Pandrol Jackson, Inc.

Harsco Corporation

Harsco Technologies Corporation

Kevin A Hansen

William E Perry

Mark S Krusniak

A rail maintenance vehicle includes a frame, a workhead, an actuator, a pilot valve, and a throttling valve. The frame includes wheels that travel along rails. The actuator extends and retracts the workhead with respect to the frame. The pilot valve receives a fluid and controls the flow of the fluid to at least one output. The throttling valve adjusts a pressure of the fluid at an output relative to a pressure of the fluid at an input. The pilot valve and the throttle valve are coupled such that the fluid travels through the pilot valve and the throttling valve to cause the workhead to be extended or retracted.

Vertical ride quality system for a rail vehicle

A rail vehicle includes a frame, a clamping assembly and a towing arm coupled to the frame and selectively coupled to the clamping assembly. The towing arm is movable from a first, unengaged position to a second, engaged position. The clamping assembly includes a plurality of roller clamps that are adapted to rotate about respective central axes of the roller clamps.

Rail vehicle having roller clamp assembly and towing arm

A track maintenance vehicle having a workhead that is pivotally mounted to the superstructure at its upper end. The workhead includes a blowing tube mounted at its lower end and a vertical cylinder that is selectively extendable and retractable to control the height of the blowing tube. The vehicle includes a control system that controls the height of the blowing tube as well as the left/right and fore/aft positions of the workhead. The track maintenance vehicle further includes an automated height control system that automatically extends and retracts the vertical cylinder to position the blowing tube at a uniform height despite its lateral disposition.

Switch stoneblower

A stone metering system for a railroad track maintenance vehicle providing improved accuracy in stone delivery. The system includes a surge hopper, a number of metering augers, and a corresponding number of splitters. The metering augers convey ballast stones from the surge hopper to the corresponding splitters, which divide the stones evenly between a number of blow tubes. The pitch of the auger screw flights is increased from the inlet end of the screw to 'expand' the stone and reduce the production of fines. In addition, the diameter of the final screw flight is reduced at the outlet end of the auger to provide a consistent and even flow of stone into the splitters. The splitters are dynamically adjustable to provide even distribution between the blow tubes regardless of the cant to the rails. The desired amount of stone is delivered to the tubes by rotating the auger screw the number of full or partial revolutions associated with the amount. In an alternative embodiment, each of the metering augers is replaced by a conveyor having a belt divided into a series of uniformly sized compartments each conveying the same quantity of stone. The desired amount of stone is delivered to the tubes by driving the belt so that a desired number of compartments are emptied into the splitter.

Stone metering system for railroad track maintenance vehicle

A rail clip applicator for automatically positioning and installing spring clips into the shoudlers of rail ties for securing rails to the ties. A superstructure rolls along the track from tie to tie carrying a large supply of clips. The superstructure carries two carrier frames. Each carrier frame carries two applicator assemblies disposed on either side of a track rail. Each applicator assembly carries a clip magazine and a head assembly, the head assembly carrying a clip shuttle, a drive block, and a backup block. Clips are loaded into the magazine. From the magazine, clips are serially dispensed to a clip grasping means at the end of a clip shuttle arm. The arm extends to hole the clip in position for being driven into a tie shoulder. The backup block presses against the rear of the shoulder, and the drive block moves the clip from the clip graspign means into the shoulder. The applicator assemblies and head assemblies are moutned such that they automatically position themselves correctly with respect to the tie shoulders. Clips are positioned and installed substantially simultaneously into four shoulders.

Growing community of inventors

Ludington, MI, United States of America

Kevin A Hansen