RAIL PUSHING CAR
The present invention relates to a railway wagon car suitable for the
laying of rails for a railway track under construction. It also relates to a
5 method of laying the rails using in particular such a car.
The development of railway lines for high speed trains in particular has
led to the search for new ways and new methods for constructing these railway
tracks in the most economical way possible. Conventional methods using
10 temporary elements, such as panels of rails measuring 18 metres in length
consisting of sleepers made of timber wood, are not economical. The most
recent methods limit the use of temporary elements that require heavy
logistics, by the laying of elements, rails and sleepers that are permanent.
These methods are also oriented towards the continuous rather than the jointed
15 track method for the laying of these elements.
It should be recalled that current railway tracks are constructed based on
"continuous welded rails" (CWR), which can measure more than 100 m long,
laid on reinforced concrete sleepers (RCS). The CWRs require specific lneans
of handling. They are delivered to construction sites stored on racks of rail
20 transport wagon cars hitched to each other.
From the document EP 0 853 160 a wagon car for unloading long rails is
known that comprises a rail unloading device, comprising of:
- a gripping hook, a cable and a cable winch for removing a rail from a
25 stored stoclc of rail arranged on a railway wagon car,
- a rail unloading device comprising of, on the one hand, a tracked belt
sent around by return pulleys with a horizontal axis transverse to the railway
wagon car, the elements of the tracked belt being supported under the foot of
the rail in order to drive and unload the rail, and on the other hand, the pulleys
30 located above the rail that run over the head of the rail. The rail is clamped
between the tracked belt and the pulleys along a vertical direction and driven
by means of friction on the elements of the tracked belt.
In a variant, the device comprises of two tracked belts, one upper tracked
belt over, and one lower tracked belt below the rail, but the return pulleys are
5 always with a horizontal axis and there is always one tracked belt under the
rail.
The rail is discharged through the front of the unloading wagon car in a
manner such that this wagon car, upon coming to a stop, pushes the new rail
before it.
10 These devices present the following disadvantages:
- the clamping hook requires manipulation by the relevant personnel,
- the railway wagon car comprises only one single unloading device for
unloading of rails per rail line, at the front of the wagon car, in a manner such
that the removal of the rail by malting use of the said hook must be done in
15 several steps ;
- the drive tracked belt, which is located under the rail, moves the rail
away froin the deck of the railway wagon car such that the rail is discharged
from a height that is significantly higher than that of the deck of the railway
wagon car ; this increases the height of the drop of the rail and the latter
20 therefore has an unsupported portion, lying between the unloading device at
the front of the railway wagon car and the first sleeper on which it rests, which
is longer than if it would have dropped from the railway wagon car from the
height of the wagon deck ;
- the pulleys (or the second tracked belt), which rest on the head of the
25 rail, carry the risk of damaging the running surface ; however there exist
special requirements in this fieId in the construction of High Speed Rail (HSR)
lines.
The invention proposes to resolve these problems. To this end, it
proposes a railway wagon car for the laying of continuous lengths of rails on a
30 railway platform, the said railway wagon car having a rear end hitched to a rail
transport wagon car and a front end, characterised in that it may further
comprise the following :
- at the rear end thereof, at least one means for longitudinal removal of a rail
from a stored stock of rail arranged on the said rail transport wagon car,
5 - at least one first means for driving the rail such as to move the said rail to the
front of the said railway wagon car, the said fnst drive means grabs up the said
rail between two motor driven crawler track systems, each comprising a
tracked belt sent around between two wheels, the said crawler track systems
being provided so as to take a relative position in which the said tracked belts
10 face each other and the axles of the said wheels are vertical.
Such a railway wagon car is part of a railway track construction train that
lays rails in a single continuous process, having a plurality of railway wagon
cars, comprising therein wagon cars for transporting long rails, and one or
more locomotives. The railway platform is the top surface of an embankment
15 built in accordance with highly exacting standards in order to receive one or
more railway tracks.
The railway wagon car according to the invention is designed for the
unloading and the laying of long rails, whether directly on the platform, or on
the sleepers previously laid out on this platform. It is located at the front of the
20 train for laying new tracks; behind it are hitched the long rails transporl wagon
cars.
