on the lifting and range-of-motion requirements thereof. As depicted in
At least one car 102 of the cable-deployment segment 116 includes a spool station 158. The spool station 158 provides a support structure 160 configured to hold one or more of the spools 152 and allow rotation thereof about a horizontal axis as the cable 150 is played out. The spool station 158 may include apparatus for controlling a rate at which the cable 150 is played out and/or to rotate the spool 152 to play out or retract the cable 150 as needed.
The cable-lifting apparatus 154 includes an end-arm tool 162 designed for raising the cables 150 to a desired height to aid coupling with the installed poles 122 and to aid playing out the cables 150 from the spools 152. The end-arm tool 162 may comprise free-wheeling pulleys or blocks around which the cables 150 are fed and directed toward desired installation locations. In one embodiment the end-arm tool 162 may engage the cables 150 separately or together and may be powered to aid drawing of the cables 150 from the spools 152 and playing out of the cables 150 toward the poles 122. The end-arm tool 162 may also be adapted to engage the spools 152 to lift the spools 152 from the cargo area 120 to the spool station 158 vice versa. Alternatively, the end-arm tool 162 may be disengaged from an arm 164 of the cable-lifting apparatus 154 and a second end-arm tool (not shown) engaged for moving the spools 152.
The cable-stringing segment 118 includes a man-lift 166 disposed thereon and configured to travel along the rails 108 longitudinally along the segment 118. The man-lift 166 comprises body 168 mounted on a platform 170. The platform 170 may be configured similarly to the platforms 130, 130′, and 156 to provide longitudinal movement of the man-lift 166 along the car 102, rotational motion of the body 168 relative to the platform 170 about a vertical axis, and to raise or elevate the body 168 to provide additional clearance for items placed in the cargo areas 120 of the cars 102. The body 168 houses engines, pumps, and other mechanical and electrical apparatus used for operation of the man-lift 166. In one embodiment, the man-lift 166 may be coupled to another source of electrical and/or hydraulic power disposed elsewhere on the consist 100, such as the generator 148.
An extensible and/or articulated arm 172 extends from the body 168 and includes a crew basket 174 disposed at a distal end thereof. The crew basket 174 is configured to hold one or more crew members and to lift the crew members to a desired height and location alongside the consist 100 for performance of their installation duties. The crew basket 174 may include a control station from which the crew members can operate the man-lift's longitudinal movement along the cars 102, rotation of the body 168 relative to the platform 170, and articulation and/or extension of the arm 172, among other functions. In one embodiment, a remote control may be provided to control operation of the man-lift from locations other than the crew basket 174.
With continued reference to
Crew members may also load onto the consist 100, such as on the crew-segment 114 where they may be provided with room to change clothes, eat, rest, meet, or the like and/or ride to their destination. Alternatively, crew members may travel to the installation location at a later date or time via other means.
The consist 100 may be coupled to a motive means, such as a power unit or a locomotive, among others and moved to a desired installation location. The consist 100 is positioned with the pole-setting segment 112 located alongside an area in which a plurality of foundations 138 for the poles 122 have been previously installed. In some operations, the foundations 138 may also be installed by operators on the consist 100 or another form of installation may be employed for properly securing the poles 122 in or to the ground. The pole-handling apparatus 124 is used to retrieve a desired pole 122 from within one of the cargo areas 120 of pole-setting segment 112 and to position the pole 122 on the desired foundation 138 or other mounting location. The pole-handling apparatus 124 may be moved longitudinally along the length of the pole-setting segment 112 and/or the consist 100 as needed to achieve the desired position of the pole 122 without need to move the consist 100 as a whole.
Following installation of a number of poles 122 and/or poles 122 that can be reached by the pole-handling apparatus 124, the consist 100 may be moved along the tracks to again position the pole-setting segment 112 alongside a next group of foundations waiting to receive poles 122. Such movement of the consist 100 also positions the cable-deployment segment 116 and the cable-stringing segment 118 alongside the newly installed poles 122 to allow crew members to install the cables 150 onto the newly installed poles 122.
The cable-lifting apparatus 154 is employed to position spools 152 onto the spool station 158 as needed. The cables 150 are strung through the end-arm tool 162 and coupled to an anchor point, which may be one of the poles 122 or another location as is commonly practiced in the art. Meanwhile, crew members utilize the man-lift 166 to install blocks or pulleys on the poles 122 and/or to anchor the cable end as indicated above.
