US2534880A

US2534880A - Ballast removing machine

Info

Publication number: US2534880A
Application number: US703262A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dennis M Praytor; Kershaw Knox
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-10-14
Filing date: 1946-10-14
Publication date: 1950-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 1967-12-19

Description

Dec. 19, 1950 D. M. PRAYTOR ETAL 2,534,880

BALLAST REMOVING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR. Dennis M Prayror y ltnax keys/14 v TOE/ 7 Q60. 19, #950 PRAYTOR ET AL 2,534,880

BALLAST REMOVING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1946 5 Shee'ES-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

Dnm'; M /v /ar Knox Kers/m'w A770 IVEY D. M. PRAYTOR ET AL BALLAST REMOVING MACHINE Dec. 119, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 14, 1946 Patented Dec. 19, 1950 ,BAIILAST REMOVING 'MACHINE iflennis'Md e-aytor,'Birmingham,nnd -KI10X:.KBlSha,W, Montgomery, Ala.

A pucaeomoeicter 14, 194e,-seriai;1 1o:703;262

This invention relates to a machine for removing ballast mechanically from Tbs-tween railroad cross ties and has'for an objectithe provision sof apparatus of the character designatedwwhi-chsshall beadapted totravel andtbe-supp'ortedion:onezrail I 'theinewrailbeing laid. in-order tozuseithegadzing machine, it is necessary that:all:'rockiand ballast be removed drum between -the cross ities at that location POIKBLSE the adzingzmachine cannot operate. .iizfiter ballast :has remained in a railroad trackiona period ofiyears, and hasbeoomezflmroughlyrpacked idown fit:is :a-very laborious (operation torizemove itunanuallm-so much so thatitfis iprohibitiveiinccost. kFurthernwhen relaying cross ties, it is necessary to loosen andremove arlaree :portion of the zballast clear gacrossthe iroad -bed w around ithe {ties :to he memovedzinorder thatzthe :ties =may the pulled out, and new 1 cross ties ,prit fin :their 113187988. Itiis accordingly :a ;prime object -.of ourinizention to :provide :a simple and; relatively inexpensive machine which shall be adapted to travel on one :railonly (Qf the railroad itrank, and which shall include a digging emit adapted to operate -selectively, in a plurality of positions across the roadbed to strip t-he track-0f iballast.

More particularly, this invention ;is an improvement .on that disclosed -..our zpreviously :fileol application, Serial Number :619 996, filed @ctober Q3, 1945,, nowabandoneidn thatit providesgreater ,fiexi'bility ineoperation, and PI'QVidQSEfQI' zcleaning the upper surfaces of the ties :as {the :ballast being removed.

These and other ufeatures of :our :invention are illustrated .in the accompanying drawings, forming apartof this application, imwhich Fig. 1 is,a plan yiewnf'theapparatus withparts broken away at one end;

Elie. 2 is a side elevation thereof :and with the tie brush removed;

Big. 3 is ,-a sectional view taken along the .line .-I-H.III\of :Fig. l;

:3 Qlaims. (or. sr-noe) Figs. etc 8 inclusive are diagrammatic-views showing the apparatus in *various positions;

Fig; 9 is =a-diagrammatic -viewshowing theportions of :therailroa'd road bed from which i ballast may be removed by 221831118 of our =improved machine; and

Fig. 10 is a view in elevation showin the support fonoounterweightson the end of the machine.

Referring .now to the drawings for a better understanding :of =our inventiomzwe show in "Figs. land 2 a railroad bed With-cross ties i t andawith a single rail :Iil mounted 'on thecross ties, itb'eing assumed that the opposite*rail' l'ras been rernoved ina :relayingoperation. Our improved apparatus is shown mounted on the mail ll andcomprises longitudinal members crane 2i? joined together at their :ends by .meansof cross members l and 155. Tandem, double ifianged, supporting wheels if: and :it are journalled in Similar brackets t9 and :21 secured to the longitudinal members and eatendinedownwardlytherefrom. iittithe end of the frame are handles 22.2 and :for manual propulsion of the apparatus along 'the :rail.

