GB748987A - A vehicle for measuring irregularities in the rails of a railway track - Google Patents

Abstract

748,987. Axle trucks for railway vehicles. MATERIEL INDUSTRIEL SOC. ANON., and CONSTRUCTIONS MECANIQUES SOC. ANON. March 9, 1954 [March 24, 1953], No. 6804/54. Class 103 (6). [Also in Group XXX] A vehicle for measuring irregularities in the rails of a railway track is supported at one end by an axle 6 fixed to the frame 1 of the vehicle and at the other end by a universal joint on a bogie 9 having one axle 8 fixed thereto and another axle 7, between the axles 6 and 8 pivotally mounted on a pivot 13, Fig. 4, of the bogie to rotate in a plane transverse to the direction of movement of the vehicle, the movements of the axle 7 about its pivot in relation to the axle 6 being a measure of the camber of the track and the movements of the axles 7 and 8 relative to the axle 6 in a vertical plane being a measure of the contour of the rail in the vertical plane. The vehicle supports two similar subsidiary trucks 10, 11 which can be placed on the rails and coupled as by pivotal bars 20 to be moved with the vehicle in front of and behind it while retaining their radial transverse direction on a track curve and are provided with feeler rollers 24, Fig. 6, spring- pressed against the inner surfaces of the rails 12 so that the feelers of any one truck give the variations in distance between the rails and the straight line between the feeler rollers of the two trucks when in operation on the rails functions as the chord of the arc of the curve between the feelers, the sagitta of which is given by the distance from the chord of similar feeler rollers 27 on the vehicle midway between the rollers 24 to give a measure of the rail curvature. The movements of the feeler rollers 24 relative to the frame 1 are transmitted by L-levers 22 pivoted on the frame 1 and cables 26 to the measuring and recording mechanism located in the cabin 2. The movements of the axles 7 and 8 are transmitted to measuring and recording apparatus through cables attached to rollers or slides moving in slots 16, 17, Fig. 4, in the axle boxes and concentric with the universal joint. In a modified form the coupling between a truck 10 or 11 and the frame 1 comprises tubes pivoted to the frame to form therewith a triangle, the tubes being secured near the apex to a pin having a slidable connection with the truck and cables from the feelers passing down the tubes to the recording apparatus. When not in use the tubes may be accommodated along the sides of the vehicle. The vehicle has a platform 5 for carrying the required loading weights.