The longitudinal range of motion available to both the cable-lifting apparatus 154 and the man-lift 166 allow the crew members to perform these tasks without requiring movement of the consist 100 or precise positioning thereof. Further, these ranges of motion in combination with the range of motion available to the pole-handling apparatus 124 further increase the accessibility to the desired work areas for functions being performed simultaneously along the consist 100. As such, crew members are able to move their equipment to desired working locations and continue operations without needing to wait until the consist 100 can be moved. In some embodiments, a second vehicle such as an on-highway vehicle fitted with a hi-rail system is provided to follow the consist 100 at a later time or date to finalize any installation operations, such as installing terminations and/or tensioning systems on the cables 150 and replacing the pulleys or blocks on the poles 122 with insulators and landing the cables 150 thereon, among other activities.
During installation operations, the crew members are provided with any necessary facilities, such as restrooms, break or rest spaces, first aid, or the like in the crew-segment 114. Accordingly, crew members can remain on site and do not need to travel to other locations for such services. A crew van (not shown) such as a common automobile fitted with a hi-rail system may be towed behind the consist 100 for transportation of crew members to and from the installation location in case of emergency and at the beginning and end of the work day. As such, the consist 100 may be left at the installation location during non-working hours while the crew is off. The number of vehicles that must travel to and from the installation site daily and stored elsewhere overnight is greatly reduced and may comprise only a single vehicle. Such greatly reduces the likelihood of mishaps, reduces costs for equipment and storage, and streamlines crew activities.
With reference now to
Like the pole-setting consist 100, rail-cars 202 of the catenary consist 200 preferably comprise a gondola-style configuration but other styled cars, such as flat-cars might be employed. Some or all of the cars 202 of the catenary consist 200 also preferably employ the shared-truck configuration and include rails 208 configured to support and enable a wheeled apparatus to travel longitudinally along the sidewalls 206 as well as bridging elements 210 to extend the rails 208 between adjacent ones of the cars 202.
In some embodiments, the catenary consist 200 may be coupled to the trailing end of the pole-setting consist 100. Alternatively, the catenary consist 200 may be operated physically and/or temporally separate from the pole-setting consist 100 and moved along the railway by another propulsion means.
The consist 200 comprises a plurality of segments that are each comprised one or more of the cars 202. Although discussed herein with respect to segments, the consist 200 is a continuous, single unit; segmentation of the consist 200 is merely used herein for clarity and ease of description and is based on the functions performed at different locations along the consist 200. The segments include crew-segments 212 and 214, a termination-installation segment 216, a catenary arm-installation segment 218, an inventory-staging segment 220, a secondary-assembly segment 222, and a primary-fabrication segment 224. It is understood that although the segments and the functions performed thereby are described as being provided in a particular order, such is not intended to be limiting on the scope of exemplary embodiments.
With reference to
Also as depicted in
Referring to
The boom 236 is configured to retrieve and lift components 242 from within a bay 240 of the car 202 and either dispose the components 242 alongside the tracks, near a pole 122, or to raise the components to a desired mounting location on a previously installed pole 122. Such components 242 may typically comprise balance weight assemblies employed for providing tension on cables of the overhead catenary system and/or termination components for those cables, among a variety of other components that may be stored in and/or unloaded from the termination-installation segment 216. The components 242 are preferably stored in the bay 240 within operational reach of the boom 236.
Beyond the reach of the boom 236, prefabricated catenary arms 244 are stored within the bay 240 as well as in the bays 240 of additional cars 202 within the segment 216, as depicted in
The man-lift 238 is configured similarly to the man-lift 166 described previously. The man-lift 238 provides lifting of one or more crew members to allow installation activities for mounting the catenary arms 244 on the poles to be carried out. The man-lift 238 may also provide lifting of the catenary arms 244 from the bay 240 and may include one or more adaptations to aid securely lifting and handling of the catenary arms 244 during installation. Additionally, the man-lift 238 may be employed to move the catenary arms 244 and other components within the bay 240 or between cars 202 to aid storage organization. The longitudinal range of motion along the length of the consist 200 available to the man-lift 238 allows the crew members to perform their installation tasks without requiring movement of the consist 200 or precise positioning thereof.
The catenary arm-installation segment 218 also includes a plurality of cars 202 storing pre-fabricated catenary arms 244 in the bays 240 thereof and at least one man-lift 238 moveably supported on the rails 208 of the sidewalls 206 for use by crew members for installation of the catenary arms 244 and/or organization of the catenary arms 244 in the bays 240. The segment 218 may also include a mobile gantry crane 246 that is moveable longitudinally along the consist 200 along the rails 208 of the sidewalls 206. Longitudinal movement of the mobile gantry crane 246 may be powered or may be manually conducted. The mobile gantry crane 246 includes a longitudinally extending beam 248 with a trolley and hoist 250 disposed thereon. The trolley and hoist 250 may be powered or manually operated to lift and move the catenary arms 244 along the consist 200 as needed, but typically such movements are toward the catenary arm-installation segment 218 and the termination-installation segment 216, e.g. toward the crews engaged in installing the catenary arms 244. In another embodiment, the mobile gantry crane 246 is replaced or aided by provision of another man-lift 238 or another lifting apparatus configured for travel along the rails 208 of the sidewalls 206, e.g. a forklift or an apparatus similar to the pole-handling apparatus 124.
