US2855862A

US2855862A - Portable multiple tamper unit

Info

Publication number: US2855862A
Application number: US441023A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick H Kind
Original assignee: RACINE HYDRAULICS AND MACHINERY Inc
Current assignee: RACINE HYDRAULICS AND MACHINERY Inc
Priority date: 1954-07-02
Filing date: 1954-07-02
Publication date: 1958-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 1975-10-14

Description

Oct. 14,' 1958 F. H.KIND

PORTABLE MULTIPLE TAMPER UNIT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2. 1954 NEW /N VENTOE FEEDER/CK h. K/ND.

- ATTORNEYS Oct. 14, 1958 F. H. KIND PORTABLE MULTIRLE TAMPER UNIT I 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July2. 1954 mow on w //v YEN TOQ FQEDE/Q/CK n K/ND.

' QTTOQA/EYS Oct. 14, 1958 F. H. KIND 2,855,862

PORTABLE MULTIPLE TAMPER UNIT Filed July 2. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FEEDER/CK h. KIND.

Arm/2N5 Y5 Oct. 14, 1958 F.- H. KIND PORTABLE MULTIPLE TAMPER UNIT Filedjuly 2. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS Ot.' 14, 1958 F. H. KIND 2,355,352

' PORTABLE MULTIPLE 'TAMPER UNIT iled July 2. 1954 5v Sheets-Sheet 5' I62 /NVEN 7-0/2 1 17.13 FREDERICK K/ND.

A T To ENE Y5 United States Patent() PORTABLE MULTIPLE TAMPER UNIT Frederick H. Kind, Racine, .Wis., assignor. to Racine Hydraulics & Machinery, Inc., a corporation of Wisconsul Appiication'Juiy 2, 1954,'Seria1 No. 441,023

19 Claims. 7 c1. 104-12 Thisinvention relates ;to a railway .tracktamperfor tamping ballast around and under a rail supportingtie and, more particularly, a portable multiple tamper unit for tamping simultaneously the four separate areas formed by the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie.

An object of this invention is to provide a-newiand improved portable multiple tamper unit.

Another object ofthe invention is to provideta multiple tamper unit which is of compact construction and which may be operated by a single operator from a control station to control the vertical and/tilting movements *Patented Oct. 14, 1958 manually operable means 'for controlling said lastmentioned means.

A further object-of the invention is to'provide=a new and improved portable multiple tamper unit having a carriage provided with rail engaging "wheels, avert-ical post upstanding from the carriage, -a saddlestrueture slidably mounted on said post andhavinga pair of diverging arms extending generally parallel to a railsupporting tie,the ends of said arms forming pivot blocks provided with outwardly facing vertical rbearing faces, *a tamper carrier positioned againsteaeh of 'the 'bear'ing "faces and pivotally mounted to-thepivot'block f orrot ation about an axis generallynormal to tbe'tieythere being a pair of tamper carriers mounted on each'pivot block on'its-opposite bearing "faces, means-forfinterconnesting the tamper carriers on a pivot block for'rotation together in planes parallel to a tie, means pivotally mounting a tamper'to its tamper carrier including a ver- '-tically-space'd pair oflinks having their inner ends pivotally connected to the tamper carrierandytheir outer ends'pivotally connected to'the tamper, saidlinks-being of the tampers as well as the lateral positioning of the tampers along the length of a tie to vary'the point of engagement of the tampers with the ballast.

A further object of the inventionis to provide amultiplc tamper unit having a vcarriage mounted for movement along a track which'supports a plurality oftampers arranged to tamp the areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie and whereinthe tampers are'mounted for vertical movement with respect to the carriage between an upper position and a lowerposition ,inengagement with ballast disposed aroundithe tie, said tampers being mounted for automatic'tilting movement when they have reached their lower position to :direct the ballast underneath the tie and .also being mounted .for movement toward and away from each:other.-in a direction parallel to a tie therebeneath to cause :contact vment to direct ballast underneath thetie wherein the tampers located on a side ofthetie and .-on 'opposite sides of a rail may betadjusted toward and away from each other to vary the distance from the rail at which the tampers engage the ballast.

Another object of the invention is to provide atmultiple tamper wherein the tampers may be adjusted asxa -unit about a vertical axis to line up the tampers with-respect to a tie which is out of its normal perpendicularrelationship to a rail.

Another object of this invention "is to provide aportable multiple tamper unit having a carriage mounted for movement along the rails of a railway track, a vertical post upstanding from the carriage, a saddle structure slidably mounted on said vertical post, a-plurality of tampers positioned to' tamp ballast at the fourareas formed by a rail and its supporting tie pivotally: mounted on said saddle structure for movement'between an upper position and a lower position in engagement ,withballast disposed around a tie, means for causing raising and lowering movement of the saddle structure and vtilting movement of the tampers with respect to the saddle structure after the saddle structure has .reachedits lower position to compact ballast around and under a tie and .movement of the -tamper-supporting links-responsive to the: saddle structure reaching its lowermostposition'in- :of adifierent length to cause tilting of the-tampergas the links arepivote'd, manually'operable'meansforlowering Y the saddle structure to its lower 'position to A drive the tampers into the ballast, means -responsive'to the saddle structure reaching its lower position'tohold the saddle structurevin its lower position'and-causemovement of the tamper supporting links to tilt the'tampers to drivetheballast down and-under 'the tie,-and manually operable means connected to the-tamper carriers on one'side of the saddle structure "forrotatingsaid tamper-carriers in opposite directions-along with their interconnected tamper carriers to vary the spacing of the tampers along the length of 'the-tie.

..An0ther object of the invention is to prov-ide'a portable multiple tamper unit as defined in the-preceding paragraph wherein the manually operable means 'for raising-and lowering the saddle structure includes j-a hy- -hav1ng':1tsp1ston rod connectedto thesaddle structure draulic cylinder disposed within the vertical post and and a manually operable control valve located :at" a control station for directing fluid to thecylinder to raise the saddle structure and for exhausting fluid from the cylinder 'to permit lowering ofthe saddle structure ,by its weight and wherein the means 'forcausingpivotal cludes a collar secured to the vertical'post and carrying -a-valve in a position to betcontacte d'and shifted by the saddle structure whe'n it reaches itslower position forsrcausing'fiuid to pass into a cylinder'associated with each set of tamper-supporting links to pivot the links 'downwardlyand cause tiltingof the tampers.

Another, object'of the invention is to provide amultiple .tamperW-having a plurality of' tampers *mounted 'on a .car-

riage for-vertical raising and lowering movement'as'well as pivoting'movement to tilt the tampers 'to compact ballast under atie andwherein-the tilting'of the tampers commences automatically subsequent to the lowering'of the-tampers'into "theballast'and to a positionnear the bottom of the tie including mechanism for determining thezlowerposition'ofthe tampers and commencement "ofitheir tilting movement adjustable to compensate for 'various heights of track comprising 'a' collar member adjustable along the length of a vertical post along which thextamper supportingstructure slides, said'collarbeing adjustable on said vertical post and having means engageablezby the tamper-supporting structureto terminate the downward movement of the tampers and initiate "the tilting movement thereof.

