US3533121A - Railway track broom - Google Patents

Description

Och 13, 1970 J. K. KERsHAw 3,533,121

RAILWAY TRACK BROOM Filed March 13, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 r\ pf N N N l.I N vbfx O rm l0 v E m m Il nn I o N o 1;1.. w i 'D N o n w Fig. 2

ATTOR N EYS oct. 13 1970 J. K. KERSHAW 3,533,121

RAILWAY TRACK BROOM Filed March 15, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 37 INVENTOR JOHN KNOX KERSHAW ATTORNEYS -OctQ 13, 1970 J. K. ,KERYSHAW y 3,533,121

A RAILWAY TRACK BROOM Filed March 13;' 196e f 3 sheets-Sheet e H8 IIO INVENTOR f/ JOHN KNOXKERSH'AW ATTORNEYS 3,533,121 RAILWAY TRACK BROOM .lohn Knox Kershaw, Southport, Ind., assignor, by mesne asignments, to The Marmon Group, Inc., Chicago, Ill.,

a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 712,832 Int. Cl. Etllh 8/00 U.S. Cl. -55 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Railway roadbed ballast distributing and dressing apparatus, particularly a track broom machine which is carried or driven along the track. The machine supports a broom rotatable on a horizontal axis transverse of the track and operable in either direction to sweep forward, and of sufficient length to sweep the entire tie-length width of the ballast face. The broom has spaced bristle elements made of bundles of spring-steel splines fixed in removable couplings and encased in bend-distributing sleeves. Banks of deflector plates ahead of and behind the broom deflect laterally the ballast swept forward by the broom, and the distance of lateral movement is increased by spacing the plates from a fixed rear wall. The plates are adjustable in groups, to deflect inward or outward, and may be sloped to deflect with an upward component. The broom is desirably held at an elevation to lightly sweep the tie faces. The long deflection transfer and lightly-sweeping special bristles combine to produce rapid progress with limited brush loading and to give manyfold increased broom life.

CROSS REFERENCES Certain subject matter disclosed herein is claimed in copending applications; the head block assembly in my application Ser. No. 718,560 filed Apr. 3, 1968; the plow in my application Ser. No. 750,101 filed Aug. 5, 1968; side wing structure in my application Ser. No. 705,421 filed Feb. 14, 1968; and a broom bristle in the application of myself and Edwin S. Pearce Ser. No. 745,772 filed July 18, 1968.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to railway roadbed ballast distributing and dressing apparatus required both for construction and maintenance, particularly to a roadbed or track broom for dressing the surface of the ties and ballast bed between and along the sides of the rails, and for leveling and distributing ballast over such bed.

The present invention is part of an overall development of a universal track machine which will be highly effective as a roadbed maintenance machine and also highly mobile for travel over the roads; which will carry several interrelated roadbed working and maintenance implements and provide for operating such equipment on the rails and for transporting the equipment on the roads between work sites and onto and off the railway at work sites. The basic prime-mover is a self-propelled vehicle of sturdy and powerful construction having four or more pneumatictired wheels for road travel, at least two of which are steerable, and at least four of which are powered from a heavy traction engine. Retractable rail wheels guide the road wheels for traction on the rails and are hydraulically adjustable to Vary the loading between the two sets of wheels. All work equipment is adjusted hydraulically by controls located for operation by a single operator in a cab from which the vehicle is driven on the highway and operated on the rails. Implements used with the primemover may include a ballast distributing plow at the front, side wings for working ballast banks, and a rear track s ited States Patent broom. The present invention is particularly concerned with the track broom.

Road bed ballast comprises a thick layer of crushed limestone or similar material resting on a prepared base, and supports the cross ties on which the track rails are laid. The ballast bed is shaped to have a generally horizontal top face over the lengths of the ties, that is, between the rails themselves and alongside the rails in the area of the projecting ends of the ties, and to have sloped banks at and beyond the ends of the ties. Desirably, the top surface of the ballast is level with or slightly below the top faces of the ties, and the ties and rails should be free of loose ballast.

The ballast bed is subjected to deterioration and requires periodic maintenance. It should be kept clear of weed growth and other accumulations which promote deterioration. Both in maintenance and in the original construction of the road bed, new ballast is added. This is dumped onto the road bed from cars, and must be spread. While it can be roughly distributed by a blade device such as a plow or mold board, it is not possible with such a blade device to produce the desired finish condition in which the ballast is level with or slightly below the tops of the ties and in which the surface is free of loose ballast. A brush or broom type implement can produce the desired ballast distribution and surface condition.

