Railroad track renewal train

{
  "publication_number": "US4979247A",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A",
  "title": "Railroad track renewal train",
  "abstract": "The train comprises transport vehicles (16) for the new (T1) and old (T2) ties, followed by a storage vehicle (12) for the ties, a railroad car (1) as a dismantling car, articulated to the storage vehicle (12), and a laying unit (17) constructed in a manner such as to be mobile between a working state and a state of rest when running light. When working, this mobile unit (17) bears at one end on the car (1), for example via a wheel gear (22), and at the other end on a running support (24) which moves on the new track (R2). In the state of rest, the mobile unit (17) is moved and loaded onto the car (1), the running support (24) being retracted. The running support can also be formed by a railroad vehicle (26) or by a bissel truck (28), coupled to the car when running light.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A railroad track renewal train comprising: transport vehicles (16) for new ties (T1) and old ties (T2), a dismantling unit (1) behind the transport vehicles, a laying unit (17) situated, in a working position, behind the dismantling unit, wherein only one of the two units is constructed in the form of a railroad car (1), equipped, at its end, with a truck including means for retracting rail engaging wheels so as to support said railroad car on caterpillar tracks, when the train is working, and wherein the other unit (17) is mobile, this mobile unit (17) bearing with its one end on the railroad car (1) and with its other end on a running support which moves along railroad tracks, said train including means for retracting and loading said mobile unit onto said railroad car when running light.",
    "2. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one end of the railroad car (1) is articulated to a storage vehicle (12) and has no truck, bearing in a pivoting manner on the chassis of this storage vehicle (12).",
    "3. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile unit (17) consists of at least one beam (18) from which laying elements are suspended, and wherein the said beam bears and is movable on the said railroad car (1) by a wheel gear (22).",
    "4. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said mobile unit (17) consists of a telescopic beam (32, 32a, 32b) from which laying elements are suspended, the extended end of the said beam bearing, in the working position, on the running support (24), while the other end is suspended from a frame (33) mounted at an adjacent end of the railroad car (1), telescopic elements of this beam being retracted one into the other and being entirely loaded on the railroad car (1) when running light.",
    "5. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said running support is a wheel gear (24) mounted via a retractable strut (25) in order to be retracted when running light.",
    "6. The renewal train as claimed in claim 5, wherein the mobile unit (17) is equipped with an auxiliary wheel gear (23) on which the said mobile unit (17) bears when running light.",
    "7. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the running support is a railroad vehicle (26) which is coupled to the railroad car (1) in the position for running light.",
    "8. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the running support is a bissel truck (28, 29) which is coupled to the railroad car (1) in the position for running light and is equipped with a mobile auxiliary axle (30) which is lowered in the working position and retracted when running light.",
    "9. The renewal train as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transport vehicles (16), the railroad car (1), and a storage vehicle (12) connected between the railroad car (1) and one of said transport vehicles (16) are equipped with a continuous craneway (5) for at least one gantry (4) for lifting and transporting the ties, and wherein the craneway (5) likewise serves for moving the wheel gear (22).",
    "10. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the railroad car (1) comprises a storage unit for the old ties and equipped with installations for undoing fastenings securing old rails to the old ties.",
    "11. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, further comprised of a laying installation (21) on the mobile unit for railroad ties, wherein said laying installation includes means for folding the laying installation (21) back on the mobile unit.",
    "12. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, further comprised of rail grapplers (19) on the mobile unit, wherein the rail grapplers and the running support for the mobile unit (17) are pulled by cables (20), said mobile unit further comprised of a laying beam, said pulling of the cables relieving the load on the laying beam.",
    "13. The renewal train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile unit forms the laying unit equipped with laying installations and wherein the railroad car (1) forms the dismantling unit.",
    "14. The renewal train as set forth in claim 5, wherein the retractable struts are comprised of lifting jacks capable of being retracted when running light.",
    "15. The renewal train as claimed in claim 9, wherein said craneway (5) serves for moving an auxiliary wheel gear (23)."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "Disclosed is a railroad track renewal train comprising transport vehicles for the new and old track elements, a dismantling unit for the old track, and a laying unit situated, in the working position, behind the dismantling unit.\n\nSuch a renewal train is described, for example, in patent No. CH-585 814. This renewal train, in common with the other types of train currently known, generally comprises two cars, one for the dismantling and the other for the laying of track. The two facing ends of the cars are supported on an intermediate truck, the wheels of which are retractable and, in the working position, are replaced by a caterpillar track capable of moving over the ballast; alternatively, in what are known as \"flying buttress\" trains, the truck is raised and remains suspended.\n\nThese track renewal trains enable all the operations to be performed simultaneously: in other words, once the fastenings securing the rails to the ties have been undone, they make it possible to lift and remove the old rails by means of grapplers, to dismantle the old ties and to convey them onto a transport car, to lay the new ties one at a time by means of the second car, these new ties being stored on a transport car, and, after positioning of the new ties, to lay the new rails which have previously been laid ready either side of the old track. In order to transport the new ties to the work site and remove the old ties, use is generally made of gantry cranes which can move on continuous craneways provided on the two working cars and on the transport vehicles, together with chain conveyors.",
  "cpc": [
    "E01B 29/05"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "E01B 29/05"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Les Fils d Auguste Scheuchzer SA"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Fritz Buhler"
  ],
  "filing_date": "1989-07-26",
  "publication_date": "1990-12-25",
  "grant_date": "1990-12-25",
  "priority_date": "1988-08-18",
  "application_number": "US-38589189-A",
  "family_id": "8200597",
  "cited_by_count": 24,
  "citations": [
    "US3744428A",
    "CH585814A5",
    "US4207820A",
    "US4236452A",
    "GB2029874A",
    "US4253398A",
    "US4275659A",
    "GB2080375A",
    "US4867068A"
  ]
}