US2052468A - Ballasting machine - Google Patents

Description

Aug. z5, 1936. G, J, HOLT ET AL 2,052,468

` BALLASTING MACHINE I Filed Feb. 24, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l lug- 25, 1936- G. J. HOLT ET Al. 2,052,468

BALLASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Iground in the vicinity of the track.V

Patented Aug. 25, 1936 Grrover` J. Holt,

st. Paul, and Wilfred Langevin,- `Cro`shy,

Application 'Fehn-.agi 24, 1931*, se'riai No. 517,944 l 1 V14 claims. (ol. 104-8) Y The invention relates to railway track ma.- chines, and more particularly has referencerto that type of device for use in track construction and track maintenance.

This application is a continuationin part of Your applicationSerial No. 431,52.0,.led February 26,1930. 1 Y In the construction and maintenanceof a railway track, there are a multiplicity of operations necessary, manygof whch have been carried out manually heretofore. One of the most serious Vproblems in this endeavor is the securing and maintenance of proper ballasting. Our invention isgof particular value for this type of work,V al.- though we have made provision for its use for Various other railway purposes. We have, therefore, devised` a compact, relatively light piece of railway equipment, having a wide range of utility.r

When railway track is laid, even on a newly `finished roadbed, there are a considerable num- .ber of depressions along the length of theY track. `It Vis hence necessary to raise theftrack at these points and place ballast under the ties nsoas Ato bring, all points on the track to substantiallythe same elevation. VNot only do low spots jexistin newly laid, and unused track, but such a condition develops through traffic travelling over the track; `Hence there is the continual necessity of performing maintenance work, jsuch as raising and placing additional ballast under the ties, for the purpose of maintaining the track at an even elevation. I

. `Thecustomary practice in ballastingetrackais to raise the same by means of hand jacks,` and .work `ballast under the ties, after Which, the track is lowered and the ties are tamped. When there is a long section of track which is relatively low, ballast for this operation is usually deposited upon the track or the sides thereof, and ismanually worked under the ties. In instances where a section of track is only a trifle low, yet must be levelled, lit is customary to obtain ballast `from the `sides of the roadbed-,as Well as from invention has for its major object the Apro- `vision of a single piece of railway equipment .adapted to be used in various different voperations necessary in the. construction and maintenance of a railway track'.

Another major object is `the provision;ofa suitablecar v; structure adapted vto run rupon a railroad trackAwith means thereon for scraping ballast under lthe ties of the track. f

, a an, equally important object of. ma irv'feln-tiil is the provision ofniluid pressure operated Vmeans for moving a scoop towards the center of the track s o a s to draw ballast under the sides thereof. aYetanother object of the invention is the provision upon a railroad car of a mechanism for moving a scoop on each side thereof towards the center of thecar, and adapted to be placedin an inoperative position Whereit will be free from contact with objects adjacent the track. e

`.Sltillanother object of our invention is Vthe `combination with a single piece of equipment o f a'track` jack and ballasting device. l l

f i A furtherobjectof the invention` is the designing of a ballasting machine toA be associated with la] trackraising and shifting machine. i

A still furtlfierV object of ourinvention isrthe provisionof altrack raising and shifting device 4car'ryinga plurality of scoops adapted to move ballast towards the center of a railroad track, the scoops being moved by fluid pressure actuated mechanism. -l f With these and other objects in view, which maybe incident'to our improvements, the invention consistsfin the parts and combinations to be hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the lseveral necessary elements comprising our invention may be variedin construction, proportionsand arrangement Without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

in allsingle'piece of` railway'equipment, of devices, capable of 'subserving various functions whichfare necessary in the construction and ,maintenancef'of afrailway track. For instance, in ourpreferred form we include in one machinefdevices for merely raising the track free from the roadbed, for shifting the track to various positions, and for aiding'in the proper ballasting of` the track'. These uses to whichour invention may be put, either individually or collectively, are of particular value, especially when ity remembered that priorto this time, these `different operations were performed either manually' or by separate pieces of equipment. The vcombination ofbperations which our invention isfcapable of performing effects a material econo'iyfin 'capital outlay, time and labor.

