A HOPPER RAILWAY CAR
The invention relates to a hopper railway car with an inclinable loading platform intended for rail transport of bulky elements of great width in the inclined mode. The solution allows transporting assembled tracks spans, especially track switches, while respecting the limitations of the outline of the rolling stock gauge and mechanizing the unloading work on tracks located under the traction network using own revolving cranes.
The components of the rail track switch, i.e. the switch, the connecting tracks and the frog, are assembled on sleepers at the manufacturing unit into functional units, in order to ensure high quality track switch geometry and reduce installation time directly on the track.
Commonly known are structures of special railway cars for the transport of railway track switches in blocks by companies such as Matisa, Kirow and Plasser. The loading platforms of these railway cars are inclinable to allow the transport of very wide components, in particular frogs, in a tilted position, so as not to surpass the rolling stock gauge. At the location where the track is to be laid, the blocks are rotated to a horizontal position and transported by cranes to their location where they are to be finally laid on the ground.
A solution by the Plasser company is known, described in the patent specification US 5431108 "Car for transporting an assembled track switch using multiple support platforms" which presents a railway car for transporting track switches. It has an undercarriage with a backbone frame in the middle in the shape of a trapezoidal beam. The undercarriage is mounted in a swivelling manner on trailer bogies. Truss loading platforms are attached to the beam in a swivelling manner, and their pivot axis runs along the railway car. Between the railway car frame and the platform, mechanisms and linear drives for swivelling it are located.
The platform can be inclined to 71 °, which is adjustable gradually through the safety rod 26 introduced into openings 27, as illustrated in the attached drawings ST in Annex 1. Individual track switch blocks are fixed to the platforms. Along the length of the railway car are located, separated from each other, at least two platforms with at least two drives, beneficially four platforms can be used.
A solution by the Kirow company is also known, described in the patent specification GB 2417511 "Transverse displacement device for wagons for transporting points" which presents a railway car for track switch transport in which the position of the loading platform on the frame can be adjusted and fixed by a lock of its lateral displacement. The lock of the device is coupled with mechanisms for setting the platform in motion and inclining it. Platform inclination is determined at a position which is located approximately diagonally relative to the vertical rolling stock gauge, as illustrated in the attached drawings ST in Annex 2.
Another well-known solution by the Plasser company, described in European Patent Application EP 0801022 "Maschine zur Durchfiihrung von Gleisbauarbeiten mit einem Drehkran" (Railway-working machine with a slewing crane), presents a railway car for conducting construction work of railway tracks with the use of rotary cranes. At both ends of the railway car undercarriage, two cranes with vertical rotation axis are mounted rotationally. The driving cabin is rigidly connected to crane to ensure the possibility of simultaneous rotation around the horizontal axis of rotation. The crane's height is adjustable, and it has a telescopic boom, which is extended using linear drives. During transport, the crane booms are aligned along the axis of the railway car, as illustrated in the attached drawings ST in Annex 3.
The objective of the present solution is to ensure the transport of large-size track switch blocks while respecting the outline of the rolling stock gauge and make the unloading work possible on trackages located under the traction network using own revolving cranes.
The essence of the solution is characterized in that the hopper railway car contains:
- two pairs of rectangular swingarms to incline each loading platform, installed between a backbone beam of the railway car undercarriage and transverse beams of the loading platform, along with a blocking mechanism of the inclined position of the platform in transportation mode,
- two rotary cranes with a vertical rotation axis, mounted via bases on the undercarriage of the railway car in a transition zone between the backbone beam and a swivel beam, along with a mechanical lock of transverse position of the crane in the transport mode,
- two pairs of extensible and rotating support legs installed at the bases of cranes, along with a mechanical blocking of the vertical position of reversed support legs in the transport mode,
- two power unit cabinets, comprising a motor and hydraulic equipment for each crane, installed on the swivel beam between end sill and the base of the crane,
- two brake actuators, mounted on the side of the backbone beam on the heel side of the railway car, with a brake lever inserted into the centre of the backbone beam through a side opening,
- two ballast boxes installed under the loading platform on the side of the backbone beam on the heel side of the railway car between plates of horizontal bumpers.
