GB2205882A

GB2205882A - A track maintenance machine for distributing and profiling the bedding ballast of a railway track with a ballast plough

Info

Publication number: GB2205882A
Application number: GB08807690A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ludwig Walter
Original assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industrie GmbH
Current assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industrie GmbH
Priority date: 1987-06-16
Filing date: 1988-03-31
Publication date: 1988-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2008-03-31
Also published as: DE3800953A1; PL157990B1; IT8819715A0; FR2616817A1; PL270678A1; ES2007934A6; SK415688A3; HUT52576A; GB2205882B; CZ415688A3; CZ278698B6; FR2616817B1; SU1743367A3; AU1467288A; DE3800953C2; AU598125B2; SK278091B6; GB8807690D0; IT1216034B; AT387998B

Description

1 A track maintenance machine for distributing and profiling the bedding

ballast of a railway track with a ballast plough 2205882 1 This invention relates to a track maintenance machine for distributing and profiling the bedding ballast of a railway track, comprising a chassis mounted on on-track undercarriages and connected by a coupling to at least one shoulder plough designed for vertical and lateral adjustment under the power of drives.

GB- PS 2019924B describes a travel 1 in g track maintenance machine for distributing and profiling the bedding ballast of a railway track which comprises a central plough mounted for vertical adjustment on the machine frame. A shoulder plough designed for vertical and lateral adjustment under the power of hydraulic drives is pivotally arranged on either longitudinal side of the machine and laterally of the central plough. The function of these elongate shoulder ploughs, which in operation include an angle of about 450 with the longitudinal axis of the machine, is to move the surplus ballast at the shoulders upwards in the direction of the track so that, on the one hand, sufficient ballast is present in the middle of the track while, on the other hand and at the same time, the shoulder of the ballast bed is profiled with corresponding precision. Unfortunately, it is not always possible during this operation to prevent individual ballast stones from dropping into the peripheral zone of the shoulder at the free outer end of the shoulder plough, particularly when the continuously advancing machine begins work, i.e. when there is an accumulation of ballast. Accordingly, it is not possible to obtain an accurate finish at the lower end of the ballast shoulder so that these often considerable quantities of surplus ballast generally have to be removed by hand. This is uneconomical and often dangerous because, whenever manual labour is involved, lookouts have to be present to watch for trains while the work is being done.

Now, the object of the present invention is to provide a track maintenance machine for distributing and profiling the bedding ballast of a railway track of the type described 1 at the beginning with which it is possible, during profiling of the shoulder of the ballast bed by the shoulder plough, to obtain a precision finish of the ballast shoulder where it joins the formation.

According to the invention, this object is achieved with a track maintenance machine of the type described at the beginning in that a broom, which is designed to be rotated by a drive and of which the plane of rotation is arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shoulder plough, is provided on the shoulder plough at its free end opposite the coupling to convey ballast towards the shoulder plough. This advantageous arrang ement of a broom at the end of the shoulder plough, which involves only slightly-more work at the design and construction stage, enables the ballast stones lying within the sweeping range of the broom to be rapidly and completely shifted upwards onto the adjoining shoulder of the ballast bed. In this way, it is possible, during a single profiling pass of the machine, to obtain a substantially straight dividing line between the shoulder of th,e ballast bed and the formation as the finish of the profiling work. In addition to the aesthetic effect of a neat finish, a clean dividing line such as this affords the particular economic advantage that all the ballast remains in the shoulder region and hence - for subsequent work - in the effective range of the shoulder plough and is thus always accessible to rational machine treatment.

In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the drive of the'broom is.mounted on a holding frame which is connected by a coupling, of which the axis extends substantial ' ly perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the plough, to the upper end of the shoulder plough and to a pivoting drive. By virtue of this special arrangement on a holding frame, the broom may advantageously be pivoted upwards into a rest position by means of the pivoting drive.

1 In this way, the broom, which in operation exceeds the clearance profile, can be raised, for example in the presence of an obstacle, while the shoulder plough can continue to be used unimpeded for profiling the ballast shoul- der. In addition, the shoulder plough may also be used, if necessary, without the broom in normal operation.

In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the holding frame connected to the broom may be arranged together with the coupling and the pivoting drive on a support plate which is connected to the upper edge of the shoulder plough to pivot about an axis extending longitudinally thereof and which is linked to a pivoting drive. This advantageous arragement of the broom enables the holding frame connected to the broom to be applied to the inside of the shoulder plough which faces the ballast. In this space- saving position, the shoulder plough together with the broom may be tightly applied to the side surfaces of the track maintenance machine for the rest position of the broom within the clearance profile.

In a practical embodiment of the invention, the broom consists of at least six to eight flexible, tubular broom elements which are arranged radially in one plane and which are releasably connected to an annular extension of the drive.