It is characterised by the presence of two means:
- one means that makes it possible to remove the rails one by one from
the stock of rails that are found at least in pad on the transport wagon car
25 which is hitched thereto, and to bring close the front end of a rail of a first
drive means, in a manner so as to cause the rail to engage with this first drive
means,
- a first drive means at the rear of the railway wagon car, in order for
exerting a tractive force on the rail, making it slide towards the front of the
30 wagon with a view to the laying thereof on the platform.
Advantageously, the railway wagon car may also coinprise at its front
end, at least one second drive means for driving the rail in order to push the
said rail out of the said railway wagon car and towards the front thereof, the
said second drive means grabs up the said rail between two inotor driven
5 crawler track systems, each comprising a tracked belt sent around between two
wheels, the said crawler track systems being designed such as to take a relative
position in which the said tracked belts are made to face each other and the
axles of the said wheels are vertical.
This railway wagon car is cbaracterised in particular by its ineans for
10 driving the long rails, each of which comprises at least two crawler track
systems, each having one tracked belt going around in a continuous closed
loop between two wheels, for example two gear wheels or pinions, comprising
one drive gear wheel, or one drive gear wheel and one pulley. The at least one
first drive means, at the rear of the railway wagon car, takes up the rail after its
15 removal from the transport wagon car and moves it forward towards the front
of the railway wagon car, the at least one second drive means, at the front of
the railway wagon car, discharges the rail on to the platform by "pushing" it to
the front of the railway wagon car.
In operation, whether it is the first or the second drive means, the tracked
20 belts of a crawler track system are made to face each other and the said wheels
are with vertical axles, such that the crawler track systems are located on both
sides of the rail and do not occupy any space below the rail. The rail is
grabbed up from both sides laterally and not by the top and the bottom, the
rolling surface of the rail thus is not subjected in this driving operation, to any
25 force that is likely to damage it. Furthermore, this lateral arrangement of
crawler track systems makes it possible to move around the rails, from the rear
to the front of the railway wagon car, at almost the height of the deck of the
railway wagon car.
Preferably, the railway wagon car colnprises two first drive ineans at the
30 rear and two second drive means at the front, in a manner such as lo lay both
the lines of rails of the same track simnultaneously.
Advantageously, the said first and second drive means may comprise the
means for moving away and bringing close the said crawler track systems in
relation to each other, the said means being adapted in order that the two
crawler track systems are supported on the said rail by gripping its web when
5 they have moved close to each other, in a manner such as to be able to drive
the said rail by friction.
The two tracked belts of a crawler track system are mounted on a support
structure having actuating means in a manner such that they are able to move
away from and come close to each other in order to grip the web of a rail when
10 they have moved close together. When they grip the web of a rail, they are
able to drive this rail by friction. When they have moved away from each
other, the rail is freed.
This movement of drawing away from and coming close to each other is
for example a movement of horizontal translation or rotation about a
15 horizontal longitudinal axis.
Advantageously, the first and second drive means may comprise the
motorisation means provided for driving each tracked belt in a coordinated
manner with speed and in the direction of rotation with the one which is facing
it.
20 The motorisation of the two crawler track systems of a same drive
means, for example, by hydraulic motor, is coordinated in a manner such that
the two tracked belts advance in the same direction and at the same speed
when they grip a rail.
Advantageously, each tracked belt may comprise a plurality of elements
25 connected in an articulated manner to each other, aligned along the direction
of unloading, and equipped with feet on their outer surface, the said feet being
shaped in order to fit the shape of the web of the said rail and comprising a
inaterial having a high coefficient of adhesion to the steel, preferably greater
than 0.6.
30 The tracked belts are constituted of elements connected in an articulated
manner to each other and con~priseo f feet on their outer surface. These feet
are designed for gripping the web of the rail, they are thus shaped to fit into
the form of the web of the rail.
The rail feet are comprised of a material with high adhesion to steel so as
to be able to exert a high tractive force on the rail without slipping when the
5 crawler track syste~nsg rip the rail, typically more than 30 000 Dekanewton
(daN). A coefficient of adhesion to steel greater than 0.6, preferably between
0.6 and 0.8 will be sought.
Advantageously, the at least one means of longitudinal removal may
comprise of a rail pinch bar mounted at the end of a first telescopic arm or
10 articulated arm.
The advantage is that this rail pinch bar can be remotely controlled. In
this manner potentially dangerous human intervention may be avoided. It must
exert a sufficient grip force on the long rail in order to enable the removal
thereof from the rail transport wagon car.