In producing the desired ballast surface, after rough distribution with a plow, it is necessary to transfer ballast from one portion of the ballast bed to another, for example from between the rails to outside the rails, or from outside to between the rails or even from one side to the other. A roadbed broom is also useful to sweep the roadbed, to keep down growth of weeds and accumulation of materials which will cause deterioration of the ties or ballast. Such sweeping and ballast transfer imposes high work loads on broom devices and have heretofore made them impractical for handling ballast.

'Ihe present invention provides a track broom machine which will effectively produce a properly leveled and dressed ballast surface, which will operate to transfer ballast from one portion of the ballast bed to another with a high degree of flexibility and effectiveness, which will thereby prevent excess accumulation of ballast in the path of the broom and which will have a sufficiently long life to be practical.

A track broom in accordance with the invention may be operated along the track by any suitable vehicle, but I prefer to use the universal track machine described above, both because it is effective for the purpose and because the track broom is adapted to cooperate with the other ballast implements carried by such machine.

In accordance with the invention, the track broom implement comprises an elongated frame which in operation extends transversely across the track. This carries a rotary broom element journalled for rotation on a transverse horizontal axis, and of a length sufficient to sweep the entire top surface of the ballast bed over the full length of the ties. The broom is driven by a suitable motor, preferably a hydraulic motor supplied with hydraulic fluid from a pump on the prime mover. The motor and broom are rotatable in either direction, for operation when the prime mover is moving either forward or rearward along the track. The broom rotates in a direction to sweep ballast forward in the direction of movement of the implement, and exerts sufficient force to throw loose ballast forward.

In the path of such forwardly-thrown ballast, the frame carries a transverse series of baffles which deflect the ballast laterally. Such a series of baffles is disposed both forward and rearward of the transverse broom, to permit forward and reanward operation. Peferably each bank of baffles is divided into two halves or sections, and the ballles of each section are jointly adjustable to deflect ballast either inward or outward. The two sections of each bank may be adjusted to deflect all the ballast to the right or all the ballast to the left or to dellect it either from the center outward or from outside inward.

Preferably ,the ballles are enclosed in a housing having a back wall spaced from the back edges of the batlles to provide open clearance through which ballast which is dellected by one baille may pass between the wall and the next adjacent baille. Such wall will further dellect ballast along its surface, and the ballast can be moved laterally a greater distance than the distance between the baflles.

In practice, the broom and balllfes may operate repeatedly on the same ballast. `If a lilrst operation does not move the ballast laterally a sufllcient distance to clear the path of the broom, such ballast will fall in front of the broom and will be swept fonward again into deflecting engagement with the battles, and this operation may be repeated successively until the ballast falls into a low spot in the roadbed to lill it or until the ballast is moved laterally from the top surface of the roadbed and out of the path of the broom. Accordingly, the more the ballast is moved laterally on each pass, the fewer the passes which will be required and the greater the speed and progress which will be produced without exceeding satisfactory loading limits of the broom.

For satisfactory operating life, the broom is provided with bristle elements of controlled llexibility and the degree of bristle flexing is regulated by controlling the height of the broom relative to the level of the tie surfaces. For best results, the broom should positively but barely sweep the top tie surfaces.

The broom implement is desirably carried by a vertically adjustable head block on the prime mover, by which it can be raised and lowered as necessary to clear the rails. This will permit passage over rail portions which are not to be brushed and lwill permit ready movement of the prime mover onto and 01T the railway.

The head block will also lower the broom device to working position. In the prime mover shown, the head block is directly connected to a pair of rail wheels which can accurately fix the height of the head block above the wheels; and this relationship is desirably used to accurately determine the height of the broom device relative to the rails and their supporting ties and bed. For this purpose, the head block carries an adjustable stop which limits lowering movement of the broom device and hence supports such device at an adjustably fixed elevation.

Because of the considerable transverse length of the broom implement, corresponding to the width of the ballast bed, it is too wide transversely of the prime mover to be moved over the roads without special permit. Accordingly, the broom implement is desirably removable from the head block on the prime-mover, and is provided with fittings at one end to receive a wheeled dolly and at the other end to receive a trailer tongue. With the dolly and the tongue in place, the broom implement may then be drawn as a trailer lengthwise behind the prime-moved, and in s uch position it is well within the permissible limits for normal road travel.

THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of a universal track machine equipped with a track broom embodying the present invention, with such broom mounted in operative transverse position on a head block on the prime mover;

FIG. 2 is a similar side elevation of the machine shown in FIG. 1 with its implements disposed in road-travel position;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view,l showing the broom implement of FIGS. l and 2 in plan with the top frame and cover portion removed;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view ta'ken on the line `4 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. `6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIG, 5;

FIG. 7 is an axial section through a bristle element of my improved broom;

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of a bank of modified baflles, showing a baille arrangement in which the ballles are inclined to dellect ballast with an upward component; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view' on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE IPREFERRED EMBODIMENT The prime mover 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is for operation either on a road (FIG. 2) or on rails 4 of a standard railroad track (FIG. 1). As is known, the rails are supported on ties 6 laid in a porous ballast bed 8 supported on a base so formed that water will drain from such bed.

The prime mover l() comprises a frame 12 mounted by springs on the axles of front drive wheels 14 and rear drive wheels 16, and includes a control cab 118 at its forward end and an engine compartment at the rear. The cab 1-8 contains a seat for the operator, a steering wheel and other controls for the vehicle, and hydraulic controls for the various work elements carried by the prime mover. The engine compartment 20` contains an engine 215 which drives an oil pump and is connected through a transmission and clutch assembly to drive shafts 28 and '29 for the front and rear road wheels. The latter spacing or tread of such wheels 1 4 and 16 is equivalent to that of the rails, so that such wheels will ride on such rails.

:Each end of the prime mover carries a head block assembly 30 which has one pair of hydraulic cylinders (not shown) for raising and lowering a rail wheel carrier 31 mounted on the axle of a pair of rail wheels 3-2 coplanar with the adjacent road wheels 14 and 16. Such rail wheels 32 when lowered engage the rails 4 and serve to guide the drive wheels on the track and to transmit directly to the rails a selected proportion of the weight of the prime mover 10 and its ballast yworking equipment.

Each head block 30 also includes an outer pair of tubular guides 33` which slidably receive the end posts 34 of a mounting frame 315 which is raised and lowered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders 316. Each mounting frame 35 has a pair of laterally spaced lower brackets l37 for pivotally attaching a work element and has a pair of spaced sheaves 38 at its upper end on which are wound cables to support the work element. A plow 40 is mounted on the front head block.

A ballast side-bank working tool or wing 44 is carried at each side of the prime mover 10 and arranged for vertical, horizontal and tilting adjustment in a working position as shown in FIG. 2. For this purpose, the wing 44 is carried at the outer end of a carrier 45 pivotally mounted on a longitudinal axis in brackets 46 on the main frame of the prime mover. A lift cylinder 27 between the carrier and an anchor frame on the prime mover operates to lift the wing to travel position.

A track broom 50 is mounted on the rear head block. Weight of the broom is carried directly by the head block and through such head block transmitted directly to the underlying rail wheels 32, so that the elevation or height of the broom is determined in direct relation to the position of the rail wheels 32 and their supporting rails. To provide an accurate operating level for the broom, the mounting frame 35 carrying the broom has stop arms 42 which lower against adjustable stops 43 in brackets on the lixed guides 33` of the head block.

Movement of loose ballast by a broom can impose severe stress on the broom, particularly on its bristles. As

has been suggested by the prior art, I constructed a broom in which the bristles were lengths of steel cable encased in sections of heavy-duty hose, and removably fastened to the broom drum. In experimental operation of such a broom, it was found that such steel cable bristles would last only about two hours and would sweep less than five miles of track before requiring replacement. It took two men two full days to replace the bristles In sum, with such bristles the broom gave less than one man day of service for each four man days of repair, which was economically impractical. A new bristle was then developed as shown in this application which made the broom capable of prolonged operation. In comparative tests on a test machine, the new bristle lasted more than times as long as the old bristle.