` In' orderto make our invention more clearly lunderstood, we have shown in the accompanying 'drawingsmeans forcarrying the,Y same into practicalA effe'ctwithout limiting thefimprovements in their useful appncations to the particular cori'- structionsl-which, 'for the purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration.

O rfnvention broadly consists in the provision In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the ballasting machine forming the subject matter of our invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and shows in detail the construction allowing the ballast scoops to be moved inwardly and outwardly of the car.

Figure 3 is adiagrammatic. plan view of Ya modified form of our invention associated with a two cylinder fluid pressure actuated track handling machine.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the ballasting device of Figure 3 associa-ted with a single cylinder fluid pressure--lactuated track,

associated with a latcar, the fluid pressure,^ac

tuated mechanism being of a different type from :that disclosed in the fo'rmergures.

We rdesire it to be distinctly understood, however, and will point outlmore yfully hereinafter, that `the Ibroad yidea ofour invention is capable of Yachievement in vVarious waysother `than those specifically disclosed in the drawings.

Throughoutv the drawings, similar reference numerals refer to like parts inthe diierent views. In the form of the invention lshown in Figures 1 -through--4,a railroad car Ihas? Imounted thereon suitable track raising and Ashifting `mechanism. For example,fin Figures A1 and 2 there is ixedly secured to each side of thecar a pair of pedestals 2, upon which bosses -3 of a fluidrpressure cylinder 4 are rotatively mounted. By this construction, and'with the'uuse of asuitable operating wheel or other suitable device, the 'cylinders `4 may be Vangularly adjusted asdesired Suit- 'able means maybe provided, such `for instance as 'shown in our-copending'application Serial No. 561,262, filed September 4, 1931, whereby thecyllinders 4 may be locked linja substantially vertical position. When so locked, Aor `ifperchance manually held vertically,the cylin'derswill serve `as a 'jack to raise the car and trackclear of the roadbed. `When unlocked, the cylinders may be manipulated for the purpose of shiftingl the track llaterally as will'be more 4fully pointed'outhere- 'inaften i Y If the exigencies of. operationurever 'require the lshifting Yof the track, a slightly simpler structurethan that Yshown in Figures 1 and 2 vmay Ybe employed, Vwithout sacrificing Athe einciency of Ithe ballasting operation. In such a case, the cylinders 4, rather than being pivotally mounted upon'the `car framebytrunnions, may be rigidly mounted upon the frame. With such a construction, the device will serve 'both as a jack and ballasting machine;

Within each cylinder there is pro-vided a suitable piston to whichis vsecured a piston rod MI having pivotally connected at its end a shoe l. In'the event thatthe cylinders 4 are not pivotally mounted on the pedestal 2, the shoe 'I may be rigidly `mounted on the rod 6, althoughY even in this situationit is preferable to pivot the Vshoes to the rods, in order to more eincientlyfunction on uneven ground. Should the car beclamped to the track and thecylinders'maintainedin a -verticalgpositio-n, it is evident that upon moving Vthe vpistons within the'cylinders 4 downwardly, each pedestal or shoe I'will Acontact 'with the disclosed inl Figure `2.

For the purpose of allowing the car to be clamped to the track, there are mounted thereon four clamp cylinders 8, two on each side of. the car. Each clamp cylinder is provided with a suitable piston to which is secured a piston rod 9, the lower end of which is connected to a yoke IU which is in turn pivotally secured to a pair of crossed rail clamps I I and I2. Each rail clamp is connected by means of a toggle joint I3 to a lifting bar I4 wlnch surrounds the piston rod 9 and through which the piston rod is freely slidable.

As may be noted in Figure 2, the upper end of each-lifting bar is provided with an enlarged head, which when the clamps are secured to the rail, is adapted to bear upon the body of the car and free the clamp cylinders of stresses imposed during lifting and/ or shifting operations.

From an inspection of the drawings, it will be evident that, should the piston of each clamp cylinder be `raised upwardly the clamps will be disengaged from the rails, and upon continued Aactuation, the yoke IU on the end of the piston rod will contact with the end of the lifting bar I4 and.l hence raise the same and entirely free the clamps from engagement with the rail, Obviously, upon lowering the piston and piston rod within each clamp cylinder, the lifting bar I4 Will-be. lowered until its head contacts with the Acar body, while further actuation of the piston will 'n result in engagement of the clampsy II and I2 with the-track.