15 The first telescopic arm or articulated arm makes it possible to exert on
the rail a tractive force that is sufficient to cause it to slide on the storage racks
and bring its front end close to the first drive means, then to cause the
engaging of this rail on the first drive means.
Advantageously, each first drive means is secured under the fixed part 'of
20 a respective first telescopic arm, in a manner such that the rail pinch bar
directly presents the rail to the inlet of the first drive means.
Advantageously, the first telescopic arm can be mounted on a positioning
means that enables the adjusting of the transverse position and 1 or the vertical
position of the said first telescopic arm.
25 The rails stocked on the transport wagon are not all aligned along the rail
running edge of the future railway track, they are distributed over the entire
width of the transport wagon car and are distributed by height. It is therefore
necessary, when a new rail is to be extracted from the storage racks, to
position the rail pinch bar that is found at the end of a telescopic arm, above
30 the end of this rail irrespective of its position in the racks. For this purpose the
telescopic arm is mounted in a structure fixed to the rear of the railway wagon
car and having the means for positioning transversely and along the vertical
projection of the arin, cylinders for example. The slider of the telescopic arm
also provides a means for longitudinal positioning. Once the rail pinch bar has
gripped the rail, the latter may be eased by raising the telescopic arin in a
5 inanner so as to reduce friction of the rail on the racks.
Advantageously, the railway wagon car inay in addition also comprise,
between the said first drive means and the said second drive means, the
guiding means for guiding the rail in a transverse position and in a vertical
position relative to the said wagon car.
10 For the same reasons explained here above (different positions of the rail
on the rail storage wagon car), the rail which is being discharged is not present
on the railway wagon car exactly along the rail running edge of the future
railway track. It is therefore necessary to place this rail along this rail running
edge. To this end, the railway wagon car comprises, downstream from the fist
15 drive means, the means for guiding the rail in a transverse position and in a
vertical position.
These guiding means may advantageously comprise of the following :
- at least one roller with a horizontal axis transverse to the railway wagon car
and the means for controlling its heightwise position,
20 - and / or at least one roller with vertical axis and the ineans for controlling the
transverse and 1 or longitudinal position thereof relative to the railway wagon
car.
Advantageously, the railway wagon car may also comprise, between the
25 guiding means and the sccond drive means, the alignment ineans for aligning
the rail along the rail running edge.
The guiding means mentioned here above provide the ability to
straighten the rail but are not sufficient for placing the rail exactly along the
rail running edge. The alignment means provide the ability to align the rail on
30 the rail running edge and to prevent the second drive means from being
subjected to vertical axis torsional forces.
Advantageously, each second rail drive means may be mounted at the
end of a second longitudinal telescopic arm or an articulated arm, in a manner
such as to move the said second drive means away from the front of the
railway wagon car.
5 The rail not being raised up to be above the floor of the railway wagon
car, it is necessary to move it away from the front of the railway wagon car
and in particular from the buffer stops when it is unloaded on to the platform.
To this end, the second rail driving means are each arranged at the end of the
slider of a respective second telescopic arm.
10 Advantageously, each second telescopic arm may be fastened to the
railway wagon car by fastening means that enable the adjusting of the
transverse position of the said second telescopic arm.
Based on the construction sites, the rails are not always laid in the same
positional location relative to the axis of the track. For example, the rails may
15 be laid on the sleepersin their permanent or temporary positional locations, or
even on the platform adjacent to the sleepers. Consequently it is therefore
advantageous to be able to adjust the transverse position in which the rails are
laid on the platform. This adjustment is nonnally carried out once and for all
for a given site, as a consequence it is thus not necessarily motorised, it may
20 be carried out simply by bolting.
Advantageously, each second rail drive means may be mounted to be
articulated on the said telescopic arm along a horizontal axis transverse to the
railway wagon car.
The rail is unloaded on to the platform by being made to tilt in an incline
25 which may go up to several degrees. To support this inclination, the second
drive means are mounted so as to be articulated at the end of the respective
telescopic arm, about a pivot of horizontal axis that is transverse to the railway
wagon car.
Advantageously, the railway wagon car may also comprise at its front
30 end the means for laying the end of the said rail on to the platform.
When the rear end of the rail being unloaded reaches the second drive
means, it is necessary to provide for a means for controlling the descent of this
end on to the platform. This means may advantageously comprise of a cable or
a chain having a rail pinch bar at a first end, a return pulley for running the
5 said cable or the said chain with transverse axis located at the free end of each
second telescopic arin and an actuator such as a cylinder or a winch connected
to the second end of the said cable or the said chain.