i'Mounted on :the main iframe just described intermediate its ends, is a transverse frame'coinprised of parallel beams E tand'fit jcined together intermediate their :ends byicross rinembers "2'7 and -28. 'Eachof the 'transverse framez'beams is joined to themain frame,:assshown F'ig. I3=Of the firaW- ing bynneansrof upwardlyiextending-angle brackets :zennd 3 which are joined tofthellongitudin'al frame members !:2 and its and are connected "to the parallel :beams 0f "the transverse frame by means :of bd1ts132 and $313. nt t'ti and's'fi We show additional bolt holes in the parallel beams 24 and ".23 "whereby the iframei-may be shifted bodily to the Lleftfrorn1the position shown in 1 and 2 and secured to the mdin' frame as j ust described. Lateral :braces and L35 are scorn looted, in the position shown zinEigs. lzfifid 2 or" Ithe drawings, to'ftheparallel beams 2'4 and I25at39 and '31 and are connected to the end members l i and 1 5 of the mainframe-at wand Eol-t holes #15 are provided in :the parallel beams :24 and 226 (only one beingishowm to which ith'e :outer ends of "the braces .31 and 58 are connected when the transverseirame is shiftedcas iustidessribed. Secured totheitransversekfraineiisa liiitinglo'op ttwh'ereb-y the apparatus :may be zpickedzupzand handled by means-of a crane.

:Mounted eon one iBIId 'Of athe transverse frame, on onetside cfthezrail :ltl is-a powerumtiflfillustraite'd :as an internal :combustion engine. Also m'ounted'nn theitransverse iframe, in bearings 48 and 4;9,is:a-countershaft fi which is drivenifrom the power unit 41 by means of a belt 52 and pulleys 53 and 54. A second countershaft 56 is mounted on the transverse frame in

bearings

51 and 58 and is driven by means of a sprocket chain 56 and a relatively small sprocket wheel 6| mounted on the countershaft and a relatively large sprocket wheel 62 mounted on the countershaft 56. Multiple

V belt pulleys

63 and 64 are mounted on the ends of the countershaft' 56.

Mounted on the opposite end of the transverse frame from the power unit 41 and on the other side of the rail ll therefrom is a digging unit comprising a wheel 66 having digging members removably mounted thereon. The digging members 61, as shown in Fig. 2 comprise toothed metal plates. The wheel 66 is mounted on a shaft 68 which in turn is journalled in bearings 69 and H carried respectively by the

parallel beams

24 and 26. The shaft 68 has mounted thereon multiple V belt pulleys I2 and 13 by means of which the digging unit is driven from the countershaft 56 by means of belts 14 and 16. Mounted on one end of the shaft 68 is a rotary brush 11 which, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, overhangs one of the cross ties [0 while the digging unit 66 is positioned between a pair of other cross ties. The brush 1 serves to remove any ballast from the upper surfaces of the cross ties so that they will be in condition for an adzing machine to prepare the upper surface thereof to receive a tie plate 18. The brush 1! may be adjusted longitudinally of the shaft 68 to accommodate the spacing of the cross ties (0.

At 19 we show a roller mounted alongside the digging unit 66 which is adapted to rest on the rail I la when the rail is in place so that the machine may be moved from place to place when it is not in use. The roller, as shown in Fig. 1, is mounted on a pipe section 88 bent at the bottom to provide a horizontal portion 8| on which the roller 19 is mounted. A sleeve 82 secured to the beam 26 receives the upper end of the pipe section 86. The upper end of the pipe section 80 is provided with a plurality of holes 83 and the sleeve 84 is provided with a single hole for receiving an adjusting pin 85 by means of which the position of the rollers 19 may be varied. The roller 19 may also serve as a depth gauge when raised to the position shown in Fig. 2, to limit the depth to which the digging unit will remove the ballast. On the outer end of the transverse frame we provide

handles

86 and 88 by means of which the digging unit may be held in engagement with the ballast when in use. The handles 84 and 85 are mounted on

brackets

81 and 88 extending outwardly from the ends of the transverse frame. At 89 we show a support which is hinged at 9! to the bracket 88 and which serves to support the outer end of the unit when it is idle. When in use, support 89 folds upwardly out of the Way. In Fig. of the drawing we show a bracket 92 which extends outwardly from the end of the transverse frame adjacent the power unit 41 on which one or more weights 93 may be placed to counterbalance the digging unit 66.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 8 inclusive, we illustrate the manner of mounting and use of our improved apparatus when removing ballast from various positions across the road bed, particularly when relaying cross ties as well as rails. In