Preferably, the backbone beam of the undercarriage is shaped in the middle as an I-beam rectangular box with the beam ledges situated horizontally and with two webs, while in the cross-sectional plane of the transverse beam of the loading platform, the plate of the horizontal bumper is permanently attached to the one side of the backbone beam, and a plate of slanted bumper to the other side of the backbone beam.
Preferably, the backbone beam at its ends has in the longitudinal view a substantially triangular shape, while the lower ledge of the backbone beam forms
an arched surface rising up, and on this surface a front opening symmetrically in the backbone beam axis is located, and on the two webs of the backbone beam, inside and outside, additional arched ribs are located, arranged in a T-beam setting and parallel to the arc of its bottom ledge.
Preferably, the swingarm of the loading platform is composed of:
- two articulated lugs, one hinge and one bracket, permanently installed under the transverse beam of the loading platform, asymmetrically spaced with respect to the longitudinal axis of the loading platform, with a longer section of the articulated hinge joint mounting, through which the pivoting axis of the loading platform runs, in a spacing which forms the first element of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism,
- a hinge plate with two articulated (hinge and bracket) joints which is permanently installed on the top ledge of the backbone beam and spaced asymmetrically with respect to the axis of the backbone beam, with a shorter section of the articulated hinge joint mounting, while articulated joints of the hinge plate form the second element of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism,
- a drive lever connected at the bottom with an articulated bracket joint of the hinge plate and at the top with an articulated joint of a connector, where said articulated joints form the third element of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism, while from the side of the connector, the drive lever is connected via next articulated joint with the platform actuator supported by further articulated joint on the bottom ledge of the backbone beam,
- the connector connected by the articulated joint on the one side with the drive lever and on the other side connected by the other articulated joint with the bracket lug on the transverse beam of the loading platform, where articulated joints of the connector form the fourth element of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism.
Preferably, when the loading platform is lowered to the horizontal position, the axis of the articulated joints of the hinge plate and the drive lever are substantially aligned at a line inclined downward from the level at an angle of between 8° and 12°.
Preferably, the blocking mechanism of the loading platform incline is formed by a lock handle, mounted through an articulated joint in the plate of the slanted bumper, and by a notch in the transverse beam of the loading platform.
Preferably, the angle of inclination of the loading platform is in the range between 55° and 62°, and it is determined by interchangeable adjusting shims installed on the slanted bumper.
Preferably, the vertical rotation axis of the crane is located, in the horizontal projection, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the railway car, opposite to the location of the pivoting axis of the loading platform, while in the base of the crane are located transversely arranged oval openings, for adjusting the position of the rotation axis of the crane with respect to the longitudinal axis of the railway car in the transverse plane of the railway car.
The solution is advantageous due to its versatile and multi-purpose design, which allows the use of standard components and facilitates the work of unloading of the rail truck switches blocks under the traction network using own cranes. The cranes can be controlled remotely and synchronously, which greatly facilitates the work on a railway track. A particular advantage of the structure consists in the fact that the folded crane is located in a position transverse to the longitudinal axis of the railway car, which has a significant impact on the length of the railway car for transporting track switch blocks. Adjusting the position of the crane in the transverse plane of the railway car allows adjusting the structure to the limitations of the outline of the rolling stock gauge while the railway car is in transit.
The applied design of the swingarm mechanism allows reducing the stroke of the platform actuator, thanks to which there is no need to use telescopic
cylinders, and the work of the actuator is performed with the optimum distribution of forces during the lifting and lowering of the loading platform.
The structure of the backbone beam allows the use of typical trailer bogies with the central brake pull rod.