It will be appreciated that alternative forms of clamps may be employed, such as of course, mechanical trather than fluid pressure actuated means. Furthermore, the number of clamps might vary, depending on the conditions of operation.

In order to provide suitable working fluid for the purpose of clamping the carto the track and Yraising and/or shifting the car and track, there is mounted upon the car body a suitable prime mover or power -source I5 which, through any suitable means, is connected to an air compressor I6, the

latter discharging'compressed air into a tank -or reservoir I'I. By the use of pipe lines or hose connections, the arfromthe vtankII is led to suitable valves 46 and 4'I, respectively, employed for controlling the flow of working fluid into and out of each of the lifting cylinders 4. The valve 48 controls the admission and exhaust of fluid for the clamp cylinders 8. Exhaust air from the cylinders may of course be led directly into the atmosphere, or if desired, may be exhausted through a suitable modifying device. n

lWhile a fluid pressure means such as compressed air 'has been described, it will be obvious that the mechanism may be operated hydraulically. This may be accomplished -by substituting a pump in the place of the air compressor, its intake -end being` connected to a liquid reservoir, and its discharge end toY the `control valves, which are in turn connected to the upper and lower ends -of each lifting cylinder and each clamp cylinder.

Through the use of a return line, also connected "to the control valves, liquid forced out of the cylinders may be returned to the reservoir or sump. With such a construction, a-suitable pressure bypass may be provided by the use of a pipe line connecting the discharge side ofthe pump with the liquid reservoir.

For the purpose of simplifying the drawings, connections between the prime mover and the air compressorforfpump, as well as the pipe lines ande-control valves, have not been fully disclosed.

`the scoop `as indicated at 21.

Likewise, it will be appreciatedthatthe prime mover I5.may be connected toanakle of the car so as to propel the same inany; directionalong the track, though this: feature has not been shown in the drawings. Through the `useof suitable gears, clutches, sprockets, chains, or any combination of these, the prime mover may be connected andV disconnected from the air compressor or` pump'as well as the driving axle of the car.

c In addition to the track handlingmechanism mounted upon thecar, there isA also provided a suitable cylinder I8 for moving the scoops,- buckets, or raking devices I9, upon each side of the car. in order thatballast or other material may be pulledtowards the center of the track. Each end ofthe cylinder I84 is connected to the air storage tank or reservoir by means of pipelines :23 in which line is positioned azsuitable'control valve 49, the cylinder being provided with AYa 'piston ZI and piston rod 22. It will,..of course, be appreciated that the size and'shape of the scoops ISlmay be varied to meet particularconditions of operation. It may be desirableto have the scoops or shovels I9 of greater or lesscomparative lWidth than those indicated in'Figure 1. Y

Upon the end of the piston rod 22 there is mounted a yoke 23, or arm, to each end of which are secured the ends of cables V265 and 25, the other end of the cable 24 being'secured to the rear of the scoop, as indicated at 26, while the opposite end ofthe cable 25 is .secured to the forward end of 4Thepistonl22 in Figure 1 is shown in retracted position, and upon the expansion stroke, the shovels I5 will be drawn toward the track; i

Mentioned as One of the objectsfof our inven- Vtion wasthe provision of a ballast-ing device having scoops on each side of a car capable of being moved inwardly and. outwardly of the car. Vln order to accomplish this, the cablesffl-and 25 are guided by suitable sheaves or pulleys 28, V29.