Another, object of the invention is toprovide a multiple tamper for tamping the four areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie and wherein the disposition of the tampers with respect to the rail may be varied when an out-of-line tie is encountered including,

a carriage disposed above the rail, a vertical post upstanding from and rotatably mounted on the carriage, a plurality of tampers pivotally mounted to a saddle structure which is slidable vertically on the post to tamp the four areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie, a handle member pivotally connected to the base of the vertical post and having its other end extended upwardly adjacent to a control station for the multiple tamper unit, and means on the handle member and carriage for securing the handle member when the vertical post is in the desired rotative position, the construction and arrangement being such that the handle member may be released from its securing means to permit force applied thereto to rotate the vertical post to the desired degree and the handle member may then be secured to hold the vertical post in its rotative adjusted gether with other ancillary advantages, are attained by the construction and arrangement shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation of the portable multiple tamper unit showing the saddle in its upper position and the tampers in their substantially vertical untilted position;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view in elevation similar to Fig. 1 but showing the saddle in its lower position and the tampers partially tilted and also showing the fully tilted position of a tamper in broken line;

Fig. 4 is an end view in elevation looking at the righthand end of Fig. l with the tampers positioned on the far side of the tie positioned somewhat outwardly of their actual position to render them visible in this figure;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear view in elevation of the lower end of the vertical post and its associated structure;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken along the line 6-6 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary radius diagonal view in elevation taken from the right-hand end of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View of the multiple tamper structure and the fluid circuit components for operating the structure; and,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken generally along the line 99 in Fig. 1.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an illustrative embodiment of the invention with the understanding the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The portable multiple tamper unit, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, has a carriage indicated generally at 1 which is provided with wheels 2 for rolling engagement with a rail 3. In order to support the multiple tamper unit in an upright position, an outrigger arm 4 extends laterally from the carriage 1 and has a roller 5 in engagement with the other rail 6. A counterbalancing weight *7 and a handle 8 are connected by a bar 9 to the outrigger arm 4. As in conventional railway track construction, the spaced parallel rails 3 and 6 rest on spaced parallel ties 10 extending normal to the rails. The ties are generally imbedded for a major portion of their depth in ballast 11 4 which may be in the form of rock chips or other suitable material.

The carriage 1 is provided at its ends with

frames

15 and 16 which are pivotally mounted to the carriage and which support

tires

17 and 18 which may be lowered into engagement with the road bed and locked to permit rolling of the multiple tamper unit away from the tracks when desired by raising the unit off the tracks through upward force applied to the handle 8.

The carriage 1 supports a source of power, which may be in the form of a gasoline engine 20, which drives a rotary pump indicated generally at 21 to provide a source of fluid under pressure for reciprocating the tampers and for operating the various movable parts hereinafter described. The fluid circuit for reciprocating the tampers is completely independent of the fluid circuit for operating the movable parts of the tamper unit. The pump shaft 22 is connected by a pulley and belt arrangement to a shaft 23 of a rotary valve 24. The connections from the pump 21 and the rotary valve 24 will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

A hollow vertical post 3% is rotatably mounted on the carriage 1 by means shown particularly in Figs. 5 and 6. The carriage 1 has a box frame member 31 to which is secured a vertical hollow cylindrical bearing member 32 upon which the post 34} is mounted. This bearing member has upper and lower spacer sleeves 33 and 3d which space the vertical post 30 from the bearing member 32 and which permit rotation of the vertical post with respect to the bearing member. A plate 35 is secured to the outer periphery of the base of the vertical post 30 and has a handle member 36 secured thereto by a pivot pin 37. The handle member extends upwardly to a position adjacent the control station for the machine. The handle member 36 has a downwardly extending plate 33 which may engage in a selected notch or groove provided in a plate 39 secured to the frame 31 of the carriage 1- to hold the vertical post in a selected rotative position. It will thus be seen that the vertical post 30 may be adjusted about a vertical axis to adjust the mechanism when an out-of-line tie is encountered.

A hydraulic cylinder 49 is mounted within the hollow bearing member 32 and has an open end 411 which communicates with a closed recess 42 in the bottom of the bearing member having a fluid port 43. A piston 14 is slidably mounted within the cylinder and has an upwardly-extending piston rod 45 which at its upper end is connected to a cross pin 46.

A saddle structure indicated generally at 59 is sliciably mounted on the vertical post 39. The saddle structure comprises a cylindrical sleeve member 51 and a pair of oppositely extending arms 52 and 53 which lie in a plane generally parallel to a tie positioned therebeneath. The ends of the arms 52 and 53 form pivot blocks and 55', respectively, each of which is provided with oppositely facing flat bearing faces which are located at points above and to the sides of the rail 3 therebeneath.

The saddle St) is connected to the upper end of the piston rod 45 by the cross pin 46 which extends through the saddle sleeve 51. The vertical post is provided with a slot which permits vertical movement of the cross pin 46 with respect to the post. The cross pin 46 keys the saddle 50 and vertical post 36 for rotation together. When the multiple tamper is not in use, a latch 61 pivoted on the cross pin 46 may be moved into engagement with a pin 62 on top of the vertical post to maintain the saddle structure it) in an elevated position.

A tamper carrier is mounted against each bearing face of each of the pivot blocks 54 and 55. The tamper carriers 63 and 64 are pivotally mounted on the pivot block 54 by means of a pin 65 and are interconnected for rotation together on their pivot pin 65 by a connection 66. The tamper carriers mounted on the other pivot block 55 are positioned similarly to tamper carriers 63 'a-ndv64 and taresimilariintconstructionto tamper carriers .'63 .-an'd" 64 andoneofv these isshown at. 70 (Figs. 4 and.8) sWhich-corresponds -;to tamper carrier 63. The other -tamper.:carrier associated with carrier 70 corresponds to carrier 64.

Eachof .thetamper carriersihas a tamper 71 pivotally "mounted thereto toform a total of four tampers which iarerarrangedtto tamp ballast at the four-areas formed by the intersection of the rail 3 and its supportingtie 10. 'The mounting of'a tamper 71 to its tamper carrier is the .same' for-a1lfour' tampers and, thus, a description of one ofithe-mounti'ng arrangements is believed to be sufficient. :The tamper carrier 63-isprovided at its lower end with laterally-spaced lower ears 72 and laterally-spaced upper'ears 73 which are bent outwardly away from the -.carria'ge1-and which have pivoted thereto a lower link 74 and an upper link-75, respectively. The

links

74 and 75. are, pivotally

connectedito ears

76 and 77 formed on arcasing-78 of the tamper 71. The ears 72 and'73'formed on the. tamper carrier 63 are disposed inan approximately vertical-relationship and the, upper link 75 is slightly longer than the lower link 74 so that movement of the links from near their upper position, as shown in Fig. 3, to'theirlowerposition causes tilting of the tamper 71 through and beyond the broken line positionshown'in )Fig. 3. Each of the'tampers 71 is adapted to carry a tool-80 which, as is evident in Fig.3, moves to aslightly -lower position when the

links

74 and 75 are pivoted and is caused to contact the ballast at a more horizontal-angle to :apply force in a "direction to compact the ballast .beneaththe tie'10. It will be seen that each'tamper 71 istilted in a plane which is generally radial of the intersection between the rail tie because of the manner in

whichlink cars

72 and 73 are bent outwardly.