Advantageously, the railway wagon car may comprise a system for
controlling the first and second drive means, provided for ensuring that at any
10 moment in time, only one of the said drive means is activated.
The railway wagoil car according to the invention coinprises for each
line of rail a first rail drive means at the rear and a second rail drive means at
the front. Each of these drive means has the ability to tow a rail. In order to
15 avoid the risk of desynchronisation of the means of driving and therefore of
sliding of the rail between the tracked belts, and risk of deterioration of the rail
feet, the railway wagon car is equipped with a control ineans for controlling
these drive ineans which serves to ensure that at any moment in time, only one
of these means is active. For example, the user will be unable to engage one of
20 the drive means prior to the other one being disengaged.
Advantageously, the railway wagon car inay further comprisc at the front
a welding ineans lor welding the rails and a means for handling the welding
means provided for moving the said welding means between a rest position on
the railway wagon car and a welding position on one of the rails of the track
25 under construction.
The welding means may for example consist of an electric welding
head ; this welding head is manipulated by ail articulated arm mounted on a
sliding support in order to launch it over to the front of the railway wagon car.
This articulated arin inay in addition have at least two degrees of freedom with
30 respect to its support, a horizontal axis of rotation for lowering and raising the
welding head and a vertical axis of rotation in order to orient it towards the rail
ends to be welded. Furthermore, the connection between the welding head and
the articulated arm co~nprisesa rotary joint so as to enable the aligning of the
welding head and the placement thereof astride the rail ends to be welded.
5 The invention further relates to a method for laying rails using a rail
pushing wagon car and a stock of rails arranged on a transport wagon car
hitched to the rear of the said rail pushing wagon car, the said inethod
comprising the steps consisting of:
- gripping the web of a rail between two first inotor driven crawler track
10 systems located at the rear of the said railway wagon car, the tracked belts
being driven around between two wheels with vertical axles,
- longitudinally removing the said rail froin the said stock of rails by actuating
the said first crawler track systems.
The method, in the first instance, consists of removing a rail from a stock
15 of rails arranged on a rail transport wagon hitched to the rear of the railway
wagon car with the help of two crawler track systems with vertical axis, that is
to say, each one having at least one drive means such as a gear wheel with
vertical axis. The crawler track systems grip the web of the rail and drive it by
means of friction.
20 Once the rail has been extracted from its storage position, the method
may comprise the steps consisting of:
- gripping the web of a rail between two second motor driven crawler track
systems located at the front of the said railway wagon car, the said tracked
belts being driven around between two wheels with vertical axles,
25 - unloading the said rail from the front of the railway wagon car by actuating
the said second crawler track systeins.
According to the method, the grip of the first crawler track systeins on
the rail is released when the rail is towed by the second crawler track systems.
Various embodiments and variants shall be described hereinafter, by way
of non-limiting examples, with reference being made to the attached drawings
in which :
Figure 1 shows a representative overview of a rail pushing wagon
car in perspective,
Figures 2A and 2B represent partial views in perspective of the rear
part of the rail pushing wagon car,
Figure 3 represents a perspective view of a rail guiding device,
Figure 4A and Figure 4B represent views in perspective,
respectively from above and below, a partial view of the front part
of the rail pushing wagon car,
Figure 4C represents a view in perspective of a front telescopic arm
of the rail pushing wagon car,
Figures 5A and 5B represent two crawler track systems gripping a
rail respectively in perspective and in vertical cross sectional views,
Figures 5C and 5D represent views in perspective respectively of a
crawler track system with and without its cowling,
Figures 6A and 6B represent views in perspective of a front portion
of the railway wagon car coinprising an electric welding station,
respectively in the retracted position and in the operational position.
Figure 1 illustrates a rail pushing car (RF'C) 100 in its entirety. This
railway car has a rear portion 200, a central portion 300 and a front portion
400.
The RPC is constructed on a conventional flat wagon car base that
5 comprises a chassis 40 defining a deck 50, a rear bogie 60 and a front bogey
70.
At the rear of this railway wagon car is hitched a rail transport wagon car
not shown. This transport wagon car carries in part the long rails to be laid,
stored on racks, positioned on their feet.