A relatively wide sweeping range can be obtained with these tubular broom elements with slight elastic deformation of the radially outer ends in the area of contact with the ballast stones. In this way, individual ballast stones lying on the formation at a relatively large distance from the end of the plough can also be taken up and conveyed to the shoulder.

Another embodiment of the invention is characterized in that, in its working position, the periphery of the broom as defined by the radially outer ends of the broom elements extends about as far as or slightly beyond the lower edge of the shoulder plough. This positioning of the broom in re- lation to the shoulder plough reliably prevents ballast 1 stones from pouring through between the edge of the plough and the broom. In addition, the shoulder of the ballast bed can be defined with precision by the edge of the ballast p 1 o u g h.

Finally, in another advantageous embodiment of the in vention, the substantially vertical plane of rotation or working plane of the broom, as defined by the broom elements, extends substantiAlly perpendicularly of the plane of the ballast shoulder and with a slight inclination or at an acute angle transversely of the direction of travel and preferably forms an angle of about 30 to about 601, depending on the pivoting limit of the plough, with the longitudinal axis of t.he shoulder plough. An angular position of the broom such as this in relation to the shoulder plough provides for a very short sweeping path through the resulting, substantially right-angled arrange- ment relative to the longitudinal axis of the track. One example of embodiment of the invention is described in detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein; 20 Figure 1 is a side elevation of a track maintenance machine according to the invention for distributing and profiling the bedding ballast of a railway track with a broom in the working position on the shoulder plough. Figure 2 is a partial front elevation of the shoulder plough in the direction of arrow II in Figure 3 with the broom in the working position and the raised rest position of the broom shown in dash-dot lines. Figure 3 is a partial plan view of the shoulder plough and the broom in the direction of arrow III in Figure 1. 30 Figure 4 is a side elevation of the broom on a larger scale longitudinally of the plough (without the drive 19) in the direction of arrow IV in Figure 2. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the shoulder plough during the profiling of a ballast shoulder together,with the broom arranged at the end of the plough to produce a pre- 1 cision shoulder finish.

The track maintenance machine 1 shown in Figure 1 in the form of a ballast plough for distributing and profiling the bedding ballast consists essentially of a chassis 3 which is mounted on on-track undercarriages 2 and on which is arranged a driver's cabin 4 with a central control console 5 and a drive 6. A brush 8 designed for rotation and vertical adjustment under the power of a drive is arranged at the rear end of the chassis 3 in the working di- rection indicated by an arrow 7. The brush 8 extends over the entire width of a track 11 consisting of rails 9 and sleepers 10. A vertically adjustable central plough 12 is arranged centrally between the two on- track undercarriages 2 on the underneath of the chassis 3 for working on the ballast lying in the region of the sleepers. This central plough 12 is preceded on either side by a shoulder plough 13 which is connected to the chassis 3 for lateral and vertical adjustment by a coupling 14 and drives 15. A broom 16 is provided on the shoulder plough 13 at its free end opposite the coupling 14 to convey ballast 17 towards the shoulder plough 13 or rather to a shoulder 18 of the ballast bed.

A shown in Figs. 2,.3 and 4, the plane of rotation of the broom 16 is arranged at an angle a of about 35 to 400 to the longitudinal axis of the shoulder plough 13 and is connected to a hydraulic drive 19. The drive 19 of the broom 16 is mounted on a holding frame 20. The holding frame 20 is arranged on a stepped support plate 24 via a coupling 22 with an axis 21 and a hydraulic pivoting drive 23. The support plate 24 is connected to the upper edge of the shoulder plough 13 to pivot about an axis extending longitudinally thereof or about couplings 25 and is linked to a pivotifig drive 26. The broom 16 consists of eight flexible, tubular broom elements 27 radially arranged in one plane of rotation.

In the working position of the broom 16, the broom elements - 6 1 27 extend as far as or slightly beyond a lower edge 28 of the shoulder plough 13.

As shown in the plan view in Figure 3, the vertically extending plane of rotation or working plane of the broom 16, as defined by the broom elements 27, includes an angle cc of about 35 to 401with the longitudinal axis of the shoulder plough 13. Depending on the angular position of the laterally and vertically adjustable shoulder plough 13, the broom 16 occupies a slightly acute-angled position to the working direction or rather to the shoulder of the ballast bed, the angle B in question best being about 5 to 100. The coupling 25 which joins the support plate 24 to the shoulder plough 13 and which extends longitudinally thereof is arranged at the longitudinal centre of the support plate 24 so that, when the broom 16 is in operation, the support plate projects beyond both sides of the shoulder plough 13. The axis 21 of the coupling 22 which joins the holding frame 20 to the support plate 24 extends perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the shoulder plough 13.