:To compensate for wide or narrow ties it is possible to .vary the point at which'the tip of the tool 80 engages the -:ballast by adjusting the'rotative position of a pivot pin :79 which-connects the end of the lower-link 74' tothe lower ear 72,on the tamper carrier 63. The pin 79-is provided withan eccentric surface 79a andrnay be rotated by a knurled hand wheel 79b fixed to the pin 79 "when released formovement by backing offa nm We .t-hreaded on the end of the pin 79 (Fig. 2).

Means are provided for pivoting

thelinks

74 and 75 which comprises a hydraulic piston and cylinder 31 hav- 'ingits casingpivoted to the upper end of-the tamper carrier 63 :bya pin 82 and having its piston rod 83 con- .'nected .to approximately the mid-point of theupper link -75 by' apin 84. The lower end of the cylinder; 81 is connected-to .ahydraulic terminal 85 by a line 86 andthe upper end of the cylinder is connected to the hydraulic terminal'85 by a line'87. A hydraulic terminal 85 isrprovided on each side of the saddle 54) on the arms 52 and .53. These hydraulic terminals are interconnected 'by lines 90 and 91 (Fig. 8) and the right-hand terminal as shownin Figs. 4 and 7 is connected to the control valve system by

lines

92 and 93.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the saddle structure .50 mounts a total of four tamper carriers (Fig. 4),. two of which are located on one side of. the tie and .the other two located on the other side of the tie and that .the tamper carriers are grouped into interconnected pairs, thetwo tamper carriers on one side of the rail 3 being .interconnected -for simultaneous rotational movement aboutathe pivot pin 65. This rotational movement causes theposition of the tamper tools 80 to be varied in distance .from the rail 3- in a direction along the length of the tie 10. The simultaneousmovement of the four tamper carriers is'accomplished by means of a single hydraulic piston and cylinder 100 which is sec-uredto thesaddle sleeve 51 in a vertical-position and which-has a downwardly-extendingapiston rod101- provided with apin 102 whichv engages in slots provided in the ends of arms 103 andt104of-bell'crankswhich are pivoted on -the saddle valve, 24.

sleeve-Swat 105 and106, respectively. The other arms 107 "and '108,-respectively,' of the bell cranks are'con- 'nected by connecting

links

109 and 110 to the tamper tampertools 80 into engagement with the ballast at points closely adjacent the rail 3. It is often desired to successively move the tools'80 out along the length of the'tie 10 a short distance to compact ballast in toward the point previously tamped. Thus, when the tamper tools are out of engagement with the ballast, fluid may be directed into the underside of hydraulic cylinder 100 through'hose and cause raising of the-piston rod 101 which pivots the bell cranks to move their arms'107 and 1418 toward each other and cause rotation of'tamper carrier 63' in a clockwise direction'as shown'in Fig. 4 and counterclockwise rotation of tamper carrier 70. This will also cause movement of the tamper carriers associated with tamper carriers 63 and 70 on their respective pivot blocks. The amount-'ofmovement maybe controlled by a control valve system described more fully hereinafter. After the movement is completed .the tamper tools '80 may again be lowered'into the ballast'll.

As described previously, the saddle structure 50 may be held in an upper position by the'latch 61 anditris also; possible to hold each of the tampers'71 in its .uppermost'position with respect'to its associated tamper: carrier The construction of the tampers 71 form no part of thepresent invention and, thus, a brief description thereof is believed suflioient. As indicated previously, each of the tampers has a casing 78 and holds a tamping toolStl.

Mounted within eachof thecasings 78, as shown in Fig.

8, is aipiston which contacts a hammer 131 which engages the top of the tool 80. Thehammerand piston are returnedbya spring 132. Fluid'issupplied to the top of the piston" through a. pair of

hoses

133 and 134 which are connected to .a four-way pilot operated valve indicated generally at-135'(Figs. land 3).

'Fluid is supplied from the pump 21 through'a line'140 to a hydraulic accumulator 141 which has its outlet connected to the .inlet of the four-way pilot operated valve 135. The exhaust outlet of 'the four-way pilot operated 'valve 135 is connected to tank by a line 142. The fourway valve maybe spring-urged to one position and'is shifted to its other position against the'urging ofthe spring by fluid supplied through line 145 which connects through lines 146 and 147 to the rotary valve 24. The

During the exhaust of fluid from the tamper casing, the

spring 132-acts to return the hammer131 and the piston '130 to 'its'upper portion. Thus, the tamper tools 80 are impacted at a rate determined by the speed of the rotary The foregoing hydraulic circuit except-for the'pump which forms a source of fluid pressure is completely independent of the hydraulic system for causing movement of the various parts of the multiple tamper unit. v TheFhydraulic system for operating'the variousme- .chanicalzparts of the multiple tamper-unit is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 8 and includes a valve panel indicated generally at 150 which is mounted on a framework 151 upstanding from one end of the carriage 1. The

valves

155, 156 and 157 are mounted on the panel and a valve 158 is mounted adjacent the panel. The valve panel 150 has a fluid inlet 168 which communicates with the pressure passage 161 in the valve panel and has an outlet 162 which connects a pair of

drain passages

163 and 164 to tank. The inlet 160 is connected to the pressure side of pump 21 by lines 168a, 1601; and 1690. The valve 155 has an outlet 167 connected by a line 168 to a port 169 at one end of the valve 156. The valve 155 has another outlet 170 connected by a line 171 to the port 43 at the bottom of the cylinder 41 and a branch line 172 connected to a cylinder 173 having a piston and piston rod 174 engageable with a latch 175 which is pivoted on an adjustable collar 176 (Figs. 1, S, 6 and 8) by a pin 177. The latch is urged into latching position by a spring 178 and cooperates with a latch member 180 carried on the saddle sleeve 51 when the saddle structure 56 is in its lower position to hold the saddle structure in its down position.

The valve 156 has a port 185 connected by a line 186 to a port 187 in valve 158. The valve 157 has a port 1911 connected by the line 121 to the top of the tamper carrier pivoting cylinder 108. The valve 157 also has a port 191 connected by the line 120 to the bottom of the tamper carrier pivoting cylinder 100.

The valve 158 has an inlet connected by a line 201 to the line 160a leading from the outlet of pump 21. Valve 158 also has a drain port 202 and a port 203 connected by the line 93 to one of the hydraulic distributors 85. The other inlet of the hydraulic distributor 85 is connected by the line 92 and a line 206 to the line 186 which communicates with the port 185 in the valve 156.

The lines 160a and 1611b leading fromthe outlet of pump 21 connect with a port 207 of a valve 208 which is mounted on the collar 176. Another port 209 in the valve 208 is connected by a line 210 to a port 211 in the valve 156.

The valve 155 has a valve member 212 which is manually operable by a handle 213 (Fig. 4) to assume either an extreme left-hand or right-hand position, looking at Fig. 8, and is spring-urged to return to a normal neutral position as shown in Fig. 8. This is accomplished by an extension 213 of the valve member which carries at one end a collar 214 secured thereto and also a collar 215 slidably mounted thereon. A spring 216 normally urges the

collars

214 and 215 apart to cause the valve member 212 to assume its neutral position. The valve member 212 may be shifted to the left causing compression of the spring 216 by collar 214 or may be shifted to the right from a neutral position to cause compression of the spring 216 by the collar 215 which is carried to the right by a shoulder 217 on the valve member 212.