3l] positioned uponthecar, and the pulleys 3! and 32 on the folding vor collapsing arms 33 which extend outwardly from thecar perpendicular toits sides., As may be noted in Figure l2, each side of the car is provided with a substantially channel-like member 34 within whichV the inner endof each arm 33 is pivotally'mcunted by means of-a ,pivotv pin 35. .For the `purpose of bracing each arm, when the machine is in operation, a brace member is Vpivotally secured to the arm by means of a pin 31, the inner end of `the brace 36 being detachably connectedv .to the frame of the ,car in any suitableA manner, as for example by means of the pin 3l.A

It has been previously indicated that the means for connecting the` cable to thescoops` as indicated at 26 and 21 are of'ithe detachable type, so that when desired the scoops may be disconnectedfrom their cables. `This allows the end of the cables 24 and 251:0 be suitably secured to rings or other devices carried on the side of the car. By such an arrangement, each arm 33 may be -swung so that it is parallel to thencar side and secured in such position by means ofthe latch or catch mechanism, comprising the bracket 5I and pin 5I', Each brace arm 35 may VbeV dis-l connected `from its bracket sowas to allow it to lie along itsarm 33as indicated by the dotted lines of Figure l. The brace arm 36 may be secured to the car frame or the main arm `33 when the latter is folded upon the frame.. Various other'formsof scoopsfor ballastmoving means otherthan those shown on the drawings 4disclosedand described herein, however, suices to accomplish the desired results .and to suicientlyillustrate the inventive concept.

l. From the foregoing description, the operation of .the device will at once be apparent. For eX- ample, assume that the arms 33 and brace arms E36 are in `collapsed position parallel to the car sides and the scoops are upon the car. The car is run to a position where ballast is to be placed under the track.y At such a point, the travel of the car is stopped by disconnecting the prime mover from the driving axle. Although not speciiically shown. in the drawings, the car maybe provided with a suitable Abrake to arrest travel of Athe carand tomaintain it stationary with respect to the track during the ballasting. shifting', or jacking operation. l

The arms 33 maybe swung to the. extended position and secured in such position by connecting the inner .endsof each brace arm,3i ,tothe car body. After this, the scoops are removed from the car and have their ends secured tothe cablesV 24 and 25 in the manner shown in Figure 2.:

v. Upon actuation of the clamp cylinders, the car may be clamped to the track. Y lBoth lifting cylindersare then Vpositioned and Vmaintained as shown in Figure 2,: and the shoes 1 lowered to engage the. ground orjroadbed, Upon further operation :of the pistonV rods t, the track is properly raised soi that tballast may be scraped underneath the samef.,v This ballasting may beaccomplished by suitable: actuation` of the piston 2| so as to pull the scoops inwardly `of the car and hence move the ballast as indicated by the reference numeral i 39towards the center of the track.

If it is desired to scrape more ballast under thetrack, the piston in the cylinder is actuated in the opposite direction so as to exert a pull or tension upon the cable 24, which results in yrnovingeach. scoopoutwardly, whereupon the piston may again be actuated so as to draw the scoops inwardly of thev car and hence scrape more ballast towards the center of the track.

. The ballasting having lbeen completed, when it vis desired to move the car to another low section,- the lifting cylinders are. actuated so as .to lowerl the car and track, and the car is unn clamped, after which it may be moved to the next. place desired` and the same operations as .thoseoutlined above carried out. WhereV there areA no` obstacles vclosegto the track, it will be appreciated that it is not necessary to collapse the arms. If there are Vobstacles in the path of `the car, howeventhe scoops may be-disconnected Vfrom the cables, 'placed upon the car, and the .arms swung inwardlytowards the car. Hence the car may be run to any position desired so fas; to :clear the trackon which it is working in the event of approaching traino, or for other causes,

, l It will be appreciated that where it is desired toraiseonly oneV side of the track, the lifting 0cylinder on .that side, will be the only one e1n- .ployed.' v Hence,V whereit is only necessary to use rone scoop, the other maybe detached from its cables.V Suitable mechanisrrnif desired, may be associated withV our device in order to selectively operate each of the scoops. For instance, separatejfluidjpressure actuated mechanism may be employed for each scoop.

Notmonly may the device shown in Figures 1 v and 2 be employed for raising the track, but by the use of one-cylinder, adjusted at a suitable Amay be employed@4 The particular embodiment angular.position,thetrack maybe vthrown or 75 shifted either to the left .or right. For example, if it is desired to ,shift thetrack to the 1eft,the left hand cylinder `is tilted to the leftl and its .thrust boom or piston rod is lowered until the shoe thereon contacts with the ground. On the further actuation of the .piston within the left hand cylinder the car and track, assuming of course that the car is clamped to the track, Vwill be raised and shifted to the left. When conducting such an operation, it will, of course be advisable to withdraw the arms 33, so that they are parallel to the sides of the car.

