GB677923A - Improvements in or relating to plant for dredging, cleaning and relaying railroad ballast - Google Patents

Abstract

677,923. Endless conveyers; loading vehicles; tracklaying plant. LEMAIRE.M.H. Jan.12, 1950. [Jan. 12, 1949 Aug. 24, 1949 ; Dec. 1, 1949; Dec. 20, 1949] No. 835/50. Classes 78 (i), 78 (iv) and 104 (ii). [Also in Groups XXI and XXXII] A plant for cleaning and regrading railroad ballast comprises a haulage car, a car provided with means for lifting the track, excavating the aged ballast, conveying it to a cleaning plant 35, 35a which may be on a separate car at the rear of the second car or positioned on the second car, chutes for returning the cleaned ballast, levelling means and tamping means. The excavating means :34 comprises a carriage which can be moved on rails that are positioned on the second car transversely of the longitudinal axis is thereof, this carriage supporting an adjustable frame about which the excavator bucket chain moves. The excavated material is loaded onto a conveyer 6 one end of which is secured to the laterally adjustable excavator whilst the other end is so mounted that it can rotate about a vertical axis 6a. Between its extremities the conveyer is supported in frames which can move laterally of the car. The rails slide over skids that are vertically adjustable with respect to the excavator, A single or multi-stage leveller deals with the ballast when it is returned from the cleaning plant the ballast being consolidated either by vibration set up in the leveller by an out-of-balance motor secured to the leveller, or by separate tamping means. To deal with the refuse from the cleaning plant there is secured to the rear of the train hopper wagons in which on each wagon there is mounted above the hopper 81 a trough 82 in which is positioned a scraper conveyer 85 so that the material dumped on to the upper run of the conveyer is taken down into and along the bottom of the trough until it drops into the hopper 8 through an opening in the bottom of said trough, the opening connecting with the top of the hopper. When the hopper is full the conveyer drags the surplus material rearwards and discharges it onto the scraper conveyer of the next hopper wagon. In another form of hopper wagon material is dumped onto an endless conveyer 90 mounted above the hopper 81 and said material is conveyed along by the upper run of the conveyer until it engages a V-shaped member 101 which deflects the material sideways into the hopper. This V-shaped member depends from a carriage 96 that can be moved along rails 95 which are parallel to the upper run of the conveyer so that the material can be ejected sideways into the hopper at any desired point along the run of the conveyer. When the hopper is full the V-shaped plate is raised clear of the conveyer so that the material can travel along the conveyer to be ejected onto the conveyer of the next wagon.