With the valve member 212 in the neutral position, fluid under pressure in the passage 161 passes through the bore of valve 155 through outlet 167 and line 168 to port 169 of valve 156. This fluid is directed against a disc 22%) slidably mounted in a bore 221 in the body of valve 156. The disc 228 contacts a valve member 222 to maintain the valve member in its right-hand position whereby the port 185 in valve 156 is connected through the valve bore to the drain passage 164 in the valve panel 150. This connects the line 186 leading from port 187 in valve 158 to tank and it also, through

lines

92 and 206, connects the upper ends of the tamper pivoting cylinders 81 to tank.

The valve 158 is provided with a recess 225 which has a ball check 226 fitted to block a passage 227 which connects the port 280 with the recess 225 in the body of valve 158, the recess 225 communicating with the port 7 283. The line 281 delivers fluid from the pump 21 to the port 2011 which unseats the ball check 226 and permits fluid to pass through outlet 203. and line 93 to the hy- 8 draulic distributor 85. The fluid passed to the hydraulic distributors 85 through line 93 and line 91 is directed therefrom by the lines 86 to the bottom of the tamper pivoting piston and cylinders 81 and holds the tamper-supporting links 74 and in their upper position.

The valve 158 has a piston 230 slidable in a bore 231 Which acts through a piston rod 232 to lift the ball check 226 when fluid under pressure enters the port 187 through the line 186.

With the valve member 212 in neutral position, the port 171 of valve 155 is blocked by a land 235 on the valve member 212 to block line 171 to lock the fluid in the bottom of the saddle raising cylinder 41 and in the cylinder 173 forming a part of the saddle latch 175.

With the valve member 222 of valve 156 held in the position shown in Fig. 8 by disc 220, the port 185 of the valve 156 is connected to the drain passage 164 through the bore of the valve 156 so that the line 186 connects port 187 of valve 158 to tank and also connects the lines 92 and 2156 running to the hydraulic distributors to tank so that the upper sides of the tamper pivoting cylinders 81 drain through lines 87 connected to the hydraulic distributors 85.

It will thus be seen that in the starting position of the mechanism, the saddle structure 51 will be in its upper position on the vertical post 38 and the

tamper pivoting links

74 and 75 will be held in their upper position by pressure applied to the undersides of the pistons in the tamper pivoting cylinders 81.

The multiple tamper unit will be oriented with respect to a tie that is to have ballast tampe-d thereunder by rotatively positioning the vertical post 31) and with the vertical post 30 disposed approximately above the tie 10 which arranges the four tampers 71 and their tools 80 in proper position to tamp the four areas formed by the intersection of the rail 3 with its supporting tie 10. When this is done and the latch 61 has been moved from engagement with the pin 62 on the top of the vertical post 30 to permit downward movement of the saddle structure 50 and the latch plate associated with each of the tampers 71 is released from its pin 127 so that the tampers may pivot on their respective tamper carriers, the valve member 212 may be moved by handle 213 to the left as shown in Fig. 8 to its saddle down position.

With the valve member 212 in its left-hand position, a land 236 on the valve member 212 is shifted to the left to connect the port 167 in valve with the drain passage 163. This connects the recess 221 in valve 156 to tank through line 168 and permits shifting of the cylindrical disc 22!) to its left-hand position under the urging of a spring 237 surrounding the valve member 222. The land 235 on the valve member 212 having been shifted to the left permits the port 1711 to communicate with the drain passage 164 which connects the bottom of the saddle raising cylinder 41 and the cylinder 173 of the saddle latch structure to tank through the

lines

171 and 172. This permits downward movement of the saddle structure 50 to occur due to its weight. As the saddle is descending, the valve member 222 has not changed position since the spring 237 acting between the cylindrical disc 220 and a land 240 on valve member 222 holds the valve member 222 in its right-hand position. Because the valve member 222 has not shifted, there is no change in the hydraulic connections to the tamper pivoting cylinders 81 so that the tamper links 74 and 75 remain in their upper position.

As the base of the saddle sleeve 51 reaches a position adjacent the collar 17 6, the latch member 180 is engaged by the latch under the urging of the spring 178 to latch the saddle structure in its down position. The latch 175 is permitted to move because the cylinder 173 is connected to tank through the line 172. Substantially simultaneously with the latching of the saddle structure 50, a threaded adjustable actuating member 241 on the saddle sleeve 51 engages plunger 242 slidably mounted in the valve 208 to oweraball ch ck 243- again z h ction: f a. sp ng This causes fluid from the pump 213entering the-valve2ll8 through port; 207 toexhaust therefrom through port 209,

and-line 210 and enter port 211 in the valve 156. This fluid causes a cylindrical disc 245 in the valve 156to shift tothe left, as viewedin Fig. 8, to shift the valve member 222 to. the left compressing spring 237. The valve member 222moves to a position wherein its left-hand end again engages the cylindrical disc 220. which has previously moved to its left-hand position since line 168 is connected to tank. With the valve member 222 shifted to its lefthand position, a land.246 on the valve member 222 blocks the connection of the port 185 to-the drain passage 164 and'a land 247 on the valve member 222 permits communication between the port 185 and the pressure fluid passage 161. This causes fluid under pressure to flow through line 186, line 206, and line=92to the hydraulic distributors 85- andthen through the hoses 87 and hose 90 to the top of the tamper pivoting cylinders 81v andagainst the upper side of the pistons mounted in the cylinders 81. Fluid under pressure also enters valve 158 throug'hline 186 and port 187 to raise the piston230 and its rod 232 to raise the ball check 226. This connects ports 200 'and'203 in valve 158 andthe line 93 running to one of the hydraulic distributors 85 to line 201 connected 'to the pump '21. Thus, fluid under pump pressure is connected to both ends of the tamper pivoting cylinders 81. Due to the larger area'of'theupper side of the pistons within the cylinders 81, the piston rods-83 are moved downwardly to pivot the links-74 and 75'to tilt and further lower the tampers 71 and direct-the force applied by the-tamper tools 80 in a direction under the -tie 10; The fluid exhausted from the lower ends of cylinders 81 may pass through valve 158 because the ball check 226 is heldin non-'blocking-position.

The foregoing description assumes that the operator has maintained the valve-member 212'in its saddle down position. If it is desired to position the saddle structure 50 in its lower down position without immediate pivoting ofthe tamper-supportng links 74and 75, the valve member 212 may be shifted to its neutral position when the saddle structure-has reached its lower position. If this is done, the port 167 of the valve 155 will be again 'connected to pressure passage 161 andthe fluid will pass through line 168-and enter recess 221 in the valve 156. Because of the differential area between the

cylindrical discs

220 and 245 of valve 156, the valve member 222 is prevented from moving to its left-hand position Fig. 8) upon operation of the valve 208 which directs fluid through port 211 against cylindrical disc 245. As described previously, this movement would occur if the valve member 212 were still in its saddle down position. Since the valve member 222 isnotshifted, theport 185 of the valve 156 would remain connected to the drain passage 164'as it is when the saddle structure 50 is lowering and the, hydraulic connections to the tamper pivoting cylinders 81 would not change when the actuating member 241 enga es the plunger 242 of valve 208.