In Figures 3 and 4 We have schematically shown somewhat similar constructions to that shown in Figures 1 and 2. In these latter constructions, however, it is necessary to manually pull the scoops 4U from under the car after they have moved their loads towards the center of the track.

Figure 3 shows a car I which has mounted thereon a track shifting mechanism comprising the two lifting cylinders 4 which are xed `tothe car. In this instance, however, the piston rod 22 is not provided with a yoke, and each scoop is Aconnected thereto by means -of a single cable 4|, one end of which is attached directly to the piston rod and the other end to one end of the scoop as indicated at 42. Each cable runs over suitable guide sheaves .or pulleys 43 and 44. The operation of the machine shown in Figure v2 is similar to that disclosed in Figures 1 and 2, with the exceptionthat after the scoops 40 are drawn towards the center of 'the track, they must be pulled outwardly from such position by hand. Each scoop 40, as may be noted, is detachably secured to its cable as indicated at 42. The structure shown in this gure cbviates the arms and braces necessary to the device of Figures land 2.

Figure 4 discloses a device similar to that shown in Figure 3, but with only a single lifting cylinder 4. This cylinder is mounted upon suitable trackways 4 so as to allow its movement from side to side of the caras shown' in more detail in our United StatesLetters Patent 1,784,963. With this exception, the operation of the machine shown in Figure 4 is of a similar nature to that of the machines already described. Through the use of gears, pulleys, chains, sprockets, and the like, the prime mover may be coupled to suitable mechanism for moving the single cylinder 4 from one side of thecar to the other so that the track may be raised and shifted, or merely raised. During raising operations, it will be appreciated that the cylinder 4 is positioned at the center of the car, as shown in Figure 4, and is maintained by suitable means in a vertical position.

When the device shown in'Figure 4 is used for a jacking operation, it will of course be necessary to maintain the cylinder 4 in a vertical position, and furthermore, it is .desirable that the spud or shoe, such as shown in Figure 2` at'fll should be rigidly attached to the spud or boom 6, in order to maintain the track in a raised position. We would advise that the shoe be of somewhat larger construction when this device is used as a jack in order to afford more bearing surface, and provision may be made forremoving the shoe used for shifting and attaching rigidly to the boom or piston 6. a shoe of larger Contact area. Of course, the mechanism for locking the cylinder 4 in a vertical position may be similar to that shown in our copending application Se- !rialNo. 561,262,A filed' September-4, 1931. -ItfwilL .furthermorabe appreciated that, `while Figure 4 .shows a, ballasting .apparatus similar to -that :shown in :Figure 3, Y,it lmay be provided with a .structure ysimilarto :that disclosed in Figures 1 :and 2,whereby .the scoop or shovels 40 may be displaced `either `.outwardly or .inwardly of the car.

It is Y.sometimes .desirable to employ a relatively light -car for the purpose .of merely scraping `ballast .nearerto 4the rails. In such a case, the track raising and vshifting .mechanism may be -dispensed with. When such practice is followed, `a car similar to that shown in Figure A5 may be employed. The car has mounted thereon only the 'scraping or ballasting scoops 40 with fluid pressure actuated `mechanism for pulling the vsame inwardly Aof thecar. With such a bal1ast .ingimachina ,fluid pressure for operating the -scoops may be supplied by any suitable means which may :ibe mounted upon a second car adaptedto be :coupled'to the machine. The second car may be provided With machinery for propelling it along thev track if desired. In some instances, it may be even desirable to provide the car shown in Figure V5 with a prime mover for propelling the same, as well as means for generating the yfluid pressure for actuating the ballasting scoops. Obviously, such practice would not exceed the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim-s. Of course, it will be understood that, while `Figure 5 merely discloses `the broad idea of scoops operated by a mechanism mountedon the car, the device may be lprovided with extensible arms, similar to the arms 33 of Figures 1 and 2, together with other appropriate means for automatically displacing the shovel both outwardly .and'inwardly of the car.