The view of the broom 16 in Figure 4, which is drawn to a larger scale, shows that the pivoting drive 26 connected to the support plate 24 is mounted on a flange 30 connected to the back 29 of the shoulder plough 13. The shoulder plough 13 comprises a front side 31 which is in contact with the ballast 17 of the ballast shoulder 18 and which is slightly curved, the lower edge 28 extending slightly forwards in the working direction. The radially arranged broom elements 27 of the broom 16 are releasably connected to an annular extension 32 of the drive 19 for quick replacement.

Reinforcing ribs 33 are provided on the back 29 of the shoulder plough 13, extending perpendicularly of its longitudinal a x i s.

As can be seen from the pgrspective view in Figure 5, a clean boundary line 34 extending longitudinally of the track between the ballast bed shoulder 18 on the one hand and 1 a formation 35 on the other hand is present after the use of the shoulder plough 13 and the broom 16. The drawing also shows that, ahead of the broom 16 in the working di rection, ballast 17 is still lying in the region of the formation 35 adjoining the ballast bed shoulder 18, i.e. in the region where no work has yet been done.

The mode of operation of the track maintenance machine 1 is described in detail in the following.

During the in-transit journey of the machine 1 to the point of use, the shoulder plough 13 is raised into the in-transit position shown in da.sh-dot lines in Figure 1, in which the broom 16 is in its upper position through activation of the pivoting drive 23 and the support plate 24 is pivoted onto the front side 31 of the shoulder plough 13 through activation of the pivoting drive 26 (dash-dot lines in Figure 4). After reaching the point of use, the central plough and the brush 8 are lowered and the two lateral shoulder ploughs 13 are laterally and vertically adjusted by activation of the drives 15 for application to the shoulder 18 of the ballast bed. The support plate 24 is then raised by activation of the pivoting drive 26 (Figures 2 and 3) and the holding frame 20 together with the broom 16 is moved from the rest position (dash-dot lines in Figure 2) into the working position by activation of the pivoting drive 23.

After activation of the drive 19 of the shoulder ploughs 13, the broom 16 or rather its broom elements 27 is set rotating in the direction indicated by an arrow 36 (Figure 5). During the continuous advance of the machine in the direction of the arrow 7, the surplus ballast 17 lying on the formation 35 is conveyed by the rotating broom elements onto the edge of the ballas.t shoulder 18 while it is being profiled to form a clean boundary line 34. However, it is also possible, particularly in the event of repeated passes, to leave the the broom 16 in its rest position during the initial operations and to use only the shoulder plough for the initial profiling - 8 work. In this case, the broom 16 is only brought into its working position during the last pass and moves the ballast 17 lying on the formation 35 onto the shoulder 18 of the ballast bed during this final pass.

4

Claims

1. A track maintenance machine for distributing and pro filing the bedding ballast of a railway track, comprising a chassis mounted on on-track undercarriages and connected by a coupling to at least one shoulder plough designed for vertical and lateral adjustment under the power of drives, characterized in that a broom, which is designed to be rotated by a drive and of which the plane of rotation is arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shoulder plough, is provided on the shoulder plough at its free end opposite the coupling to convey ballast towards the shoulder plough

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the drive. of the broom is mounted on a holding frame which is connected by a coupling, of which the axis extends substantially perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the plough, to the upper end of the shoulder plough and to a pivoting drive.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the holding frame connected to the broom may be arranged together with the coupling and the pivoting drive on a support plate which is connected to the upper edge of the shoulder plough to pivot about an axis extending longitudinally thereof and which is linked to a pivoting drive

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the broom consists of at least six to eight flexible, tubular broom elements which are arranged radially in one plane and which are releasably connected to an annular extension of the drive

5. A machine as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, charac terized in that, in its working position, the periphery of the broom as defined by the radially outer ends of the broom elements extends about as far as or slightly beyond the lower edge of the shoulder plough

6. A machine as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, charac- - terized in that the substantially vertical plane of ro tation or working plane of the broom. as defined by the brrom elements, extends substantially perpendicu 1 arly of the plane of the ballast shoulder and with a slight inclination or at an acute angle (fl transversely of the direction of travel and preferably forms an angle ((x) of about 30 to 600, depending on the pivoting limit of the plough, with the longitudinal axis of the shoulder p 1 o u g h

7. A railway track maintenance machine, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 Purlished 1988 at The Pw.entOffice. State P case. 66 l High Folborn. London WC IF. 4TP Purther c-mes mA,, be obtained fr P-nt 4 OM e ce, Sales Erwrich. St Ma7 Cray, Orpington. Kent BR5 3RD, Printed by Militiplex tecl=ques ltd, St Mary Cray, Kent. Con. 1t87.