With reference now to
A stationary gantry system 252 is provided on the inventory-staging segment 220 which includes a longitudinally extending beam 254 on which a trolly and hoist 256 are disposed and can travel therealong and which is suspended above a deck of the car 202 above a material staging area 258. In embodiments in which the inventory-staging segment 220 comprises more than one car 202, the stationary gantry system 252 may include a bridging component (not shown) to allow travel of the trolly and hoist 256 between the beams 254 of adjacent cars 202 or another apparatus may be provided to move materials between the cars 202. Similarly, in some embodiments, the beam 248 of the mobile gantry crane 246 on the catenary arm-installation segment 218 is configured to allow transfer of materials between it and the stationary gantry system 252. In some embodiments, the trolly and hoist 250 may move onto the stationary gantry system 252 or the trolly and hoist 256 may move onto the mobile gantry crane 246, or vice versa. Alternatively, the available working area of the mobile gantry crane 246 may overlap with that of the stationary gantry system 252 such that materials can be transferred from the stationary gantry system 252 to the mobile gantry crane 246 and further transferred forward along the consist 200.
The trolly and hoist 256 of the stationary gantry system 252 may be manually operated or may be configured for powered operation, e.g. electrical operation. The material staging area 258 provides space in which the prefabricated catenary arms 244 may be stored individually or in groups which may be disposed on pallets or other storage bases or bins to aid movement thereof.
The inventory-staging segment 220 may also provide storage locations and/or structures 260 for storage of one or more coils 262 of cable. The structures 260 may comprise stands configured to hold the coils 262 and may enable and/or aid rotation thereof to play out the cables for distribution thereof. The cables may comprise any desired cables used in the installation process of the overhead catenary system, but typically include cable used for guy wires to be installed on the poles 122.
Referring now to
The segments 224 and 222 both include material-storage facilities 264 which may comprise shelving, racks, or the like and a fabrication cabin 266p, 266s. The segments 224 and 222 are arranged to aid material and fabrication flow from a trailing end of the consist 200 forward along the consist 200 such that the raw materials generally enter from the trailing end of the consist 200; the completed catenary arms 244 leave toward the forward end of the secondary-assembly segment 222 and move to the inventory-staging segment 220. As such, the material-storage facilities 264 of the primary-fabrication segment 224 may comprise racks 268 configured to store lengths of structural pipe which will be cut to length and assembled into the catenary arms 244. As depicted in
The fabrication cabins 266p, 266s comprise enclosures disposed on or mounted to the respective cars 202 that house facilities and equipment useable by crew members for fabricating and assembling the catenaries 202 on the consist 200. The fabrication cabins 266p, 266s may be formed from shipping containers used in the shipping industry that are modified and disposed on the cars 202 or they can be custom built as needed. As depicted in
With continued reference to
The catenary arms 244 are typically of different dimensions and configurations depending on the characteristics of the location of the pole 122 on which the arms are to be installed. The termination-installation segment 216, the catenary-installation segment 218, and the inventory-staging segment 220 can be loaded with pre-assembled catenary arms 244 marked or labeled for installation on poles 122 at specified locations. The catenary arms 244 may be stored, labeled, or otherwise staged and tracked on the consist 200 to aid the flow of materials during installation and the proper installation of the particular catenary arm 244 in the intended location. For example, the catenary arms 244 may be stored in order of intended installation location.
In some embodiments, a standardized catenary configuration may be employed on poles at some locations of an overhead catenary system and only non-standard catenary arms 244 are fabricated on the consist 200 for the remaining poles 122 based on particular characteristics of particular installation locations. In another embodiment, all the catenary arms 244 to be installed using the consist 200 are fabricated on the consist 200. In yet another embodiment, the consist 200 may be loaded with a number of catenary arms 244 that are either standardized or specially configured for particular locations along the installation and a number of additional catenary arms 244, standardized and/or specially configured, may be fabricated on the consist 200 to replenish inventory and/or to increase the range of the consist's installation activities before needing to be reloaded.