Instead of the "cylinder ywith piston and piston rod employed 'for moving the ballasting scoops 40, wehave .disclosed in Figure 5 a compressed air or;hydraulically driven hoist 45. Of course, if desired, `:the -hoist shown in Figure 5 may be associated with either of the disclosures given in Figures 1 through A.4r-in theplace of the actuating vcylinder shown. By providing separate hoists for eachof thetwo scoops 48, with approipriate clutches if both hoists are driven from a common source, the .scoops maybe selectively operated.

Theballasting .machine shown in Figure 5 being of light constructiom'may be run upon track which' is maintained in av raised position by means Aof manually oper-ated jacks of the conventional sort used in railway :track Work. After the bal- .lastingoperation of the car shown in Figure 5, the track would, of course, be lowered and the .car ymovedto the nextl low `section where a similar cycle of operations would berepeated.

Each of 'the cars shown in the drawings may .be provided withva suitable flooring throughout. 'Howevergfortthe sake of showing the ballasting mechanism used, .only :a `partialiiooring has been disclosed. Likewise, while it vhas been mentioned Athatithe :cables are Adetached from the scoops, it will Ybe appreciated that by .providing a trap-door or the like in the flooring over the actuating mechanism vfor the scoops, the cables or cable may-'be detached from the actuating mechanism, as well.

As stated at the outset, rwhile the drawings in this applicationl depict our -invention as embodied in a device in which Athe various functions are per-formedby the'use of fiuidrpressure, we do not wish 'to belimited. to -such a form of power. 75

For instance, the trackraising and` track shifting device may be actuated by mechanical means. When weuse the words` mechanical means in the specication and claims, we wish to be understood as including structures in which power is transmitted `directly from an engine through suitable gear. trains .to the lifting or ballasting means. For instance, the boom or booms ,may be provided with rack teeth engaging with a segment' 10` Again, the source of power may be e1ectrical,`

rather than compressed air or hydraulic pressure. Such an electrical construction might take the form of a solenoid within` which the booms 6 may be energized to raise or lower `the car or track. Of course, the prime mover or power source I5 may be an electrical motor if desired, which would function in the same way as the member I5 in Figures 1 and-2, or may through a series of gears directlyoperate thespuds or booms.

Furthermore, Vwhilev we have disclosed iluid pressure means for actuating the shovels vor vscoops I9, we'wish it to be' clearly understoodl that the cylinder I8 or the hydraulically driven hoist 45 disclosed in the drawings may be replaced by mechanical or electrical means, as discussed hereinbefore in connection with the boom 6. For instance, a drurnon which the cables 24 and 25 or 4I are wound may be substituted for the cylinder I8 or hoist, and be directly connected through a gear train toa source of power. Suitable clutch mechanism may be provided for operating such a drum, as desired. A plurality of such drums with corresponding clutches could be employed to selectively operate the scoops I9.

It will of course be understood a device similarly might be constructed which had manually operated means for raising and shifting the track and manually operated means for conveying the ballast toward thev track. Such a structure might be especially desirable Where it is necessary to keep the weight of the equipment at a minimum.

It is obvious from the foregoing that our invention comprehends, for instance, the following structures, which are listed exemplarily rather than limitatively: lifting and shifting means and ballast moving means, all actuated by fluid pressure; lifting and shifting means actuated by fluid pressure and ballasting means mechanically actuated; mechanically operated lifting and shifting mechanism and fluid pressure actuated ballasting means; lifting and shifting and ballasting means, all mechanically actuated; and various combinations of the foregoing with electrically operated and/or manually operated devices.

As heretofore pointed out, the track clamps I I and I2 may be mechanically actuated in lieu of the iiuid pressure means disclosed in the drawings, or these clamps may be operated electrically, or even manually.

For the sake of brevity, the foregoing modications are not shown in the drawings, but they are embraced in our invention and we desire to claim them.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that we have devised a novel piece of railway equipment adapted to a wide range of utility. It is particularly applicable to track raising and shifting machines and may be used in conjunction therewith to great advantage in ballasting the track which has been raised. In addition to these features and those previously outlined, it may be observed that we have provided a device for ballastingra vtrack ,which is of simple construction and at the same time may be operated with great ease. i

While We have shown and described the preferred embodimentfof our invention, we wish it to be understood that we do not conne ourselves to the .precise details of lconstruction herein set forth, by wayof illustration, as it is apparent that' many changes and variati-ons'may be made therein,v by those skilled inthe art, without departing fromthe spiritofitheinvention, or exceeding-the scope of the appended claims.