With the saddle structure 50 in its lower position and the tamper-supporting

links

74 and 75 in their lower position and the valve member 222 of valve 156 in its lefthand position, the mechanism may be raised byshifting the valve member 212 to its right-hand (Fig. 8) saddle up position. This positions the

lands

236 and 235 on the valve member 212 so that the ports 167 and 170 are bothv connected to the pressure passage 161. This will cause fluid through line 168 to shift the cylindrical disc 220 to the right (Fig, 8) which shifts the valve member 222 to the right and connects the port 185 to the drain passage 164. This connects the lines 87, the hydraulic distributors 85 and thelines 92 and 206 to tank as well as the line 186 extending to the port 187 of the valve 158. This will cause withdrawal of piston rod 232 and permit the ball check 226 in valve 158 to close and the line 93 I betweenthe hydraulic distributor 85 and valve 158 will be blocked insofar as-fiuidflowingfrom thehydraulic dis- 10 tributor thus blocking the lines 86 leading to theunder side of the tampers 81, The pistons in the cylindersj-Sfl will rise since the upper ends of the cylinders 81 are connectedto tank and fluid mayv flow into line 93-as required from port 200 111 valve 158'which raises the ballcheck 226. The raising of the pistons causes elevation of the tamper-supporting

links

74 and 75. The connection of the port of the valve 155 to pump will, through the

lines

171 and 172, direct fluid pressure to the underside of the saddle raising cylinder ll-and to the cylinder 173 of the saddle latch mechanism which shifts the piston mechanism 174 torelease the latch 175 from the latch member 2180 and permits raising of the saddle structure 50. Although, from the hydraulic circuit it would appear that the tamper links 74 and 75 are'raised simultaneously with the saddle structure 50, in actual operation, the tamper links 74 and 75 are raised prior to raising ofthe saddle structure because of the lesser force required Itoraise, the links than required to raise the saddle structure 50.

The valve 157, as will be evident from the foregoingdescription, performs no function in the raising and lowering of the saddle structure 50 and the tamper links 74 and 75. The valve 157 operates to control the rotative position of the four tampers 71 in planes generally parallel to the tie 10. The valve 157 has a valve member 250 which, as shown in Fig. 8, is in its neutral position. If it is desired to move the tampers 71 in a direction to space the tamper tools 80 on a side of the tie 10a greater distance apart, the valve member 250 is shifted to its right-hand position (Fig. 8) which shifts a land 251 on the valve memer 250 to the right which permits the pressure'passage 161 in valve panel 150 to communicate with the port 191. Fluid passes through the line 120connected to port 191 to the underside of cylinder 100 to raise the piston 101 and cause rotation of the tamper carrier 63 in a clockwise direction and rotation of the tamper carrier 70 in a counterclockwise direction. When the desired movement-has occurred, the valve member 250 may be returned to its neutralposition by a collar and spring arrangement similar to that of valve 155. The valve member 250 is operated by a handle 252 (Fig. 4). When it is desired to move the tamper tools 80 closer together, thevalve member 2550 may be shifted to its left-hand position (Fig. 8;)

which shifts a land 253 to the left ,to connect the port to the pressure passage 161, This also causes thev shifting of the land 251 to connect the port 191 to the drain passage 164. Fluid under pressure flows through line 121 to the top of the cylinder 100 which lowers the piston rod 101 and pivots the tamper carrier 63 in a counterclockwise direction and the tamper carrier 70 in a clockwise directron. i

It Willbe seen from the foregoing that the location of the collar 176 determines the lower position of the saddle structure 50 and the point at WhlCh the tampers 71 begin to tilt. The position of the collar 17 6 on the vertical post 30 may be adjusted vertically. The collar 176 is held in its adjusted position by the bolts 260, as shown in Figs. Sand 6, which engage in one of a plurality of pairs of vertically spaced holes 261 in the vertical post 30. This for variations in the height of the rail 3, or tie 11 which may be encountered in various locations in which the multiple tamper unit may be used so that the tamping action with respect to the ties 10 may be uniform regardless of variation in rail or tie height.

. It will be seen from the foregoing that the multiple tamper unit herein disclosed is a portable mechanism which may be easily moved along a track to tamp aroundsuccessive ties and which may be readily removed from the tracks by use of the

wheels

17 and 18 when desired. Four tampers 71 are positioned to tamp the four areas formed by the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie. The entire operation of the machine may be controlled from a control station which'has two manually-operated'valves, one valvemember controlling the raising and loweringof the saddle structure 50 and the inclination of the tampers -with its supporting tie comprising, in combination, an

elongated carriage having wheels therebeneath engageable with one rail and a laterally-extending outrigger arm engageable with the other rail to support the tamper unit for movement along said rails and in position to tamp ballast disposed around a tie extending normal to the length of the rails, a hollow vertical post extending upwardly from the carriage and above the intersection of a rail and supporting tie, a saddle slidably mounted on the vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower position and keyed to the post for rotation therewith, said saddle having a pair of arms on opposite sides thereof extending in a direction normal to the rail length and having their ends forming pivot blocks, a tamper carrier pivotally mounted on each face of the pivot blocks for rotation about an axis parallel to the length of the rail, the pair of tamper carriers pivotally mounted on opposite faces of one pivot block being interconnected for simultaneous pivotal movement on their associated pivot block about said axis and in a plane generally parallel to the length of the tie, an impact tamper adapted to carry a ballast-engaging tool pivotally mounted on each of said tamper carriers by means of a pair of vertically-spaced links having their inner ends pivotally connected to the tamper carrier and their outer ends pivotally connected to the tamper, the four tampers carried on the saddle being positioned to tamp the four separate areas adjacent and formed by the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie, means including a hydraulic cylinder disposed within the hollow vertical post for raising the saddle and for permitting downward movement of the saddle to lower the tools into the ballast, means for causing tilting and lowering movement of the tampers on their respective tamper carriers to compact ballast under the tie including a hydraulic cylinder associated with each tamper, means for pivoting the tamper carriers about their pivot blocks to vary the distance between the lower ends of the tampers on a side of the tie including a hydraulic cylinder securely mounted to the saddle and having its piston rod connected to one arm of a pair of hell cranks pivotally mounted to the saddle on opposite sides of the piston rod, links pivotally connecting the other arms of the bell cranks and the tamper carriers disposed on one side of the saddle arms for imparting pivotal movement to the tamper carriers in response to movement of the piston rod, manually operable means for actuating said saddle raising and lowering means to cause downward movement of the saddle to direct the tools into the ballast, means responsive to the saddle reaching its lower position to actuate said means for tilting and lowering the tampers on their tamper carriers to compact ballast down and beneath a tie, manually operable means for causing return of the tampers to their initial raised position with respect to the saddle and subsequent raising of the saddle and tampers on said vertical post, means mounting the vertical post on the carriage for rotation about a vertical axis to enable adjustment of the post with respect to the carriage to accommodate for out-of-line ties, and means for securing the vertical post in its rotatable adjusted position.