Production of the catenary arms 244 begins on the primary-fabrication segment 224. Tubing is retrieved from the racks 268 and loaded onto the roller table 270 in the fabrication cabin 266p where it can be cut to into desired lengths and drilled as needed using the saw 272 and drill 274. The cut and drilled tubing may be transferred to the fabrication cabin 266s of the secondary-assembly segment 222 where crew members assemble the tubing to form the catenary arms 244. Materials needed for assembly of the catenary arms 244 (e.g. bolts, couplers, or the like) as well as additional components to be mounted thereon (e.g. insulators, hangers, mounting hardware, or the like) may be retrieved from the storage shelves 276. Crew members may employ the workstations 278 for the assembly.
The completed catenary arms 244 may be carried forward along the consist 200 to the inventory-staging segment 220 where they may be loaded on pallets or similar storage bases, bins, or the like which are positioned within the operational reach of the stationary gantry system 252.
The hoist 256 of the stationary gantry system 252 lifts and moves the catenary arms 244 forward along the length of the inventory-staging segment 220 toward the catenary-installation segment 218. The stationary gantry system 252 may have sufficient vertical range to enable the catenary arms 244 to be moved vertically over one another to enable reordering thereof or the system 252 may be employed to simply move the catenary arms 244 forward in stepwise fashion.
The mobile gantry crane 246 is moved rearward along the consist 200 to pick up a forward-most catenary arm 244 or group of catenary arms 244 on the inventory-staging segment 220. The mobile gantry crane 246 is moveable forward along and between cars 202 of the catenary-installation segment 218 to dispose the catenary arms 244 in a desired location within the bay 240 of a selected one of the cars 202. The mobile gantry crane 246 and the stationary gantry system 252 proceed to move the catenary arms 244 forward along the consist 200 to provide an available supply of catenary arms 244 to crews working to install the catenary arms 244 from the catenary-installation segment 218 and the termination-installation segment 216.
The installation crews of both the catenary-installation segment 218 and the termination-installation segment 216 retrieve the catenary arms 244 from the bays 240 of their respective cars 202 and, using the manlifts 238, raise the catenary arms 244 to the desired locations on the pre-installed poles alongside the consist 200. Mobility of the manlifts 238 relative to the consist 200 aids such installation because the crews can easily obtain a desired position irrespective of other crews operating on the consist. For example, where spacing between the poles is inconsistent the crews can easily adapt their positions along the consist to accommodate such spacing. Similarly, the crews may be able to complete multiple installations or installation tasks without need to move the consist 200.
When a termination point is reached, i.e. when a location at which a balance weight assembly or other termination is to be installed is reached, crews may use the boom 236 to retrieve the components 242 of the termination assembly from the bay 240 and to dispose or install the components 242. Meanwhile, other crews may continue installation of additional catenary arms 244 and/or the additional time that may be needed for installation of the termination may be used to complete other tasks on the consist 200. For example, crews may collect and return empty pallets or bins from the bays 240 of the termination-installation segment 216 and catenary-installation segment 218 to the inventory-staging segment 220 for reloading with additional catenary arms 244. Upon achieving a desired state of completion of the termination installation, the consist 200 may be moved further along the railway to enable further catenary 244 installation.
At any point in time as desired or required, the crew members may access the crew-segments 212, 214. As discussed previously, the crew-segments 212, 214 can provide any desired or necessary facilities, such as restrooms, break or rest spaces, first aid, or the like. Accordingly, crew members can remain on site and do not need to travel to other locations for such services. The highway vehicle 232, such as a common automobile fitted with a hi-rail system may be towed behind the consist 200 for transportation of crew members to and from the installation location in case of emergency, at the beginning and end of the workday, or for any other reason. As such, the consist 200 may be left at the installation location during non-working hours while the crew is off. The number of vehicles that must travel to and from the installation site daily and stored elsewhere overnight is greatly reduced and may comprise only a single vehicle. Such greatly reduces the likelihood of mishaps, reduces costs for equipment and storage, and streamlines crew activities.
Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the scope of the description provided herein. Exemplary embodiments have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after and because of reading it. Alternative means of implementing the aforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of exemplary embodiments described herein. Identification of structures as being configured to perform a particular function in this disclosure is intended to be inclusive of structures and arrangements or designs thereof that are within the scope of this disclosure and readily identifiable by one of skill in the art and that can perform the particular function in a similar way. Certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within the scope of exemplary embodiments described herein.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/478,798, entitled POLE-SETTING AND CATENARY ARM FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION CONSISTS FOR OVERHEAD CATENARY SYSTEMS, filed Jan. 6, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63478798 | Jan 2023 | US |