Fig. 4 of the drawing we show the transverse frame shifted from the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing so that the digging unit 66 is disposed over the center of the road bed and the power unit 41 is disposed beyond the outeroutlines of the road bed. In this position the digging unit displaces the ballast from the center of the track. In Fig. 5 of the drawing we show the power unit 41 and digging unit 56 disposed, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, with the digging unit 66 over the portion of the road bed from which the rail has been removed. In this position the digging unit 66 removes the ballast from that portion of the road bed beneath the position of the removed rail. In Fig. 6 of the drawing we show the transverse frame mounted on the main frame as in Fig. 4 but with the machine mounted on the opposite rail I la 50 that the digging unit 66 is in position to remove the ballast from between the outer ends of the ties I I. This operation may follow directly behind the replacing of the rail Ha shown in the right hand side of the drawing, or just ahead of the relaying of cross ties, as the case may be. In Fig. '7 of the drawing, the transverse frame is shown positioned as in Figs. 2 and 5 of the drawing but with the machine turned around so that the digging unit 56 is over the left hand rail H, as viewed in the drawing. This position is assumed after one side of the track has been relaid and the track stripped. The operations shown serve to strip the ballast from between the other ends of the cross ties II and for this purpose left hand rail ll, of course, is removed. In Fig. 8 of the drawing, we show the transverse frame positioned as in Figs. 4 and 6 of the drawing but with the machine turned around so as to strip the ballast from between the outer ends of the cross ties H.

In Fig. 9 of the drawing we show diagrammatically the pattern of ballast removal accomplished by the apparatus when positioned as shown in Figs. 4 to 8 of the drawing. It will be seen that there are left a plurality of small ridges at intervals across the road bed which are undisturbed so that there is maintained the original line, surface, and tie spacing of the track. Thus, when one of the cross ties II] is removed and a new cross tie is put in its place, the surface of the seat occupied by the old cross tie will remain the same and the ridges of ballast 90 remaining in the road bed serve to position the new cross tie in the exact place from which the old tie was taken.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have devised an improved ballast removing machine which is simple and sturdy of construction, which operates to eliminate a large amount of arduous manual labor in the relaying of rail and retimbering of railroad track, and by means of which the ballast may be stripped from a railroad bed quickly and efiiciently.

While we have shown our invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and we desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for removing ballast from between cross ties in a railroad track bed comprising a main frame having tandem supporting wheels adapted to travel on one rail only of the railroad track, a transverse frame, means to secure the transverse frame in a plurality of positions on the main frame, a rotary digging unit mounted on one end of the transverse frame in position to enter the spaces between the cross ties and remove ballast therefrom, a power unit on the other end of the transverse frame, means to transmit power from the power unit to the digging unit, manual means for holding the digging unit in engagement with the ballast to be removed, and a member adjustably secured to the transverse frame and to limit the depth to which the digging unit will enter between the ties.

2. In apparatus for removing ballast from between the ties of a railroad track bed, a main frame comprised of parallel beams, tandem flanged supporting wheels mounted between the beams and disposed to travel on one rail only of the track, a transverse frame comprised of parallel beams extending crosswise of the track over the main frame with one end overhanging one side of said rail and the other end overhanging the other side thereof, mounting brackets on the main frame, means for securing the transverse frame to the mounting brackets in a plurality of positions, a power unit mounted on one end of the frame, a rotary digging unit at the other end between the beams of the transverse frame and having digging members thereon adapted to enter the spaces between the ties to remove ballast therefrom and deposit the same at a side of the track bed, a shaft for the digging unit journalled in the transverse frame and extending outwardly therefrom, power transmission means from the power unit to the shaft, and a rotary brush on one end of the shaft disposed to remove ballast from the upper surfaces of the cross ties, and deposit it on the same side of the track bed on which the d'gging unit deposits ballast.

3. In apparatus for removing ballast from between the ties of a railroad track bed, a main frame comprised of parallel beams, tandem flanged supporting wheels, mounted between the beams and disposed to travel on one rail only of the track, a transverse frame comprised of parallel beams extending crosswise of the track over the main frame with one end overhanging one side of said rail and the other end overhanging the other side thereof, mounting brackets on the main frame, means for securing the transverse frame to the mounting brackets in a plurality of positions, a power unit mounted on one end of the transverse frame, a rotary digging unit at the other end between the beams of the transverse frame and having digging members thereon adapted to enter the spaces between the ties to remove ballast therefrom, a shaft for the digging unit journalled in the transverse frame and extending outwardly therefrom, power transmission means from the power unit to the shaft, an adjustable depending arm on the transverse frame alongside the digging unit, and a roller on the depending arm for engaging the other rail of the track when moving from place to place, and disposed when the apparatus is in operation to limit the depth of cut of the digging unit.

, DENNIS M. PRAYTOR.

KNOX KERSHAW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,798,783 Buettner et a1. Mar. 31, 1931 2,416,241 Stratton Feb. 18, 1947 2,463,499 Thornley Mar. 1, 1949