2. A portable railway multiple tamper unit for tamping ballast around a rail-supporting tie comprising, in combination an elongated carriage supported above and rollably mounted on a rail, a hollow vertical post extending upwardly from the carriage, a saddle slidably mounted on the vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower position, said saddle having a pair of arms on opposite sides thereof extending in a direction normal to the track length and having their ends forming pivot blocks, a tamper carrier pivotally mounted on each face of the pivot blocks for rotation about an axis parallel to the length of the rail, the pair of tamper carriers pivotally mounted on opposite faces of one pivot block being interconnected for simultaneous pivotal movement on their associated pivot block about said axis and in a plane generally parallel to the length of the tie, a tamper adapted to carry an impact ballast-engaging tool pivotally mounted on each of said tamper carriers by means of a pair of vertically-spaced links having their inner ends pivotally connected to the tamper carrier and their outer ends pivotally connected to the tamper, the four tampers carried on the saddle being positioned to tamp one each the four separate areas formed by and adjacent to the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie, means including a hydraulic cylinder disposed within the hollow vertical post for raising the saddle and for permitting downward movement of the saddle to lower the tools into the ballast, means for causing tilting and lowering movement of the tampers on their respective tamper carriers to compact ballast under the tie including a hydraulic cylinder associated with each tamper, means for pivoting the tamper carriers about their pivot blocks to vary the distance beween the lower ends of the tampers on a side of the tie, manually operable means for actuating said saddle raising and lowering means to cause downward movement of the saddle to direct the tools into the ballast, means responsive to the saddle reaching its lower position to actuate said means for tilting and lowering of the tampers on their tamper carriers to compact ballast down and beneath a tie, and manually operable means for causing return of the tampers to their initial raised position with respect to the saddle and subsequent raising of the saddle on said vertical post.

3. In a portable railway multiple tamper unit for tamping ballast around a rail-supporting tie, in combination, a carriage supported above a rail, a vertical post extending upwardly from the carriage, a saddle slidably mounted on the vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower position, said saddle having a pair of arms on opposite sides thereof extending in a direction normal to the track length and having their ends forming pivot blocks, a tamper carrier pivotally mounted on each face of the pivot blocks for rotations about an axis parallel to the length of the rail, means interconnecting the pair of tamper carriers pivotally mounted on opposite faces of one pivot block for simultaneous pivotal movement on their associated pivot block about said axis and in a plane generally parallel to the length of the tie, a tamper adapted to carry an impact ballast-engaging tool pivotally mounted on each of said tamper carriers by means of a pair of vertically-spaced links having their inner ends pivotally connected to the tamper carrier and their outer ends pivotally connected to the tamper, the four tampers carried on the saddle tamping ballast one each at the four areas formed by and adjacent the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie, means for raising the saddle and for permitting downward movement of the saddle to lower the tools into the ballast, means for causing tilting and additional lowering movement of the tampers on their respective tamper carriers to compact ballast under the tie, means for simultaneously pivoting the tamper car riers about their pivot blocks to vary the distance between the lower ends of the tampers on one side of the tie. manually operable means for actuating said saddle raising and lowering means to cause downward movement of the saddle to direct the tools into the ballast, means responsive to the saddle reaching its lower position to actuate said means for tilting and lowering of the tampers on their tamper carriers to compact ballast beneath a tie, and manually operable means for causing return of the tamp- 1 3 ers to their initial raised positioniwith respect to the saddle and subsequent raisingof the saddle and tampers onsaid vertical post.

4. A portable railway multiple tamperunit for tamping ballast around a ra'il supporting tie comprising, in combination, a control station, a portable base mounted on a rail, a vertical post extending upwardly from the base, a saddle slidably mounted on the-vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower position, said saddle having a pair of arms on opposite sides thereof extending in a direction parallel to the length of the tie, a pair of tamper carriers pivotally mounted at the end of each arm for rotation about an axis parallel to the length of the rail and in a plane generally parallel to flre length of the tie, an impact tamper adapted to carry a.'ballast-engaging tool, means mounting each tamper to its carrier for tilting and lowering movement, the four ta'mperscarried on the saddle being positioned to tamp one each the areas formed by and adjacent the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie, means operable from said control station for raising the saddle and for permitting downward'movement of the saddle to lower the tools into the ballast, automatically operable means for causing tilting and lowering movement of the tampers on their respective tamper carriers after the tools are lowered into the ballast to compact ballast under the tie,

means operable from said controlstation for causing return of the tampersto their initial position with respect to the saddle andsubsequent raising of the saddle and tampers on said vertical post, and means operable from said control "station forsimultaneously pivoting the tamper carriers to vary the distance between the lower ends of'the tampers .on one side of the tie and the distance from the rail at which atool engages the ballast.

'5. A portable railwaymultip'le tamper unit for tamping ballast around a; rail su'pporting tie and at various distances fromthe rail comprising, in combination, a carriage mountedon a rail, a vertical post on the carriage andpositi'onejd on the carriage to extend above the intersection ofa rail and a tie, a saddle slidably mounted on the vertical post for movementbetween an upper position and a' lower position, said saddle having a pair of arms on opposite sides thereof extending in a direction normal to the track length, a pair oftam'per carriers pivotally mounted on each" arm forrotation about an axis parallel to the length of the rail and in a plane generallyparallel to the length of the tie, a tamper adapted to carry a ballast-engaging tool mounted on each of said tamper carriers, the four tampers carried on the saddle being positionedtotamp one each; the areas formed by and generally adjacent tothe intersection of a rail and its supporting tie, means 'for raising the saddle and for lowering the saddle to lower the tools into the ballast, means for pivoting the tamper-carriers to vary the distance between the lower ends ofthe tampers on a side otthe tie, means mounting the verticalpost on the carriage forrotatio'n about a vertical axis to enable adjustment of thepost' with respect to the carriage to accommodate the tampers forout-of-line' ties, and means for securingthe vertical post in its rotatably adjusted position.

6. A railway multiple tamper unitfor tamping track ballast in the areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie disposed therebeneath and for tamping the ballast at pointsspaced successively greater distances from the rail'compr'ising, in combination, a carriage supportedlon' the rail, avertical post upstanding from said carriage, a;saddl e slidably mounted onsaid vertical; post for vertical movement and having a pair of arms extending. in opposite directions from. said vertical post in a plane generally parallelto the length of a tie disposed therebeneath, said arms having their outer ends each; forming a,pivot--block, provided with a pair of vertically.- extending oppositely-facing bearing faces, a pair of interconnected tamper carriers pivotally mounted on 14 each pivot block on opposite sides thereof and in engagement with said bearing faces for-rotational adjusting'movement in a plane generally parallel. to the length of the tie, a tamper pivotally mountedon each of. said tamper carriers and-adapted to'carriy aball'ast engaging tool, each tamper being 'positioned' to tampballast therebeneath and located onein each of. the areas adjacent the intersection of the rail and tie and at one side. of the tieand at one side of the rail; and means: for varying the. position of engagement of the tamper tools with. theballast in adirection along the 'length-ofthe tie. including. a vertical disposed hydraulic cylindermounted on the. saddle and having a downwardly extending piston .rod, a pair of bell cranks pivotally mounted on said saddle; and, each having one of their arms extended toward each otherand slidably connectedlto said piston rod, and: connecting links pivotally connected at their inner ends to. the other arm of said *belli cranks: andlat their outer ends to the tamper carriers on one side. of the saddle, the constructionand arrangement being such. .that movement of the piston rod will cause rotational movement of the tarripericar'riers on' one side of the saddle. inopposite directions with resultant similar movement of theinterconnected tamper carriers on the other side of thesaddle, because of theinterconnectiontbetween the tamper carriers mounted on: a: pivot'-:block,.to vary the distance bet'weenthe tools' oni a:sideofrthe saddle; and thus vary-the distance between.thetools-randitli'e railina directionzalong the length of the tie;