10 The central portion 300 comprises a conventional technical zone:
generator, hydraulic unit, electrical cabinet, etc. such that the RPC is energy
independent. It is covered so as to protect the personnel from the overhead
catenary systems. The equipment in this technical zone are disposed axially in
the railway wagon, in a manner so as to leave on both sides two longitudinal
15 "corridors" for the passage of the two rails being laid.
The RPC comprises a rear control station 201 and a front control station
401 on either side of the central portion 300.
The rear portion 200 comprises two first telescopic arms or rear arms
202a, 202b, each comprising of a fixed part and a sliding part or the slider.
20 These telescopic arms are integrally secured to a fixed structure 203 by means
of a respective positioning mechanism for positioning these arms which will
be described later. This fixed structure is composed of two flanges 204a, 204b
that rise laterally on either side of the deck 50 of the railway wagon car and a
substantially rectangular horizontal frame 205, below which are fixed the said
25 mechanisms.
Under the fixed part of each of the telescopic arms are fixed two crawler
track systems 220a, 220b (not visible), 202c, 202d (not visible). The crawler
track systems which are facing each other are mounted so as to be pivotable
about a longitudinal axis X-X' located under the telescopic ann. When they
30 are brought close by means of rotation around this axis X-X', they grip the rail
R1, R2 on both sides of the rail web.
These crawler track systems are described further here below in
connection with the Figures 5A and 5B.
The front portion 400 comprises two second telescopic arms or front
arms 402a, 402b, of which the fixed parts are integrally secured to a fixed
5 structure consisting of the side drop panels of the wagon and cross beams
403b, 403c, the front arms 402a, 402b being fastened under the said beams.
The crawler track systems 420a to 420d are fixed under the front arm.
In Figure 1, the front and rear telescoping arms are retracted.
I0 Figures 2A and 2B are partial views of the rear portion 200 of the RPC.
It comprises a fixed frame 205 under which are fixed the horizontal and
longitudinal telescopic anns 202a, 202b.
As illustrated in Figure 2B, the positioning system for the telescopic arm
202a comprises of a deformable parallelogram consisting of:
15 - a horizontal cradle 204, secured under the fixed frame 205 ; this cradle
is connected to the said frame by means of a transverse slide link, which
provides the ability to move the telescopic arm transversely relative to the
railway wagon car,
- a rear leg 205 and a front leg 206 each mounted to be pivotable, at their
20 upper end to the said cradle 204 and at their lower end to the fixed part of the
sliding arm 202a, along the transverse axis,
- the fixed part of the sliding arm 202a.
In order to obtain the deformation of this parallelogram, the positioning
system further comprises of:
25 - a non-deformable triangle T with vertices A, B and C, the segment AC
corresponding to the said front leg 206 ; consequently, the triangle T thus is
connected to the cradle 204 by a pivot C and to the sliding arm 202a by a pivot
A;
- an actuator such as a cylinder 207, situated between the said front and
30 rear legs, mounted to be pivotable at its upper end to the said cradle 204 and at
its lower end to the vertex B of the triangle.
The actuation of the cylinder 207 causes the triangle T to pivot about the
pivot C which causes the deformation of the parallelogram, such that the
sliding arm 202a is able to move according to a swing like motion, that is to
say, from front to back and rising up and descending all while remaining
5 horizontal.
This positioning system lnaltes it possible to provide individually to the
rear telescopic arms different positions in the transverse, vertical and
longitudinal direction.
They each have at the end of their sliding part, that is to say, oriented
10 towards the transport wagon car, a rail pinch bar 21Oa, 210b, each provided for
gripping a rail R1, R2 as shown in Figure 2A. These rail pinch bars are
preferably self-locking rail pinch bars.
On the one hand, the vertical and transverse positioning system of the
arm, and on the other hand, the fact that they are telescopic, make it possible
15 to position the rail pinch bars 210a, 210b above the front end of the stock of
rails and to grab the whole rail from the stock, whatever be its position in the
rail stock.
