US2751854A

US2751854A - Construction of truck-driven railway cars

Info

Publication number: US2751854A
Application number: US238967A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lars C Pedersen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-07-27
Filing date: 1951-07-27
Publication date: 1956-06-26
Anticipated expiration: 1973-06-26

Description

June 26, 1956 1.. c. PEDERSEN CONSTRUCTION OF TRUCK-DRIVEN RAILWAY CARS Filed July 27, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

in: C P505255 June 26, 19 c. PEDERSEN CONSTRUCTION OF TRUCK-DRIVEN RAILWAY CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 27, 1951 INVENTOR.

l 44.; C. PFDFIPJJ'N r I x L -----1 June 26, 1956 c. PEDERSEN 2,751,854

CONSTRUCTION OF TRUCK-DRIVEN RAILWAY CARS Filed July 27, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. 44: 6. Aromas-4w United States Patent 9 CONSTRUCTION OF TRUCK-DRIVEN RAILWAY CARS Lars C. Peder-sen, Chicago, Iii.

Application July 27, 1951, Serial No. 233,967

3 Ciaims. (Cl. 1(l5159) My invention relates to improvements in the construction of railway cars.

My invention relates more particularly to the provision of a railway fiat car so constructed that a truck or trucktrailer may be driven on to the floor of the flat car and the railway car driven or propelled by an ingenious construction through which the truck motor transmits driving power to the railway car.

In connection with certain phases of commercial freight transportation it has become desirable to place truck-trailer combinations upon fiat freight cars and move the cars from one place to another upon the railway track systems. The usual equipment is a typical flat railway car upon which the wheels are blocked and the car is then moved about as part of a railway freight train. Upon arrival at its destination the blocks are removed, an inclined platform is placed at the end of the car and the truck trailer is driven off to deliver its load.

One disadvantage of this method is the delay caused by waiting for the train make-up as well as the extra switching and other handling necessary where the car is a part of a complete train.

I contemplate the construction of a railway car upon which a truck or truck-trailer may be driven, the front wheels blocked, the truck motor started and the driving wheels of the truck will drive rollers which, through a direct bevel gear transmission, drive the wheels 'of the railway car to move the same forward to its destination.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a flat railway car power transmission mechanism whereby the rotation of the wheels of a truck positioned on the car is transmitted to the car wheels to propel the car down the railway tracks.

A further object of the invention is to provide power transmission mechanism in a railway car adjustable to permit a drive from a truck having either single or double wheel drives.

Other objects and advantages of my improved construction will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, upon which- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view showing the truck trailer in position upon the flat car which I employ;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the body of the trailer being removed so that only the tires are visible;

Fig. 3 is similar plan view showing a changed position of the mechanism on the railway car where a single rather than a dual wheel truck is employed;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken generally on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, with parts broken in section to more clearly show other parts;

- Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the power transmission means which I employ, the housing of the same being broken into section.

In the embodiment of the invention which I have chosen to illustrate and describe the same, in Fig. 1 I have shown a flat car 10 of the usual type having the sets of track

engaging wheels

12, 14 and 16 mounted upon the

axles

18, 20 and 22, the sets of wheels riding on the railway track T. The freight car is provided at both ends with the usual couplers C so that they may be connected together to form part of a train when desired.

The freight car 10 which I have illustrated is preferably a flat car having the horizontal floor or supporting platform 24 and a pair of vertical side walls designated generally as 26 and 28. Each of the axles for the car wheels is provided with a pair of the usual journal boxes 3i) and 32 suitably mounted underneath the floor of the car.

As best shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the car platform 24 comprises a forward portion 34 having an enlarged opening 36 and a rear portion 38 having an elongated central opening 40. Within the opening 36 I mount a plurality of

elongated rollers

42, 44, 46 and 48, so spaced that when a motor driven vehicle, such as the truck trailer 52, is positioned at the end of the freight car, the front wheels 54 will come to rest against a skid or block 56 adjacent the front of the car, and the dual sets of

driving wheels

58 and 60 will rest upon the periphery of the rollers, the wheels 58 upon the

rollers

46 and 48, and the wheels 60 upon the

rollers

42 and 44.

The back wheels 62 of the truck trailer will rest upon the platform 38 adjacent the back end of the freight car.