1. A railway maintenance device, comprising a carriage adaptedto be Vclamped to atrack, means for raising.` thel carriage-and track free of the roadbed and tomaintain ithem-in said raised position, arsupport extending` fromthe sidesof the carriage, a member carried by said support and adapted to urge ballastandother materialV toward the: track, and means adapted to movesaid member to and from the carriage *j f 2. A railway maintenance device; 'comprisinga' Carriage engageable withA the track. means for raising the-carriage' and track,` a 'scoop` adapted to urgelballast and other jr'naterial toward the track, aV supportfor the scoop, and' a ilexible means for moving the scoop to and from the carriage.

3. A railway maintenance device, comprising a carriage adapted to be clamped to a track, means for raising the carriage and track, an arm extending from the carriage and adapted to support ballast-moving means, actuating means for the ballast-moving means to urge the ballast toward the track when in a raised position.

4. A railway maintenance device, comprising a carriage, means for securing the carriage to a track, means for raising the carriage and track, means adapted to be extended beyond the sides of the carriage to support a scoop-like member, and means for moving the scoop-like member to and from the track.

5. A railway maintenance device, comprising a carriage adapted to be clamped to a track; means for raising the carriage and track free of the roadbed, a scoop adapted to urge ballast and other material toward the track, an arm fcldable to the side of the carriage but adapted to be extended angularly therefrom, a cable adapted to support the scoop in conjunction with the foldable arm, and means to actuate the cable whereby the scoop is moved to and from the carriage.

6. A railway maintenance device comprising a carriage, fluid pressure means mounted thereon for raising the track free of the roadbed, other means also carried by the carriage and actuated by fluid pressure to urge ballast toward the track when in raised position, and a reservoir adapted to supply the raising and ballast moving means with fluid.

'7. A railway maintenance device comprising a carriage, a thrust boom slidable within a cylinder mounted on said carriage and adapted to engage the ground to thereby raise the carriage and track, means carried by the carriage for urging ballast toward the track when the latter is raised, fluid pressure means for actuating the ballast moving means, and a reservoir for supplying uid under pressure to the said actuating means and the cyltrack free of the roadbed,r.m'e'ans carried by the carriage for urging ballasttowardv the` track when the latter is raised, a cylinder and piston for actuating the ballast moving means, a reservoir for supplying fluid to the cylinders, andmeans for compressing the fluid in the reservoir.

9. A ballasting machine comprising a car adapted to run upon a track and provided with means for` raising the car andi track, av device carried by the car for moving ballast under the track, and common means for operating the raising means and ballast moving device;

10. A railway maintenance device comprising a carriage adapted to be clampedV to a track, means on the carriage for shifting the car and track or raising the car and track substantially vertically, means carried by the carriage for moving material toward the track, and common means for actuating the shifting and raising means and the material-moving means.

l1. A railway maintenance device comprising a carriage adapted to be clamped to aV track, a thrust boom slidably mounted on the carriage adapted to raise and support. the. carriage and track, other means carried by the carriage for moving material towardy the track, and common means for actuating the thrust boom and the material-moving means.

l2. A railway maintenance device comprising a carriage provided with a plurality of thrust booms adapted to raise and support the carriage and track, means carried by the carriage for moving material toward the track, and common means for actuating the thurst boom and material-moving means.

13. A railway maintenance device, comprising a carriage provided with means for raising a track, other means carried by the carriage and adaptedto be angularly moved with respect to the carriage and to urge ballast and other material towards the carriage, and means to move said ballast-urging means to and from the carriage, and also to actuate the raising means.

14'. A railway maintenance device, comprising a carriage adapted to be clamped to a track, means carried by said carriage for optionally raising or shifting the carriage and track, means extending beyond the sides of the carriage and adapted to engage ballast and move it toward the track, and common actuating means for the raising or shifting, means and the ballast engaging means.

GROVER J. HOLT. WILFRED LONGEVIN.

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