Patent Application
20120199038
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus to facilitate the loading of railroad ribbon rails on rack cars of a rail train and in particular guides for guiding ribbon rail onto shelves of the rack cars and shoes for guiding the front end of the ribbon rail therethrough.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern railroad tracks are constructed using long sections of ribbon rail which presently may be up to 1600 feet in length. These sections of ribbon rail are formed by butt welding multiple sticks of rail, which traditionally come from the steel mill in thirty-nine foot or seventy-eight foot lengths. The welding of the ribbon rails is done at a welding plant and the welded ribbon rails are transported to their installation site on a specially constructed rail train. The rail trains include a plurality of rack cars or rail rack cars, each typically having two racks of shelves.
Prior art rail trains traditionally comprise of a plurality of 60 foot rack cars connected together by standard railroad couplers. Each car includes a pair of transverse stands for supporting the ribbon rail. The stands of each car are spaced 30 feet apart and 15 feet from the respective coupler such that the stands are spaced 30 feet apart along the length of the rail train. The stands each include multiple tiers or shelves (typically five or six tiers) which each tier supporting a plurality of rails (for example eight to twelve rails per tier). The space in which an individual stick of rail is supported on each shelf may be referred to as a pocket. The stands must each be strong enough both to support the weight of the rails and to resist side loads created by flexing of the ribbon rails as the rail train traverses curves in the track. Sidewalls of each stand constrain the rails on the shelves. Thirty foot spacing for the stands is believed to be optimal for supporting the rails without excessive sagging.
One car in each rail train is a tie-down car including a specialized stand which includes means for fixing the rails to the racks to prevent longitudinal movement of the rails relative to the tie-down car. All the other racks in the train allow for relative longitudinal movement of the rails and may include rollers which support the rails. This relative movement between the racks and the rails is required in order to allow the rails to flex without stretching or compressing as the train traverses curves in the track, as well as to allow for coupler slack that exists in each of the couplers between cars.
The rails are loaded or threaded onto the rail train and across the shelves of the racks by a powered drive system. Considerable effort is required to carefully thread each rail into a desired pocket on each shelf. Loading the first rail on each shelf is the most difficult as it is difficult to thread the rail through the desired outer pocket of each rail support shelf, particularly when the rail train is setting on a curved section of track as the end of the rail wants to move in a straight line and the front end tends to sag. A common practice to assist in guiding a rail through the selected pocket on the rack car shelves is to mount a pointed shoe on the end of each rail, but it is still difficult to keep the stick of rail traveling in a curved path if the train is curved. Once the first rail is loaded on each self a guide arm can be attached to a shoe mounted on the leading end of the next rail to be loaded with the guide arm having a receiver positioned over the head of the previously loaded rail to slide therealong as the next rail is loaded so as to guide the end of the rail being loaded in alignment with the desired pocket of each shelf and to maintain proper spacing between the rail being loaded and previously loaded rail. Because there is not a previously loaded rail to use in guiding the second rail in place, workers may have to use pry bars and the like to redirect the end of the rail through the desired pockets and prevent the end of the rail being loaded to extend outside of the sidewall of the support rack across which it is being loaded.
There remains a need for an improved system for guiding rails being loaded onto the cars of a rail train and in particular onto the rail rack cars of a rail train.
A rail car for a rail train includes upwardly opening guide channels for supporting and guiding rails being loaded onto the car into alignment with aligned pockets on shelves of a shelf rack on the rail car. The guide channels extend between vertical supports or inwardly angled funnel members mounted on opposite sides of the rail car base near an end thereof and selected pockets of the shelves of the rail car. Each said guide channel has a floor which is wider than a base of the rail adapted to be supported on the shelf. In a preferred embodiment, a rail support car or rack car includes two racks of shelves spaced inward from first and second ends of the rack car and funnel members extending upward from each end of the rack car on opposite sides thereof with a single guide channel extending between an outer pocket of each shelf and the funnel member positioned on the same end of the rack car. The first rail loaded onto each shelf is guided into a selected outer pocket by the funnel member and guide channel associated with that pocket.