The broom implement 50 comprises a sturdy rectangular frame formed by outer side stringers 52 interconnected at their ends by end members 54. Inner stringers 56 extend between the end members 54 in inwardly spaced relation with the side stringers 52. Upwardly inclined beams 57 extend from the side stringers 52 to a top frame 58. A broom chamber is formed between the inner stringers 56 and is closed at the top by an arched cover 60 extending the full length of the frame. A broom mandrel 62 is journaled at its ends in bearings 64 carried by the end members 54, and the mandrel shaft 66 at one end carries a multigroove drive pulley 68. A hydraulic motor 70 is mounted on the top frame 58 and drives a shaft "l2 which carries a pulley connected by belts to the mandrel pulley 68. Drive from the motor '70 to the drive shaft 72 may be through a reduction gear 74.

The broom mandrel 62 carries a plurality of circumferentially spaced rows of spaced bristle elements, desirably of the construction shown in FIG. 7 and described below. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there are eight rows each containing 14 bristle elements 76 and 78. The rows are staggered to sweep substantially the full surface of the underlying roadbed. As shown in FIG. 3, the bristle elements 78 which overlie the rails are short to sweep the top surfaces of the rails, While the bristle elements 76 are longer, to sweep the face of the ties and ballast bed. When the machine is in operative position, the bristle elements 76 positively but barely sweep the top surfaces of the ties 6 supporting the rails, so that such rails will be cleared of loose ballast and the ballast between the rails will be brushed to a depth at least as low as the surface of the ties.

A bank of bales 80 is mounted at each side of the frame. The space between the side stringers 52 and the inner stringers 56 is closed at the bottom by a plate 82 which forms the top wall of a dellector chamber. The nner side of such chamber is open to the broom and its outer side is closed by an outer wall 84 which extends downward from the side stringers 52 and carries a rubber apron 86 at its lower edge. The apron extends below the tops of the rails 4 and is cut out to clear such rails. As spaced points along the frame, the plate 82 is provided with sleeve bearings 88 in each of which is mounted a trunnion 90 which carries a depending dellecting blade 80. The upper end of each trunnion 90 carries a collar 92 from which a control arm 94 extends outward parallel to the blade 80.

As shown, each bank contains ten deector blades 80, arranged in two groups of iive. The control arms 94 for the blades of each group are interconnected by links 96. One of the collars 92 of each group carries an actuating arm 95 connected for operation by the piston rod 98 of a hydraulic cylinder 100 fixed to an anchor 102 on the plate 82. The hydraulic cylinder 100 operates to swivel the plates 80 of its group between opposite deflecting angles, to deflect ballast either inward or outward as desired. As will be seen in FIG. 5 and in the broken-away portions of FIG. 3, the back edges of the plates 80 are spaced from the outer wall 84 of the deflector chamber,

and this serves to increase the lateral distance over which the broom implement moves the ballast on each pass.

The broom mandrel 62- is driven in a direction to sweep loose ballast forward of the direction of implement travel along the railway. Its forward-sweeping bristles throw loose ballast forward into the baffles 80, which deflect such ballast either inward or outward depending upon their swivelled position. The ballast deflected from each baille travels laterally and rearward. That which then strikes the outer wall 84 of the deflector chamber is deflected further to the side. There is thus a general low of ballast from the broom to the baffles 80 and from them laterally through the space between the wall 84 and the rear edges of the deector blades 80, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3.

At the botom of FIG. 3, the two groups of blades 80 are both arranged to deflect ballast from the center outward. Accordingly, if it is assumed that the implement is traveling with this bank of blades forward (in the fullline arrow direction) the broom will throw loose ballast into the blades and such ballast will be deflected from the center portion of the roadbed outward toward both sides, and thus from between the rails to outside the rails. At the top of FIG. 3, the deector blades 80 are all disposed to deect ballast to the right. Accordingly, if it is assumed that the implement is traveling with this bank forward (in the dotted-line arrow direction) the loose ballast thrown forward by the broom element will strike the deflector blades 80 of that forward bank and all such ballast will be deflected to the right.

In any one pass of ballast from the broom through the deector blades, the ballast will travel only a limited lateral distance and may fall back to the roadbed in the path of the advancing broom element. It will then again be swept forward by the broom, will again strike the deflector blades 80, and will be deflected a further distance. The broom and deflectors may thus operate to shift the loose ballast repeatedly to the side until it falls into a depression in the roadbed or is deflected out of the path of the broom. The broom will effectively sweep all loose ballast from the faces of the ties 6 and from the ballast bed between the ties, will ll in any low spots to bring the ballast to its proper level, and will deflect excess ballast one way or another as desired, and leave the ballast face clean and level.