For the rail running edge corresponding to the rail RI, the removal of a
20 rail from the stock comprises the following steps :
- telescopic arm 202a in high and retracted position,
- rear crawler track systems 220a, 220b moved away from each other,
- opening of the rail pinch bar 210a,
- release of the telescopic arm 202a and transverse positioning above the
25 rail R1 to be extracted,
- lowering of the telescopic arm 202a by deformation of the
parallelogram, far enough to position the rail pinch bar 210a so as to engage
with the rail,
- gripping of the rail R1 to be extracted by the rail pinch bar 210a,
- partial removal of the rail RI by retracting the telescopic arm 202a far
enough to engage the end of the rail between the traclced belts of the rear
crawler track systems 220a, 220b,
- clamping by the crawler track systems on both sides of the rail web,
- opening of the rail pinch bar,
- actuation of the rear crawler track systems in order to remove the rail
from the rail stock and to move it forward to the front of the railway wagon
car.
All of these ~novementsa re controlled from the rear control station 201.
The intermediate guiding device 500 illustrated in Figure 3 is located
downstream from the telescopic arms 202a, 202b. It is necessary for
straightening the rails in the process of being laid and for supporting them
during their transit through the railway wagon car. Indeed, as has previously
15 been seen above, most of the rails in the rail stock are not placed in alignment
with the rail running edge and therefore it is necessary to guide them to the
means of alignment on the rail running edge that is intended for them by
playing on their flexibility. For this purpose, the guiding device comprises of:
- two rollers with transverse horizontal axles 501a, 501b, the vertical
20 position of each roller being controlled by a respective actuator 502a, 502b,
these rollers being intended to support the rail,
- two rollers with vertical axles 503a, 503b, the transverse position of
each roller being controlled by a respective actuator 504a, 504b.
In the illustrated embodiment, these rollers are not motorised.
Figures 4A and 4B are partial views of the front portion 400 of the
railway wagon car and Figure 4C is a view of a front telescopic arm. This
front portion co~nprises two front telescopic arms 402a, 402b, whose fixed
part is secured under the cross beams 403b, 403c. These telescopic arms 402a,
30 402b are secured to the said beams by mneans of gripping jaws 405 so as to
allow the adjustment of their transverse position relative to the railway wagon
car when necessary, for example by bolting. These front telescopic arms, when
they are deployed, perform the function of moving the rails in the process of
being laid away from the front of the railway wagon car and in particular from
the buffer stoppers.
5 Two crawler track systems 420a, 420b, 420c, 420d, identical in principle
to the rear crawler track systems 202a to 202d of the railway wagon car, are
mounted at the front end of the sliding part of each telescopic arm and under
this end. When these crawler track systems grip a rail by its web, they enable
the pushing of the rails to the front of the railway wagon car in order to unload
10 them on to the platform. They are described further below in connection with
Figures 5A and 5B.
The crawler track systems are connected to the telescopic arms by way of
boo~ns mounted to be articulated about an axis Y-Y' that is horizontal and
transverse relative to the railway wagon car, in a manner so as to follow the
15 curvature of the rail as it leaves the railway wagon car.
The end of the slides of each front telescopic arm 402a, 402b comprises a
return pulley 406a, 406b intended for facilitating the laying of the rail end on
the platform. In order to prevent the rail end from falling hard on the platforin
after having passed over the front crawler track systems, the operator has a rail
20 pinch bar on the end of the rail when it is present, this rail pinch bar being
connected to a cable or a chain that is run over the said return pulley 406a,
406b, the other end of the cable or chain being connected to an actuator such
as a cylinder or a winch (not shown). Thanks to this device, the operator is
able to control the descent of the rail end on to the platform.
25
Upstream of the fioni tracked belts 420a to 420d there are two pairs of
alignment rollers 410a, 410b having a vertical axis, designed for running on
both sides of the rail web. Each pair of rollers is mounted on a chassis 41 la,
41 lb, itself mounted so as to slide along the length of a cross beam 412. Their
30 transverse position is adjustable by the operator. Their function is to
transversely align the rail on the telescopic arm. In the illustrated embodiment,
these rollers are not motorised.
Figures 5A and 5B illustrate two crawler track systems 620a, 620b
5 gripping a rail Rl. The crawler track systems are composed of elements 622
connected to one another in an articulated manner, forming a closed chain, and
having a foot on their external surface. These feet are designed to have a high
coefficient of friction with steel, for example they are made out of rubber. The
feet advantageously have a slightly convex shape in order to fit into the profile
10 ofthe rail web and thus obtain the largest possible bearing surface.
The tracked belt is driven in motion by a drive gear wheel 630 or by any
other means, itself driven by a hydraulic motor 621, 621a, 621b. In operation,
that is to say, when the crawler track systems grip the web of a rail, the axles
of the drive wheels of the crawler track systems are substantially vertical.