A shoe, attached to the front of the rail and having a horizontal roller recessed within the base of the shoe, facilitated threading the rail through aligned pockets of successive shelves of the cars in the rail train. The horizontal roller facilitates advancement of the shoe across the web of the guide channel. The shoe may also include vertical rollers to facilitate movement of the roller across any vertically extending surfaces.
After the first shoe is loaded onto the shelf, a rail spacing guide is attached to the shoe of the next rails to be loaded. The spacing guide includes a downwardly opening channel member on a guide arm connected to the shoe which engages the head of a previously loaded rail to guide the next loaded rail in the proper spacing through the next set of aligned pockets of the successive shelves in the rail train.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly,” “downwardly,” “rightwardly,” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the embodiment being described and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of a similar import.
Referring to the drawings in more detail, the reference number 1 generally designates a rail train. The train 1 is adapted for transporting a plurality of ribbon rails 3 along a railroad track (not shown). Each rail 3, see
Referring to
As best seen in
As best seen in
Referring to
Each shelf 39 also includes upward angling ramps 63 extending between the sidewalls 35 and 36 in front of each lateral strut 45 to urge the end of a rail 3 being loaded onto the shelf 39 upwards and onto the desired roller 43. Guide plates 65 and 66 are mounted to each sidewall 35 and 36 of each rack 31 and 32 and angle inward from an outer edge of each sidewall 35 and 36 toward the outermost roller support strut 47 and roller 43 mounted thereon to help laterally guide the end of a rail 3 being loaded through an outermost pocket 60 onto the outermost roller 43.
Opposed funnel members or plates 71 project upward from the rail car base 21 on opposite sides thereof proximate the first and second ends 25 and 26 thereof. Each funnel member 71 extends upwards at generally the same height as the sidewalls 35 and 36 of each rack 31 and 32. The funnel members 71 angle inward from the associated end 25 or 26 of the rail car base 21 toward the associated rack 31 or 32. The funnel members 71 function to guide the ends of rails 3 being threaded through the outermost pockets 60 of the shelves 39 inward toward the pockets 60 and to restrain the ends of the rails 3 from advancing outward of the associated sidewall 35 or 36. Bracing 72 supports the funnel members 71 in the desired vertical alignment.
Upward opening guide channels 75 are connected to and extend generally horizontally from each funnel member 71 to an adjacent shelf 39 in alignment with an outermost pocket 60 of the shelf, such that two guide channels 75 extend between each pair of opposed funnel members 71 and each shelf 39 on opposite ends thereof. In the embodiment shown, with six shelves 39 per rack 31 and 32, twelve guide channels 75 extend between opposed funnel members 71 and the six shelves 39 in each rack 31 and 32. The funnel members 71 may also function as vertical supports for the outer ends of the guide channels 75.
Each guide channel 75 includes a guide channel floor, base or web 77 and inner and outer side walls or flanges 78 and 79 projecting upward from the floor 77. The outer side wall 79 of each guide channel 75 extends from an inner edge of each funnel plate 71 to an end of the guide channel 75 proximate the outer pocket 60 of the shelf 39. The inner side wall 78 of the guide channel 75 extends from an end 25 or 26 of the rack car base 21 to an opposite end of the guide channel 75 proximate the outer pocket 60 of the shelf 39. The guide channel floor 77, between the inner and outer side walls 78 and 79 is preferably selected to be approximately one and a half times or twice as wide as the base 6 of a rail 3 to be supported or guided thereby. The floor 77 of each guide channel 75 at the outer end thereof adjacent the associated funnel plate 71 angles outward, following the angle of the funnel plate 71 and is typically three to four times as wide as the base 6 of a rail 3.
Referring to
Each guide channel 75 is supported by first and second support brackets 87 and 88. The first support bracket 87 is welded to and projects inward from the funnel member 71 to which the channel 75 is connected and the second support bracket 88 is welded to and projects inward from the sidewall 35 or 36 to which the channel 75 is connected.
A rail 3 being loaded onto the racks 31 and 32 in alignment with an outer pocket 60 associated with each rack 31 and 32 is supported on the guide channel 75 as it is slid through each pocket 60 of the associated shelf 39. The guide channel side walls 78 and 79 generally restrain the rail 3 from flexing outward from the selected outer pocket 39 and help guide the rail 3 through the selected outer pocket 60 with the guide members 85 guiding the end of the rail over the aligned roller 43 between its flanges 55. The width of the guide channels 75 and the angle of the funnel members 71 do allow the rails 3 supported on the guide channels 75 to flex or curve an adequate amount as the rail rack cars 15 move around a curve in the tracks.