7; In a railwaymultip'le tamper unit for tamping track ballast in the areasformed: by. the intersection of arail with its: supporting tie .rdisposed therebeneath and for tamping 'theballast 'at' points 'spaced'successively greater distances from 'therail, in combination, a; carriage supported onthe-rail, a plurality of tampers, each adapted to carry atamping tool, 'a verticalnpost mounted on said carriage, a saddle slidably mounted on said. vertical post for vertical movement, means-mounting the tampersv on the saddle for vertical movement therewith between an upper position andra. lower. ballast-engaging position in the areas formed by the intersection ofa rail and its supporting tie, meanswfor varying: the position of engagement of'the tampers-i-with the-ballast in a direction along the length of the tie including supportsfor the tampers mounted on the saddle-forrotation. about. axes extending normal to the length ofthe tie, a vertically-disposed hydraulic cylinder mounted on the: saddle and having a downwardly-extending piston rod, a: pair of. bell cranks pivotally mounted on saidfsaddle and-each having one of their arms extendedtowardz'each' other, the ends of said arms b'eing slidably connected-to said piston rod, and means including connecting links Zpivotally connected at one of their ends to thez other arm of said bell cranks for imparting rotationit'o said supports assaid piston-rod is shifted. I

8; A railway multiple tamper unit for. tamping track ballast in the areas:;formed1 by .the intersection of a rail with its supportin'g @tie' disposed therebe'neath comprising, in combination,;a car'riage 's'upportableona rail, a tamper support mounted on saict carriage for vertical movement and having a pair of arms extending horizontally in opposite directions in a plane generally parallel to the length of the tie disposed thereber'ieath, a pair of interconnected tamper carriers: pivotally mounted at the end of each arm foivrotatio'nali adjusting movement in a plane generally artnerethe length of the tie, atamper mounted on each or said tamper carriers and adapted to carry a ba1lastengaging'toOL-eahtamper beingpositioned to tamp ballast thereben'eatlr and l'o'catedat-one s'ideof the tie and at onesid'eo'f the raiL'Onein each of the areas adjacentthe intersectionof a rail and tie, a motor, means connecting-the motor to the tamper carriers "on one side of the tie for simultaneously moving the tamper-s on opposite sidesof the rail towardeach'otlierin ad'irectin along the length of the tie, and selectively operable means for controlling the motor.

9. In a railway tamper unit for tamping ballast around and beneath a tie positioned under a rail comprising, in combination, a carriage, means on the carriage mounting a plurality of tampers for movement between an upper elevated position wherein an impact tool carried by a tamper is above the rail and a lower position wherein a tool carried by a tamper is in engagement with the ballast disposed around the tie, means for pivotally connecting each of said tampers to said mounting means including a vertically-disposed tamper carrier, upper and lower ears on said carrier, an upper link and a lower link extending substantially parallel and having their inner ends pivotally connected to said upper and lower ears, respectively, and their outer ends pivotally connected to a tamper, the inner ends of said links being disposed approximately one above the other and the links being of a slightly different length in order to tilt the tamper as the links are pivoted, a fluid piston and cylinder for each tamper connected between said tamper carrier and the upper tamper-mounting link to cause pivoting of said links and means for operating said fluid piston and cylinders to cause pivoting of said links.

10. in a railway tamper unit for tamping ballast around and beneath a tie positioned under a rail comprising, in combination, a carriage, means on the carriage mounting a plurality of tampers for movement between an upper elevated position wherein an impact tool carried by a tamper is above the rail and a lower position wherein a tool carried by a tamper is in engagement with the ballast disposed around the tie, means for pivotally connecting each of said tampers to said tamper mounting means including an upper link and a lower link with a length less than the upper link having their inner ends pivotally connected to said mounting means and their outer ends pivotally connected to a tamper, the inner ends of said links being disposed approximately one above the other and the links being of a difierent length in order to tilt the tamper as the links are pivoted, a fluid piston and cylinder for each tamper connected between said mounting means and the upper tamper mounting link to cause pivoting of said links, means for simultaneously actuating the fluid piston and cylinders to cause simultaneous pivoting of said links, and means for adjusting the distance from the tie at which a tool carried by the tamper engages the ballast including a rotatably adjustable pivot shaft for the inner end of the lower link, said pivot shaft having an eccentric thereon engageable by said link.

ll. In a railway multiple tamper unit for a railway track, in combination, a carriage disposed over and along the length of a rail and normal to the length of the rail supporting ties, a hollow cylindrical bearing member extending upwardly from said carriage intermediate its ends and fixedly secured thereto, a hollow vertical post rotatably mounted on said bearing member and extending upwardly beyond said bearing member, a saddle slidably mounted on said vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower ballast tamping position and connected to said vertical post for rotation therewith, a plurality of tampers pivotally mounted on said saddle and positioned to tamp the ballast one each at the four areas adjacent and formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie, means at one end of the carriage for controlling the movements of the saddle and tampers, means operable from said end of the carriage for controlling the rotative position of the vertical post in order to adjust the tampers as a unit about a vertical axis to compensate for a tie which is out-of-line with respect to its associated rail including an elongated handle member having its lower end pivotally connected to the base of the vertical post and its upper end disposed adjacent said control means, and means for holding the vertical post and tampers in their rotative adjusted position including a plate on the carriage having spaced grooves on its upper edge and a groove-engaging locking plate at the lower end of the handle member adapted to fit in one of said grooves to prevent inadvertent movement of the handle member and rotation of the vertical post.

12. In a railway multiple tamper unit for a railway track, in combination, a carriage, a bearing member extending upwardly from said carriage intermediate its ends and fixedly secured thereto, a vertical post rotatably mounted to said bearing member and extending upward 1y beyond said bearing member, a saddle slidably mounted on said vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower ballast tamping position and connected to said vertical post for rotation therewith, a plurality of tampers mounted on said saddle and positioned to tamp the ballast one in each of the four separate areas formed by and adjacent the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie, means including a manually operable member at one end of the carriage for controlling the movements of the saddle, means operable from said end of the carriage for controlling the rotative position of the vertical post in order to adjust the tampers as a unit about a vertical axis to compensate for a tie which is out-of-line with respect to its associated rail including an elongated handle member having one end pivotally connected to the base of the vertical post and its other end disposed adjacent said manually operable member, and means for holding the vertical post and tampers in their rotative adjusted position including interengaging members on the handle member and carriage.

