Harsco Corporation

Harsco Technologies Corporation

Harsco Track Technologies, Inc.

Harry Madison

G Robert Newman

Michael B Gilbert

Krzysztof E Glomski

Robert F Ryan

Robert R Schrunk, Iii

Renee A Neugebauer

Jared Anderson

Jeffrey L Tilley

Charles R Schultz

Christian Glen Brand

David J Shimon

Jarud Hoefker

A railway anchor spreader has a rotating plate on each side of each rail, with the bottom of each rotating plate having a pair of jaws. The tie plates are lowered until the jaws strike the ballast, and the tie plates are then pivoted first in one direction, and then in the opposite direction, by a hydraulic cylinder located near the top of the anchor spreader plates. The jaws will thereby strike the tie plates, first pushing them in one direction and then in the opposite direction, to move the rail anchors away from the tie. The shape of the jaws ensures that pivoting the anchor spreader plate will not cause the jaws to strike the tie as well as the tie plate. A rail clamp capable of grabbing rails of various sizes is also provided.

Rail anchor spreader

A railway tie plate insertion vehicle includes operator's chairs mounted on both sides of the vehicle; with the occupants of each chair being provided with a tie plate insertion wand including controls for movement of the vehicle. A tie magazine deposits a tie plate on the tie upon actuation by the operator when a tie plate has not been previously deposited. A first rail clamp includes a pair of rollers for engaging the rail, attached to the ends of a pair of scissor arms, so that raising the rail draws the scissor arms closer together, increasing the gripping pressure on the rail. A similar rail clamp is located at the rear of the vehicle, which also includes an electrical connection for the operator's wand, thereby permitting tie plate insertion from the rear of the vehicle when obstacles are present along the sides of the vehicle.

Railway tie plate insertion apparatus and method

A railway tie insertion system includes a guide plate having an easily adjustable height, and in many embodiments including a pair of side guides. The tie plate extends for substantially the entire distance between the rails, thereby minimizing the escape of ballast. During insertion of a tie, the tie guide plate and associated side guides provide guide surfaces along three sides of the inserted tie, thereby ensuring that the tie is inserted perpendicular to the pair of rails.

Railway tie insertion guide

A railway tie bed scarifier mounts on a tie remover/inserter machine. The tie bed scarifier is dimensioned and configured to widen the pre-existing channels left in the ballast through the removal of old ties. The tie bed scarifier includes a carriage moving between a raised travel position and a lowered work position, and a pair of tines reciprocating between a retracted position wherein they fit between the rails, and an extended position wherein they extend towards the sides of the ballast. A method of inserting a railway tie is also provided.

Railway tie bed scarifier

A material distribution system for stick-like objects such as railroad spikes includes a rake for peeling the stick-like objects from the top of a pile, and transferring them to another location, for example, where they might be reached by a human operator. Use of the rake to peel the object from the top of the pile, with minimized downward pressure applied by the rake, minimizes the tendency of the objects to entangle with each other.

Material distribution system for stick-like objects

Rail vehicle for tie loading and unloading

A road and rail vehicle has a truck tractor vehicle frame such that it is street legal, but also provides sufficient power to move freight cars on low density rail lines or at other desired locations. The vehicle has a transfer case to provide front wheel drive by road wheels when the vehicle is in a road or highway mode and to provide rear wheel drive by rail wheels when in a rail mode. The vehicle has a front guide rail wheel unit which moves front rail wheels between an upper road position and a lower rail position. A rear or back axle has right and left back road wheels thereon and is movable between an upper rail position and a lower road position.

Road and rail vehicle using rail wheel drive and apparatus

A rail guide wheel arrangement provides movement of rail wheels between rail and road positions with a compact zone of movement such that no open zone is required in front or behind the apparatus to accommodate such movement. The movement of rail wheels and a wheel support has no component of movement in the rail direction. Side shifting of the guide wheel unit can be controlled by control arrangement using a single joystick to control two actuators. A suspension is provided using two spring cells. An axle may include cavities to receive the spring cells when the apparatus is in its road position. A locking arrangement uses pilot operated check valves and secondary mechanical locks.

Vertically actuated rail guide wheels

Road and rail using rail wheel drive and apparatus

A guide wheel apparatus and vehicle typically used in railroad applications, using the apparatus has a double overcenter linkage arrangement to secure rail wheels in both road and rail positions for respectively traveling on roads and rails. An electric motor is coupled to the linkage by way of a planetary gear train.

Rail guide wheel apparatus with double overcenter linkage

A rail spike feeder, which may feed regular spikes, hairpin or lock spikes, and coach screws, uses a holder which receives spikes from a spike chute. The spikes do not assume any secure position from exiting the spike chute until after contact with the holder. The holder uses a four bar linkage arrangement such that the holder pivots about ends of first and second links at the same time the opposite ends of the links are swinging or pivoting about their mounts. This maintains a proper orientation for spikes moved into a spiking position whereat a spiker head, such as a spike hammer, may insert the spikes into tie plates and ties. A counterweighted finger assembly is used to maintain spike orientation as spikes are transferred from the spike chute to the holder.

Tie plate track fastener feeder

A rail maintenance vehicle includes a slide frame along which a grinder may move while the vehicle remains stationary. The grinder may be moved automatically away from the rail as the grinder moves longitudinally along the rail away from the center of a weld bead in order to smooth the grinding at the weld bead. The slide frame is connected by a linkage mechanism such that the grinder may be oriented at different grinding angles over a range of 200.degree.. The grinder is mounted upon a lateral displacer such that the grinder may be moved from one side of the vehicle to the other for grinding on rails on either the right or left side of the vehicle. A turntable system allows the turntable cylinder to pivot up and out of the way to a horizontal position so that the lateral displacer may move the grinder from one side of the vehicle to the other without interference from a vertical turntable cylinder.

Profile grinder

A tie exchanger assembly is mounted upon a truck and is used for removal and insertion of ties in a railroad roadbed. A boom is mounted to a rail clamp table which is vertically movable between an upper stored position and a lowered operable position. The boom is mounted to the center of the rail clamp support table and is rotatable 180.degree. about a vertical axis so that the boom may be used for manipulating ties on both sides of the vehicle. Rail clamps and rail engagement wheels are mounted to the underside of the rail clamp table. The boom is pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis. A tie clamp is mounted at a distal end of the boom. A self-aligning tie clamp may advantageously be used so as to clamp concrete ties or other ties with irregular or concave surfaces.

Truck mounted tie exchanger with self-aligning tie clamp

A tie replacement vehicle uses a tie feed arm to turn ties upon the main frame of the vehicle upside down such that they may be gripped by a tie inserter having a boom mounted below the main frame of the vehicle. The tie inserter has a tie clamp which may be shifted in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle in order to shift old ties out of the way. A tie pickup is mounted at each end of the vehicle for moving ties from the main frame of the vehicle to the rails. A conveyor system on the vehicle allows ties to be moved under the operator cab and engine.

Tie replacer

A railway guide wheel apparatus attaches to a frame of a road vehicle to allow the road vehicle to travel along rails. The apparatus has a side shift capability where railway wheels of the apparatus may be lowered to engage rails even when the vehicle is offset sideways from the rails. An automatic centering arrangement will center the vehicle relative to the rails after the railway wheels have engaged the rails. Spring cells are used as a suspension to absorb vibration from the railway wheels contacting the rails and to maintain the railway wheels in contact with the rails.

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Germantown, TN, United States of America

Harry Madison