A form of bristle found to have a long operating life in this ballast-sweeping operation is shown in FIG. 7. The broom mandrel 62 carries an internally threaded stud 104 at each location of a bristle 76 or 78. Each bristle comprises a core 106 formed of a bundle of straight spring steel rods or wires, the upper ends of which are spread and fixed in a block 108 of cast filler such as lead. Such block is seated in a coupling 110 which forms a reduced nipple 112 extending along the core 106i. An inner sheath 114 closely surrounding the core 106 is threaded onto or otherwise fixed to the nipple 112, and extends to or close to the free end of the core 106. An outer sheath 116 surrounds the upper end of the inner sheath 114 and is clamped to the outer surface of the coupling 110, as by a clamp 118. The coupling 110 may desirably have a flange 120 of hexagonal shape adjacent its upper end to receive a Wrench, and its upper end is threaded for reception in the internal threads of the stud 104.

The number of wires or splines in the core 106 may be varied to obtain different degrees of flexibility or stiffness for the bristle element as a whole. Desirably, the core may comprise from say 80` to 45 spring steel wires of from 12 to 16 gauge. In a preferred bristle, I have used 36 wires of 14 gauge spring steel wire. The sheaths 114 and 116 may be made of heavy duty hose, and serve to distribute the bending stress in the core 106 away from its point of attachment to the rigid coupling 110.

The bristle should Hex sufficiently, when properly positioned with respect to the ties 6, to sweep the entire upper face of each tie. In a preferred arrangement, I have used a drum mandrel 62 of 6-inch outside diameter and proportions substantially as shown in FIG. 7, with a total radius from the center of the mandrel to the end of the core 106 of 221/2 inches, and I have operated the broom at an elevation such that the end of the core would traverse an arc passing through the upper corners of the ties 6. Each bristle element, as it passes over the center of each tie, will then positively but lightly brush the entire face of the tie.

The bristle elements described have given suicient life to be economically satisfactory and feasible. With the arrangement shown I nd I am able to obtain at least one full week of service from a broom, and can replace all the bristles on such broom within a suiiiciently short time to make continuous week-by-week operation practical.

The modilied deflector shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 has deector blades 180` which are tilted at an angle to give an upward component of motion to the deected ballast. Such plates are mounted in a delector chamber having a top wall 182 and a back wall 184. The top wall 182 carries a spaced series of vertical bearing sleeves 188 which receive trunnions 190. The upper ends of the trunnions carry swivel arms 194 interconnected at their ends by links 196, and one of the trunnions also carries an actuating arm 19S connected for swivel operation by the piston rod 198 of a control cylinder 208. Each trunnion 190 carries at its lower end a plate 202 to which are welded a pair of spaced hinge knuckles 204. Each dellector blade 180 has at its upper end three spaced hinge knuckles 286 which interiit with those of the trunnion and are hinged thereto by a pin 208. Each deflector blade 180' is free to swing about the hinge pin 208, and is tilted one way or the other by a tilt bar fixed on the plate 182 as the blade is swiveled by the trunnion 180l to its opposite limits of movement.

The group of deector blades 180a at the right in FIGS. 8 and 9 are swiveled clockwise to their limit positions. As they approach such limit positions, their front edge portions 181 engage the tilt bars 210 and are swung rearward ofthe direction of swivel movement, to bring the deector blades 18011 to the position shown, in which the lower edge of each blade is tilted toward the broom sothat ballast thrown against it by the broom will be deflected with an upward component of movement.

The group of delector blades 180b at the left in FIGS. 8 and 9 are swung counterclockwise to their limit positions. As they approach such positions, their front edge portions 181 strike the oppositely inclined tilt bars 211 and are swung to the left to the position shown. In such position, the plate 180b have their lower edges swung toward the broom so that loose ballast thrown against them will be deected to the left and with an upward component of movement.

In the relationship shown in FIG. l, the broom implement is too long transversely of the prime-mover 10 for travel as a normal road vehicle. Accordingly, for road travel a dolly 213 having a pair of road wheels 212 is attached to brackets 214 and 216 at one end of the frame of the broom implement 50, and a'trailer tongue 220 is attached to a tting at the opposite end of the frame. The latter end desirably carries a pair of caster wheels 124 which may be raised and lowered. An eye at the end of the tongue 220 is received over a trailer hitch 221 on the mounting frame 35 of the rear head block 30, to dispose the broom implement 50 as a trailer behind the prime mover. In this relationship, shown in FIG. 2, the broom implement 50 is drawn lengthwise as a trailer behind the prime-mover 10 for road travel, and in this position it is well within permissible road-travel limits.