The roller 48 has an axle 64 keyed thereto, the axle extending through a pair of

bearings

68 and 70 adjacent its ends and extending through the

side walls

26 and 28 of the car. A bevel gear '72 is secured to each end of the shaft 64, the bevel gear meshing with a pinion 74 mounted upon a shaft 76 supported by a bearing 78 in the housing 80. The shaft 76 carries a second pinion 82 at its lower end in mesh with a bevel gear 84 keyed to the end of the car wheel axle 22.

The roller 42 is provided with a similar axle 86 which extends through the side walls of the freight car in a similar manner and by means of similar bevel gears and pinions is in a direct driving relation to the car Wheel axle 20.

With this construction, when it is desired ,to move a loaded truck trailer from a point of departure such as the railroad yards in one city to a destination in the railroad yards or on a switch track in some other city, after the truck trailer, including the truck 51, has been placed upon the flat car, as shown in Fig. l, the motor of the truck is started, the gears are shifted, and the

wheels

58 and 60 start rotating as though the truck were being driven down the highway. By frictional contact of the tires with the four sets of

rollers

42, 44, 46 and 48, the rollers are rotated, the

rollers

42 and 48 transmitting the rotation down through the bevel and pinion gears to the car wheel axles 2t) and 22. In this manner the railway car is started and may be moved forward on the track to its destination, unloaded, and either driven ofl? the freight car to be reloaded, or it may be used to transport or move the empty freight car to another destination.

In the construction of flat car which I have provided, 1 have also arranged for the reception of a single drive truck. Thus, for example, as shown in Fig. 4, the truck may be provided with single sets of front wheels 54 and a single set of driving wheels 58. When this type of truck is to be utilized on the freight car, the two

idler rollers

44 and 46 may be removed by removing the bearings 90 and 92 located at each end of the

axles

94 and 96. The bearings are normally fastened in place in a parallel walled guide 1% in the side walls of the freight car, and the removal or replacement of the rollers is thus a comparatively simple matter. After these idler rollers have been removed, the roller 42 and its associated power transmission unit, the car wheels 14 and car axle 20 are moved forward in the guide 100 and an additional guide 102 so that'the roller 42 is positioned in the same location the roller 46 previously occupied. By placing removable planking 1G4 across the opening 36, the truck can be driven upon the freight car with the front wheels against the skids 56.

- Means for moving the unit forward to this position may include a generally U-shaped bracket 110 which has a pair of

arms

112 and 114 that extend forward with journals 1'16'through which the axle 20 extends. A rotatable screw member 113 is connected to the frame 110 and is threaded through a cross-brace 126 of the freight car. -A hand-wheel 122 is connected to the end for rotating the screw member. Thus, when the hand wheel 122 is rotated, the frame 110 will be moved forward at the end of the screw member, the bearings for the car wheel axle 20 being guided in the slot 102 and the bearings forthe axle 86 being guided in the slot 100. When the roller and car wheels are moved forward to the position shown in Fig. 4, they will be resting in the ends of the guide slots and be in the same position that the previous idler roller .46 occupied with respect to the truck wheels. The power transmission units 80 may be enclosed, as shown, and packed with grease or other lubricant so that the pinion'and bevel gears will be lubricated at all times. .From the foregoing exemplification of the general embodiment of the invention, it can be seen that the principal objective is to provide a construction for the transmission of the power from the truck trailer wheels to the .railway car wheels that are on the rails. This is done by revolving the rollers upon which the truck-driven wheels rest while the truck is positioned on the railway car.

After the truck has been driven on the car, there is nothing more to do than to block the front wheels of the truck, release the brakes on the railway car, start the truck and drive along the tracks as though you were driving' down the highway. The rollers through which the power is applied to move the car forward will also act to check the speed of the car in the same manner when the truck brakes are applied, bringing the railway car to a full stop as easily as if the brakes were applied directly to the car wheels.

. The pinion and bevel gears previously described at each end of the two

rollers

42 and 48 transmit the power to the railway cars for driving wheels. Four rollers are used, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when a double drive or dual axled truck is used. When a single driving .axle truckis used, the two center rollers are removed, the seconddriving roller and its associated car axle and wheels are moved forward to the proper position, and 'all'four front wheels of the railway car will again be directly engaged both for driving and braking purposes. The second car wheel axle and associated roller are easily moved forward by rotating the threaded rod 118 by means of the hand wheel 122.