13. A portable railway tamper unit constructed for movement along a railway track comprising, a frame having means for supporting the unit on the track rails, a saddle-supporting member upstanding from the frame, a saddle structure slidably mounted on said saddle-supporting member for movement between an upper position and a lower ballast compacting position, a plurality of tampers pivotally mounted on said saddle structure for tamping ballast disposed on opposite sides of a rail and a supporting tie disposed beneath the rail, hydraulic pistons and cylinders carried on said saddle structure for tilting and additionally lowering the tampers with respect to the saddle structure to compact ballast under the tie when said saddle structure reaches its lower position, manually operable means for lowering the saddle structure, means for causing automatictilting movement of the tampers on the saddle structure when said saddle structure reaches its lower position including a collar mounted on the saddlesupporting member near its base and beneath the saddle structure when in its lower position and having a valve positioned to be engaged by an actuating member carried on the saddle structure, means connecting said valve in circuit with said hydraulic piston and cylinders for tilting the tampers with respect to the saddle structure when said valve is actuated, and means for adjusting the vertical position of the collar on the saddlesupporting member for various heights of track to adjust the lower position of the saddle structure and the point of tilting of the tampers and maintain the proper tamping action with respect to the tie regardless of rail height.

14. A portable railway tamper unit comprising, a carriage, a vertical post on the carriage, a saddle slidably mounted on said post for movement between an upper position and a lower ballast compacting position, a plurality of impact tampers pivotally mounted on said saddle structure for tamping ballast disposed on opposite sides of a rail and a supporting tie disposed beneath the rail, means for raising and lowering the saddle, means carried on said saddle for tilting and additionally lowering the tampers with respect to the saddle to compact ballast under the tie when said saddle reaches its lower position, a collar mounted on the post near its base and beneath the saddle when in its lower position and having a shiftable member positioned to be engaged by an actuating member carried on the saddle when said saddle is in its lower position, means responsive to shifting of said shiftable member for automatically tilting and lowering the tampers with respect to the saddle structure, and means for adjusting the vertical position of the collar on the saddle-supporting member to vary the lower position of the saddle and the point at which the tampers tilt.

15 In a multiple tamper unit for simultaneously tamping ballast at the four separate areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie and for successively tamping ballast at various distances from the rail and in a direction along the length of a tie, in combination, a carriage, a plurality of tampers on the carriage positionable above the rail and each adapted to carry an impact tamping tool, there being at least one tamper positionable above each of the separate areas formed by the intersection of the rail and its supporting tie, means mounting the tampers on the carriage for vertical movement between an upper position wherein the tools carried thereby are at a level above the rail and a lower position wherein the tools compact the ballast and are at a level near the bottom of the tie, means for tilting and lowering the tampers an additional distance for directing the force of the tampers in a direction under the tie to compact ballast thereunder, means for orienting the tampers as a single unit about a vertical axis to compensate for an out-ofalignment condition of the tie with respect to the rail, means for simultaneously varying the distance between the tamper tools in a direction parallel to the length of the tie in order to successively tamp ballast at different distances from the rail as desired and means including manually operable members positioned at an operators control station for causing operation of the aforesaid means.

16. In a multiple tamper unit for simultaneously tamping ballast at the four separate areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie and for successively tamping ballast at various distances from the rail and in a direction along the length of a tie, in combination, a carriage, a plurality of tampers on the carriage positioned above the rail and each adapted to carry an impact tamping tool, there being a tamper posit'oned above each of the separate areas formed by the intersection of the rail and its supporting tie, means mounting the tampers on the carriage for vertical movement between an upper position I 1 wherein the tools carried thereby are at a level above the rail and a lower position wherein the tools compact the ballast and are at a level near the bottom of the tie, means for tilting and lowering the tampers an additional distance after the tools have descended to said level for directing the force of the tampers in a direction under the tie to compact ballast thereunder, means responsive to the tampers reaching said lower position to actuate said means for tilting and lowering the tampers, and means for simultaneously moving the tampers on each side of the tie equal distances toward and away from the rail in a direction parallel to the length of the tie in order to successively tamp ballast at different distances from the rail as desired.

17. In a multiple tamper unit for simultaneously tamping ballast at the four separate areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its suporting tie and for successively tamping ballast at various distances from the rail and in a direction along the length of a tie, in combination, a carriage, a plurality of tampers pivotally mounted on said carriage positioned above the rail and each adapted to carry an impact tamping tool, there being at least one tamper positioned above each of the separate areas formed by and generally adjacent the intersection of the rail and its supporting tie, means mounting the tampers on the carriage for vertical movement between an upper position and a lower position wherein the tools compact the ballast, means operatively connected to the tampers for 18 simultaneously moving the lower ends of the tampers on each side of the tie toward each other in a direction parallel to the length of the tie in order to successively tamp ballast toward said intersection, and selectively operable manual control means at a control station for controlling said last-mentioned means.

18. A portable railway tamper unit comprising, a carriage, a vertical post on the carriage, a saddle slidably mounted on said post for movement between an upper position and a lower ballast compacting position, a plurality of tampers pivotally mounted on said saddle structure for tamping ballast disposed on opposite sides of a rail and a supporting tie disposed beneath the rail, means for raising and lowering the saddle, means carried on said saddle for tilting and additionally lowering the tampers with respect to the saddle to compact ballast under the tie when said saddle reaches its lower position, a collar mounted on the post near its base and beneath and adjacent the saddle when the saddle is in its lower position and having a shiftable member positioned to be engaged by an actuating member carried on the saddle when said saddle is in its lower position, means responsive to shifting of said shiftable member for automatically tilting and lowering the tampers, with respect to the saddle structure.

19. A portable railway multiple tamper unit for tamping ballast in the areas formed by the intersection of a rail with its supporting tie comprising, in combination, a carriage, an operator's control station on said carriage, a vertical post extending upwardly from the carriage and above the intersection of a rail and supporting tie, a saddle slidably mounted on the vertical post for movement between an upper position and a lower position, a pair of.

tamper carriers pivotally mounted at each side of the saddle for rotation about an axis parallel to the length of the rail and in a plane generally parallel to the length of the tie, an impact tamper adapted to carry a ballastengaging tool pivotally mounted on each of said tamper carriers, the four tampers carried on the saddle being positioned to tamp the four separate areas formed by and adjacent the intersection of a rail and its supporting tie, means for raising the saddle and for permitting downward movement of the saddle to lower the tools into the ballast, means for causing tilting and lowering movement of the tampers on their respective tamper carriers to compact ballast under the tie, means operable from said control station for actuating said saddle raising and lowering means to cause downward movement of the saddle to direct the tools into the ballast, means responsive to the saddle reaching its lower position to actuate said means for tilting and lowering the tampers on their tamper carriers to compact ballast down and beneath a tie, and means operable from said control station for causing return of the tampers to their initial raised position with respect to the saddle and subsequent raising of the saddle on said vertical post.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 727,013 Springer May 5, 1903 1,231,679 Weiss July 3, 1917 1,351,106 Hastings Aug. 31, 1920 1,415,194 Robinson May 9, 1922 1,819,945 Collet Aug. 18, 1931 2,025,543 McWilliams Dec. 24, 1935 2,303,245 Weyandt Nov. 24, 1942 2,482,111 Jackson Sept. 20, 1949 2,482,123 Philbrick Sept. 20, 1949 2,587,324 Hursh Feb. 26, 1952 2,762,313 Sublett Sept. 11, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,790 Australia Oct. 23, 1933