Referring to
Referring to the embodiment of the guide shoe 101 shown in
In the embodiments shown, the shoe body 105 is formed from steel plates welded together and the legs 109 are formed from rectangular channel members welded to the heel 106. It is to be understood that the shoe body 105 could be cast as a single casting and then machined to provide recesses for receiving the rollers 117 and 119.
Shoe body 105, as shown in
The toe skid plate 128 is removably securable, by bolting to the interconnecting web 122 and angles upward and forward from the heel 106 to or just past the distal end of the top plate 120 at the tip 108 of the shoe 101. The toe skid plate 128 as shown includes an upturned portion 133 proximate the distal end thereof so that the tip 108 of the shoe 101 angles upward relative to the rest of the toe skid plate 128. Both the toe portion 125 of the top plate 120 and the toe skid plate 128 narrow or taper inward toward the tip 108 of the shoe 101 to form a bluntly pointed toe 107. When secured in place, an inner end of the toe skid plate 128 abuts against a support plate 134 welded to an inner surface of the base plate 127 so as to extend partially past an edge of the base plate 127 closest to the tip 108 of the toe 107.
As best seen in
The toe skid plate 128 and heel skid plate 129 are adapted to be replaceable due to wear. It is foreseen that the toe skid plate 128 could be integrally formed with the base plate 127 and have wear ribs or the like formed thereon which could be rebuilt after wearing down. Similarly wear ribs or the like could be formed on the base plate 127.
When the shoe 101 is bolted to a rail 3, the bottom surface of the base plate 127 extends generally in planar alignment with the bottom surface of the rail base 6 and in closely spaced relation thereto. The heel skid plate 129 preferably extends below the bottom surface of the rail base 6. The upward and forward slope of the toe skid plate 128 urges the end of the rail 3 upward as the toe skid plate 128 engages horizontal edges such as the ramps 63 of each shelf 39 to ensure that the end of the rail 3 is raised into proper vertical alignment with the surfaces over which it is to be slid such as rollers 43.
The horizontal roller 117 is mounted on a shaft 140 which is supported on and extends between vertical supports 141 extending between the top plate 120 and base plate 127 on opposite sides of the shoe body 105. The horizontal roller shaft 140 is supported above the opening 132 such that a lower circumferential edge 142 extends below the base plate 127, the heel skid plate 129 and the toe skid plate 128. An axis of the horizontal roller 117 extends generally horizontally and transverse to a direction of travel of the shoe 101. Most of the horizontal roller 117 extends within the shoe body 105 and may be described as being recessed therein or positioned within a recess in the shoe body 101. A recess 143 is also formed in the web 122 to accommodate the horizontal roller 117. The horizontal roller 117 is preferably of a type having bearings (not shown) integrated therein. Horizontal roller 117 functions to facilitate movement of the shoe 101 across the floor 77 of the guide channels 75, over the ramps 63 and across the lateral struts or supports 45 forming the shelves 39 and any other horizontal structure across which it is advanced to facilitate threading a rail 3 through selected aligned pockets 60 of the successive shelves 39 of the rack cars 15 and other cars of the rail train 1.
The vertical rollers 119 are mounted on shafts 145 supported between the heel portion 124 of top plate 120 and the base plate 127 extending therebelow such that the axis of the vertical rollers 119 generally extend transverse to a direction of travel of said the shoe 101. Each shaft 145 is supported in a bearing 147 connected to the top plate 120 and the base plate 127. A vertical roller gap or opening 149 extends between each vertical support 141 and the back plate 131 of the shoe body 105 through which a portion of the associated vertical roller 119 extends. An outer circumferential edge 151 of each vertical roller 119 extends outward, past outer edges of the top plate heel portion 124 and the base plate 127. Most of each vertical roller 119 extends within the shoe body 105 and may be described as being recessed therein or positioned within a recess in the shoe body 101. The vertical rollers 119 facilitate movement of the shoe 101 relative to the funnel member 71 and any other vertical extending surfaces it may advance against.