While in the construction shown the deck or platform .of the freight car is above the level of the railway car wheels, it can be seen that by variation in design and construction the height may be considerably lowered if desired. Since there are no springs on this type of railway fiat car, the trailer trucks air-filled tires serve to'form a cushion not only for the load in the truck trailer itself, but'also for the freight car in that they will absorb any and all. vibration or bumps which are received.

From the above and foregoing description it can be seen that I have provided a system of transportation whereby the power source of the truck upon the flat car is moved directly to move the car about. This will result in easier and more efiicient handling of loads than was previously possible where a truck was loaded on a flat car and it was necessary to wait for switch engines and for other reasons which are common in the ordinary and usual methods of handling freight cars.

I contemplate that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown and I do not wish to be limited in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination of a truck-trailer having dual sets of driving wheels and a railway car having wheels to run on rails, a platform on said railway car to support said truck-trailer, two pairs of sets of spaced elongated rollers mounted on said car cross-wise of the same, the driving wheels of the truck-trailer resting on the periphery of each pair of said sets of rollers medially therebetween, and driving means between one set of each pair of sets of said rollers and said car wheels to transmit forward rotary movement of the driving wheels of said trucktrailer to revolve said rollers tomove said railway car forward on the rails, said driving means including a bevel gear and pinion connection between the axles of each of said sets of rollers and the axles of said railway car wheels, each pair of sets of rollers including one set of driving and one set of idler rollers, both said sets of idler rollers removable when a single axle truck is positioned on the freight car, and means for moving one of said sets of driving rollers forward adjacent the other set of driving rollers, said means including brackets which support said set of driving rollers and a screw-threaded rod member for moving said brackets and rollers in a back and forth manner.

2. The combination of a truck-trailer having dual sets of driving wheels and a railway car having wheels to run on rails, a platform on said railway car to support said truck-trailer, two pairs of sets of spaced rollers mounted on said car cross-wise of the same, the driving wheels of the truck-trailer resting on the periphery of each pair of said sets of rollers medially therebetween, and driving means between one set of each pair of sets of said rollers and said car wheels to transmit rotary movement of the driving wheels of said truck-trailer to revolve said rollers to move said railway car forward on the rails, each pair of sets of rollers including one set of driving and one set of idler rollers, both said sets of idler rollers removable when a single axle truck is positioned on the freight car, and means for moving one of said sets of driving rollers forward adjacent the other set of driving rollers, said means including brackets which support said set of driving rollersand a screw-threaded rod member for moving said brackets and rollers in a back and forth manner.

3. The combination of a truck-trailer having dual sets of driving wheels and a railway car having wheels to run on rails, a platform on said railway car to support said truck-trailer, said platform having side walls, two pairs of sets of spaced elongated rollers mounted on said car cross-wise of the same, the driving wheels of the truck-trailer resting on the periphery of each pair of said'set's of rollers medially therebetween, and driving means between one set of each pair of sets of said rollers and said car wheels to transmit forward rotary movement of the driving wheels of said truck-trailer to revolve said rollers to move said railway car forward on the rails, said driving means including a bevel gear and pinion connection between the axles of each of said sets of rollers and the'axles of said railway car wheels, each pair of sets .of rollers including one set of driving and one set of idler rollers, both said sets of idler rollers removable when a single axle truck is positioned on the freight car, and means for moving one of said sets of driving rollers forward adjacent the other set of driving rollers, said means including brackets which support said set of driving rollers and a screw-threaded rod member for moving said brackets and rollers in a back and forth manner, parallel guides in the sidewalls of said car, said brackets movable in said guides.

' (References on foliowing page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED I STATES PATENTS Getchell Aug. 23, 1887 Altorfer Oct. 26, 1915 Tibbler et a1 Dec. 21, 1915 Nickels Jan. 23, 1917 Clayton Oct. 6, 1925 6 Exon Aug. 5, 1930 Fageol Sept. 27, 1932 Gustafson May 8, 1934 Miller July 17, 1934 Klima et a1 Aug. 29, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS France Sept. 22, 1933