15 Figure 513 illustrates the clamping movement of the crawler track systems
620a, 620b about the axis X-X' for gripping the rail Rl.
Figures 5C and 5D illustrate an isolated crawler track system. The
tracked belts move between two flanges, one top flange 625, 625a, 625B, and
one bottom flange 626, 626a, 626b. The top flange 625 comprises two yokes
20 627a, 627b for the fastening and the articulation of the crawler track system.
Each yoke has a pivot point or articulation point 628a, 628b about a horizontal
longitudinal axis X-X' and a tow point 629a, 629b upon which can come to be
fastened for example a cylinder (not shown). These cylinders control the
angular position of the crawler track systems about the axis X-X', and allow
25 for pressing down on the web of the rail being pulled.
The tracked belt is a closed chain composed of elements 622 connected
in an articulated manner to each other and driven by a gear wheel 630.
Opposite this gear wheel, the chain is sent around on a pulley 63 1 mounted on
a yoke 632, which ensures the tension of the chain.
3 0
Figures 6A and 6B illustrate an embodiment of the rail pushing wagon
car having, at its front end, an electric welding station 710, associated with the
handling means 700 thereof that inakes it possible to raise the welding station
and to position it astride the rail ends to be welded. The assembly is secured to
5 the cross beams 403a, 403b, 403c, themselves secured to the upper part of the
side drop panels of the wagon.
The handling ineans 700 comprises of:
- a carriage 703 capable of moving along the length of the longitudinal
rails 720a, 720b, so as to carry on beyond the welding station 710 to the front
10 of the railway wagon car,
- a turret 701 incunted so as to rotate about a vertical axis Z-Z' over the
carriage 703, in a manner so as to position the welding station 710 at the
vertical of the rails to be welded, as shown in Figure 6B,
- a dual handling arm 702 mounted so as to pivot about a horizontal axis
15 integrally secured to the turret 701 ; the inclination of this arm is controlled by
two cylinders 704a, 704b. The arin 702 consists of two parts which meet at an
attachment point 702a at which the welding station 710 is connected, such that
when the welding station is in the rest position on the turret 701, it is located
between the two parts of the arm, as shown in Figure 6A.
20 The welding station 710 is connected to the attachment point 702a by
means of a rotary seal 71 5, in a manner so as to allow the operator to align the
welding station on the rails to be welded.
Other embodiments apart from those described here above are covered
25 by the invention:
- the railway wagon car could comprise only one single drive ineans per
line of rail,
- the crawler track systems could move in a horizontal plane and grip the
rail web by way of translation and not by rotation.
3 0
Claims
1. A railway wagon car (100) for the laying of long rails on a railway
platforin, the said railway wagon car having a rear end (200) hitched to a rail
transport wagon car and a front end (400),
characterised in that it further coinprises the following :
- at the rear end thereof (200), at least one means for longitudinal removal
(202a, 202b, 210a, 210b) of a rail (Rl, R2) from a stored stock of rail arranged
on the said rail transport wagon car,
- at least one lirst ineans for driving the rail such as to move the said rail to the
front of the said railway wagon car, the said first drive means grabs up the said
rail between two motor driven crawler track systems (220a, 220c) each
comprising a tracked belt sent around between two wheels, the said crawler
track systems being provided so as to take a relative position in which the said
tracked belts face each other and the axles of the said wheels are vertical.
2. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim 1,
characterised in that it coinprises at its front end (400), at least one second
drive means for driving the rail in order to push the said rail out of the said
railway wagon car and towards the front thereof, the said second drive means
grabs up the said rail between two motor driven crawler track syslems (420a,
420b, 420c, 420d) each comprising a tracked belt sent around between two
wheels, the said crawler track systems being designed such as to take a relative
position in which the said tracked belts are made to face each other and the
axles of the said wheels are vertical.
3. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claiin 1
or 2,
characterised in that said first and second drive means coinprise the ineans for
moving away and bringing close the said crawler track systems in relation to
each other, the said means being adapted in order that the two crawler track
systems are supported on the said rail by gripping its web when they have
moved close to each other, in a manner such as to be able to drive the said rail
by friction.
5
4. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
claiins 1 to 3,
characterised in that said first and second drive means comprise the
motorisation means (621, 621a, 621b) provided for driving each tracked belt
10 in a coordinated manner with speed and in the direction of rotation with the
one which is facing it.
5. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
claims 1 to 4,
15 characterised in that each track comprises a plurality of elements connected in
an articulated manner (622) to each other, aligned along the direction of
unloading, and equipped with feet on their outer surface, the said feet being
shaped in order to fit the shape of the web of the said rail and coinprising a
material having a high coefficient of adhesion to the steel, preferably greater
20 than 0.6.
6. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
the preceding claims,
characterised in that said at least one means of longitudinal removal coinprises
25 of a rail pinch bar (210a, 210b) mounted at the end of a first telescopic arm
(202a, 202b) or articulated arm.
7. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim 6,
characterised in that said first telescopic arm is mounted on a positioning
30 means (204, 205, 206, 207, 1') that enables the adjusting of the transverse
position and I or the vertical position of the said first telescopic arm (202a,
202b).
8. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
5 claims 2 to 7,
characterised in that it further comprises, between the said first drive means
and the said second drive means, the guiding means for guiding (500) the rail
in a transverse position and in a vertical position relative to the said wagon
car.
10
9. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim 8,
characterised in that the said rail guiding means comprise of the following :
- at least one roller with a horizontal axis (510a, 501b) transverse to the
railway wagon car and the means for controlling its heightwise position (502a,
15 502b),
- and 1 or at least one roller with vertical axis (503a, 503b) and the means for
controlling the transverse and I or longitudinal position thereof (504a, 504b)
relative to the railway wagon car.
20 10. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim
8 or 9,
characterised in that it further comprises, between the said guiding ineans and
the said second drive means, the alignment lneans (410a, 410b, 411a, 411b,
412) for aligning the rail along the rail running edge.
25
1 1. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
claims 2 to 10,
characteriscd in that each second rail drive means is mounted at the end of a
second longitudinal telescopic arin (402a, 402b) or an articulated arin, in a
30 manner such as to move the said second drive ineans away from the front of
the railway wagon car.
12. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim
11,
characterised in that each second telescopic arm is fastened to the railway
5 wagon car by fastening means (405) that enable the adjusting of the transverse
position of the said second telescopic arm (402a, 402b).
13. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim
11 or 12,
10 characterised in that each second rail drive ineans is mounted to be articulated
on the said telescopi~ arm along a horizontal axis (Y-Y') transverse to the
railway wagon car.
14. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
15 claimsllto13,
characterised in that it further comprises at its front end the ineans for laying
the end of the said rail on to the platforin.
15. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to claim
20 14,
characterised in that said rail laying ineans comprises of a cable or a chain
having a rail pinch bar at a first end, a return pulley (406a, 406b) for running
the said cable or the said chain with transverse axis located at the free end of
each second telescopic arm (420a, 420b) and an actuator such as a cylinder or
25 a winch connected to the second end of the said cable or the said chain.
16. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
claims 2 to 15,
characterised in that it coinprises a system for controlling thc first and second
30 drive means, provided for ensuring that at any moment in time, only one of the
said drive ineans is activated.
17. A railway wagon car for the laying of long rails according to one of
the preceding claims,
characterised in that it further comprises at the front a welding means (710) for
5 welding the rails and a ineans for handling (700) the said welding means
provided for moving the said welding ineans between a rest position on the
railway wagon car and a welding position on one of the rails of the track under
construction.
10 18. A method for laying rails using a rail pushing wagon car (100) and
a stock of rails arranged on a transport wagon car hitched to thc rear of the
said rail pushing wagon car, the said method coinprising the steps consisting
of:
- gripping the web of a rail (Rl, R2) between two first motor driven crawler
15 track systems (220a, 220c) located at the rear of the said railway wagon car,
the said tracked belts being driven around between two wheels with vertical
axles,
- longitudinally removing the said rail from the said stock of rails by actuating
the said first crawler track systems.
19. A method for laying rails according to claim 18,
characterised in that it further coinprises the following steps :
- gripping the web of a rail between two second motor driven crawler track
systeins (420a, 420b, 420c, 420d) located at the front of the said railway
25 wagon car, the said tracked belts being driven around between two wheels
with vertical axles,
- unloading the said rail froin the front of the railway wagon car by actuating
the said second crawler track systeins.
20. A method for laying rails according to claiin 19,
characterised in that the grip of the first crawler track systems on the rail is
released when the rail is towed by the second crawler track systems.