GB695900A - Improvements in or relating to methods of, and plants for, railroad ballast maintenance - Google Patents

Abstract

695,900. Laying railway track. LEMAINE, M. H. Feb. 28. 1951. [March 10, 1950 ; Sept. 4, 1950] No. 4931/51. Class 104 (ii). In a method of and plans for relaying or improving railroad ballast a suitable length of track is raised and kept clear of the ballast by shims interposed between a number of sleepers and the ballast and by spring supported skids mounted on a vehicle the front bogie of which rests on the raised track and the trailing bogie of which rests on the relaid track and the ballast under the sleepers supported by the skids is continuously removed by an excavator girding the track, the refuse sorted therefrom, and the clean ballast is finally sorted, spread, vibrated and rammed when returned to a position-beneath the lifted track by means provided on and as the vehicle is moved along the track. The leading bogie 2 of the vehicle rests on a portion of the track previously lifted and packed up by shims 4 whilst the trailing bogie 3 rests on the relaid part of the track. The vehicle carries a vertically adjustable excavator 5 girding the track, a track lifting unit resiliently supported on cup washers 9 and vertically adjustable by means of an electric motor through bevel gears and a spindle 13, a screen with two screening stages 16, 17 a ballast levelling unit 30 and a vibrating or ramming unit 35. The ballast removed by the excavator 5 from under the track, lifted by rollers 15 mounted on arms 6 of the lifting unit bearing against the underside of the sleepers, is discharged by a belt conveyer 18 into a hopper 19 whence it is led either to the screen or a shoot 21 depending on the position of a hinged flap 20. The coarse ballast retained on the screen 16 is passed into a shoot 22 and, depending on the position of a hinged flap 23, is deposited either on to the track behind the excavator 5 or on to a convever belt 25. through a shoot 26 on to the track in front of the trailing bogie 3. The ballast intercepted by the screen 17 is discharged through shoots 27 onto either side of the track. The refuse passed through the screen 17 is collected on a conveyer belt 28 and then discharged on to a further conveyer belt 29 whence it is discharged laterally together with the ballast from shoot 21. The ballast levelling unit 30 is vibrated horizontally by a camshaft 34 and is vertically adjusted by screws 33. The vibrating and ramming unit 35 is vertically vibrated bv a camshaft 38 and is vertically adjusted by screwed spindles 37. The vehicle prime movers are arranged in the rear platform 39 whilst a control cabin 40 is provided on the front platform.