OPERATION Let it be assumed that the prime mover 10, with its plow 40, its side wings 44, and its broom implement 50 in travel position, moves on the roads to a railway work site. Here, the caster wheels 124 at the trailer hitch end of the implement 50 are lowered to support the implement from the ground. The prime mover is then detached from the hitch tongue 220 and the broom implement is then reconnected to the prime mover in operating position as shown in FIG. l, by attaching the clevis brackets 51 on the broom frame to the mounting brackets 37 on the head block 30 and by attaching the cables from the sheaves 38 to the brackets 53 at the far side ofthe frame of the broom implement 50. The implement is then raised so that it is wholly supported by the prime mover, and the dolly 213 and road wheels 212 are removed. The prime mover is then maneuvered onto the rails where the rail wheels 32 are lowered for operation of the prime mover as a rail vehicle. The broom implement 50 is then lowered into operating position as shown in FIG. 4 and is moved along the rails in the desired direction.

-It may be assumed that fresh ballast has` been roughly distributed over the road bed by an implement such as the plow, and requires` further distribution and leveling to produce the desired finished condition. Loose ballast will be present on the ties and at the bases of the rails. As the broom implement 50 is moved along the track, the broom will be positively driven by the motor 7G` in a direction to sweep ballast forward into the bank of deector blades 88 at the leading side of the transverse frame. The deector blades will be positioned to deflect the ballast in the direction or ydirections desired, either from the center outward, from the outside inward, or from one side to the other. Such operation will sweep the ties and the face of the ballast bed and the bases of the rails free of loose ballast. As the loose ballast is thrown into the deflector blades 80, it will be deected laterally and through the space between such blades and the back wall 84 of the deector chamber, and will fall back to the ballast bed, where it will fill any low spots. yIf it remains as excess or loose ballast within the path of the broom, it will be swept forward again, and again deected laterally, and this operation will be repeated until the loose ballast has been deposited outside the path of the broom. The positions of the deflector blades 8G may be changed at will during the course of operation as conditions require, so that loose ballast can be distributed to fill up all low spots in the ballast bed between the ties and to transfer excess ballast laterally for deposit at one or both sides of the ballast bed.

The modification of FIGS. 8 and 9 operates in the same way except that the deected ballast leaves the ideflector blades with an upward component of movement, for travel a greater lateral distance along the wall 184 of the deector chamber before it falls to the roadway.

The broom is effective for finish distribution of loose ballast, as described. The rate of lateral transfer of loose ballast is high, which reduces the number of times the ballast will be handled before it is deposited out of the path of the broom, and allows a good rate of forward progress without developing an excess accumulation of ballast in the path of the broom. The broom also has other uses, for example, for sweeping an established railway roadbed for maintenance and to remove Weed growth.

I claim:

1. A railway roadbed broom device, comprising a frame adapted to be moved along a railway,

a broom comprising an axial mandrel with radiallyprojecting bristles carried thereby, mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis transversely of the rail- Way,

power means to drive the broom in a forward-sweeping direction,

a bank of dellectory blades ahead of the broom in position to receive loose ballast thrown upward and forward by the broom and to deect such ballast laterally,

a fixed rigid deilecting wall disposed transversely of the railway at the opposite side of the deilector blades from the broom, spaced 4from said blades and extending over substantially the full height thereof, in a position to be struck by ballast deected by said blades and to further deect the same laterally, the spacing between said wall and said blades serving to provide passageway for ballast deflected by one blade to travel laterally beyond the next adjacent blade. 2. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 1,

in which the blades are both angled to ideect the ballast laterally and inclined in a direction to impart an upward component of motion to the ballast. 3. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 1,

in which at least some of said deector blades are mounted for swivel movement between oppositely angled positions to deflect the ballast in opposite lateral directions. 4. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which said bank of deilector blades includes two groups of swivel mounted blades, and means for swivelling the blades of each group independently of the blades of the other group. 5. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which said broom and bank of blades extend transversely from between the rails of the railway, across at least one of the rails to outside such rail, said bank of deector blades having angled positions to deflect ballast either from between the rails to outside the rails or vice versa.

6. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which said broom and bank of blades extend transversely across the roadbed beyond both sides of the track, and said bank of deflector blades includes two groups of swivel-mounted blades, respectively on opposite sides of the centerline of the track, and means for swivelling each group to deilect ballast either inward or outward. 7. A railway roadbed 'broom device according to claim 3,

each blade being carried on a vertical swivel trunnion, control arms on said trunnions, means linking the control arms of a group of blades for common actuation, and means for actuating the interconnected arms i to simultaneously swivel the blades of the group. J8. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

with the addition of power means for shifting the swivel positions of the blades, a control station for operating the broom along the roadway, and a control at said station for actuating said power means during such operation of the broom along the roadway.

9. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3, the swivel-mounted blades being individually mounted on vertical trunnions rotatably mounted in the frames, and each such blade including a blade portion depending from a horizontal hinge connection, and tilt bars fixed to the frame in position to be engaged by said depending blade portions as they are swivelled about the trunnion axes, and to tilt such blade portions to inclined positions as the blades reach fully swivelled positions.

10. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which the blades are mounted for both swivel movement about vertical axes and for swinging movement about horizontal axes,

and means to swing the blades to oppositely inclined positions as they are swivelled to oppositely angled positions.

11. A railway roadbed broom device according to claim 3,

in which the blades in their respective angled limit positions are oppositely inclined to deiiect ballast laterally with an upward component of movement.

12. A railway roadbed broom device, comprising an elongated frame having first and second longitudinal frame structures spaced from each other and interconnected at their ends by frame end members,

a cover arched between said longitudinal `frame structures to form a broom housing,

a rotary broom mounted for rotation on a longitudinal axis in said housing between said longitudinal frame structures for sweeping engagement with an underlying roadbed or other ground surface,

means to drive said broom in either direction of rotation to sweep ballast or like .material on said surface and throw such material forwardly from the rotating broom,

each of said longitudinal frame structures supporting a bank of deflector blades in position to be struck by loose ballast thrown toward them by the broom and to deflect such ballast laterally,

Vand means for supporting said device with its said frame structures and broom extending transversely across a railway roadbed, for movement along the roadbed to sweep the same.

13. A railway roadbed broom device as -in claim 12 further comprising housing means including a rigid deflecting wall extending longitudinally of each longitudinal frame structure on the opposite side of its bank of deilecting blades from the broom, spaced from such blades, and extending over substantially the full height thereof, such wall being thereby disposed to be struck by ballast deflected by the blades and to deflect the same an additional distance laterally of the roadbed being swept.

14. A railway roadbed device as in claim y12 in which the deflector blades of such ban-ks are individually earried by vertical trunnions mounted in their supporting longitudinal frame structures,

and means to swivel said trunnions to dispose the blades in opposite deecting angular positions.

15. In combination, a wheeled vehicle adapted to be propelled along a railway roadbed,

a railway broom device as defined in claim 14 supported transversely of said vehicle `at an end thereof so that the broom is at the trailing end of the vehicle when it moves in one direction,

ballast working means carried by the vehicle in a position ahead of the broom in such direction of movement,

such Working means, in operation, leaving a deposit of ballast on selectively diierent areas of the roadbed, and such broom device extending across the roadbed in position to sweep such areas,

the broom being operable in a direction to act on the ballast `deposited by such working means and the deflecting blades being adjustable to deect ballast in either direction transversely of the roadbed.

16. A railway roadbed broom device as in claim 12 further comprising said means for supporting said frame comprising a releasable connection on one of said longitudinal frame structures for positioning the broom device in transverse sweeping position,

a pair of road wheels for supporting the broom device for road travel,

means for positioning such road wheels to support one end of said `frame for longitudinal travel,

and hitch means at the opposite end of the frame for hitching the device to a vehicle as a trailer for road travel.

17. In combination with a road-rail vehicle, a broom device as set forth in claim 16,

a head block on said vehicle having vertically movable mounting means including a releasable connection for engagement with the releasable connection on said broom device frame,

said mounting means being operable to move said broom device between a lowered operating position and an elevated position for maneuvering on and off a railway roadbed and to support the frame for operatively positioning the said pair of road wheels.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Dangremond et al. 15-55 Kershaw 15-55 Kershaw 15-55 Kershaw 15-55 X Kershaw 37-104 Moss 37-104 X U.S. Cl. X.R.

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