In the embodiment of the shoe 101, as shown in
A rail spacing guide 155 including a guide arm 157 and a downwardly opening channel member 159, formed at an outer end of the guide arm 157, is selectively securable to the shoe 101 in a guide arm receiver 161 as shown in
The channel member 159 includes a pair of flanges 173 projecting downward from and connected together by a web 175 and forming a downwardly opening channel 177 therebetween. The flanges 163 are spaced apart a distance sized to receive the head 5 of a rail 3 therebetween. The channel member 159 is mounted transverse to the guide arm 157 at an outer end thereof, such that when the guide arm 157 of the rail spacing guide 155 is secured in the receiver 161, the channel 177 extends in parallel alignment with the rail 3 to which the shoe 101 is attached.
In loading the first rail r1 on each set of shelves 39 and 40 of the cars 10 of a rail train 1, a guide shoe 101, without the rail spacing guide 155 is secured to the leading end of the rail 3. The shoe 101 and the end of the rail r1 to which it is attached is positioned or aligned to be threaded through the outermost pockets 60 on either end or side of the vertically aligned shelves 39 and 40 of the cars 10 in the rail train 1. The rail r1 is then threaded through the selected set of pockets 60 on the aligned shelves 39 and 40 of the cars 10. Referring the
If a rail 3 is being loaded through pockets 60 positioned on the inner side of the curve, such as r10 in
Because the end of the rail 3 and shoe 101 tend to move in a straight line and because the pockets 60 for the pair of aligned shelves 39 in each rack car 15 are linearly aligned, guide channels are not believed to be needed between the adjacent racks 31 and 32 of a single rack car 15. Moreover, guide channels 75 are preferably only mounted in alignment with the two outermost pockets 60 on each shelf 39 because once a rail 3 is loaded onto the shelf 39 in either of the outermost pockets 60, the remaining rails 3 can be guided onto the shelves 39 and through the desired pockets 60 in the proper spacing and alignment using the rail spacing guide 155 in association with the guide shoe 101 as generally shown in
As noted previously, because the end of the rails 3 tend to move in a straight line guide channels are really only need between funnel members 71 and rack 31 or 32 positioned toward the end of the car 25 or 26 from which the rails 3 are loaded. However, because it is desirable to allow the rack car to be hooked up to the rail train 1 in either direction or because the direction from which the rails 3 will be loaded may not be known, guide channels 75 extend from each shelf 39 of racks 31 and 32 to the adjacent ends 25 and 26 respectively. In this manner, the rack car 15 can be oriented in either direction on the rail train 1 or rails can be loaded from either end thereof to obtain the benefit of the guide channels 75.
It is to be understood that guide channels 75 and funnel members 71 of the type incorporated into the rack cars 15 discussed herein, could also be incorporated into tie down cars 13 or end cars 11 and 12 of the rail train 1 and are shown in the end cars 11 and 12 in
After the first rail 3 is loaded on a shelf 39, the rail spacing guide 155 is used with the shoe 101 attached to the next rail 3 to be loaded. The position of the guide arm 157 within the receiver 161 is adjusted so that when the channel member 159 is positioned over the head 5 of the first or previously loaded rail 3 the rail 3 which is then being loaded and to which the shoe 101 is attached is spaced away from the previously loaded rail a distance corresponding to the distance between centers of adjacent pockets 60 on each shelf 39 which corresponds to the distance between the centers of adjacent flanged rollers 43 on each shelf 39. As the rail 3 is then loaded the connection of the rail spacing guide 155 between the rail 3 being loaded and the previously loaded rail 3 guides the rail 3 being loaded through the desired set of aligned pockets 60.
Referring again to
It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown. As used in the claims, identification of an element with an indefinite article “a” or “an” or the phrase “at least one” is intended to cover any device assembly including one or more of the elements at issue. Similarly, references to first and second elements, or to a pair of elements, is not intended to limit the claims to such assemblies including only two of the elements, but rather is intended to cover two or more of the elements at issue. Only where limiting language such as “a single” or “only one” with reference to an element, is the language intended to be limited to one of the elements specified, or any other similarly limited number of elements.