The invention in one embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows the longitudinal view of the railway car;
Figure 2 - a detailed view of the end of the railway car identified in Figure 1 ;
Figure 3 - the railway car in plan view;
Figure 4 - the frontal view of the railway car with the supporting legs extended; Figure 5 - the cross-section of the railway car (without a background) in the plane of the swingarm with the loading platform inclined;
Figure 6 - the cross-section of the railway car (without a background) in the plane of the swingarm with a loading platform in the horizontal position;
Figure 7 - the detail of the incline lock latch identified in Figure 5;
Figure 8 - the longitudinal section of the incline lock latch identified in Figure 7;
Figure 9 - the detail of crane mounting on the undercarriage;
Figure 10 - the view of the crane base against the back of the undercarriage identified in Figure 9;
Figure 11 - the cross-section of the crane base and the backbone beam identified in Figure 10;
and Figure 12 - the detail of the backbone beam end with superimposed cross- sections offset.
The hopper railway car has undercarriage 1 , equipped with two inclining loading platforms 2, two standard two-axle Y25Ls1-K trailer bogies 3, two standard HDS cranes 4 on bases 5 with individual structures, two power unit cabinets 6, and two pairs of extensible support legs 7.
Undercarriage 1 , which constitutes the supporting structure of the railway car, is composed of rolled sections, bent elements and sheet metal, welded together. Undercarriage 1 is composed of two end sills 101 , two swivel beams 102, and one backbone beam 103.
End sills 101 are made of folded metal sheet plates with a thickness of 10 mm. End sills 101 are connected to the swivel beam 102.
Swivel beam 02 is designed as a welded box-type construction of metal sheets. In the middle, in the bottom part, a centring ring is welded to the bottom ledge of the swivel beam, which is used for mounting the railway car rotation steering pivot bolted to the underframe of the trailer bogie 3. On both sides, at a distance of 850 mm from the pivot axis, two slippers are mounted for cooperation with resilient slippers of the trailer bogie 3.
Backbone beam 103 is made from welded metal sheet. The axis of the backbone beam 103 is situated in the longitudinal OW axis of the railway car. In the centre of the backbone beam 103, in its cross-section, the backbone beam 103 has the shape of an I-beam rectangular box with the beam ledges arranged horizontally and with two webs. In contrast, at its ends, in the transition zone between the backbone beam 103 and the swivel beam 102, the backbone beam 103 in the longitudinal view has a substantially triangular shape, while the lower ledge of the backbone beam 103 forming an arched surface rising up and a front opening 19 is made on this surface symmetrically in the OW longitudinal axis of the railway car. On the backbone beam 103 ends of both webs, additional arched ribs 18 are located outside and inside in a T-beam setting and parallel to the arc of the bottom ledge. This arched ribs 18 forming an additional arched T-beam of the transition zone reinforcing the weakened area of the front opening 19.
In front of the transition zone, a side opening 20 is made in the side of the backbone beam 103, through which the brake lever 23 is inserted into its centre. Brake lever 23 is connected to the brake actuator 22 mounted on the side of the
backbone beam 103 on the heel side of the railway car directly behind the side opening 20.
The location of the front opening 19 and the side opening 20 in the backbone beam 103 allows controlling the central brake pull rod of the trailer bogie 3, which is installed inside the backbone beam 103.
Each loading platform 2 is a truss structure made of longitudinal and transverse beams 201 , and it is mounted in a swivelling manner on the backbone beam 103 on two swingarms installed in the vertical plane of the transverse beams 201 with their common OP pivoting axis running parallel to the OW longitudinal axis of the railway car. The swingarm is constituted by a rectangular articulated pivoting rotation mechanism, which is connected to platform actuator 8 for inclining the loading platform 2.
The swingarm of the loading platform 2 consists of the following components and elements:
- two articulated lugs, i.e. hinge lug 9 and bracket lug 10, permanently installed under the transverse beam 201 of the loading platform 2, asymmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the loading platform 2, with the longer section of the articulated hinge joint mounting, through which the pivoting axis OP of the loading platform 2 runs, in a spacing which forms the first element L1 of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism,
- the hinge plate 11 , permanently installed oh the top ledge of the backbone beam 103 with two articulated (hinge and bracket) joints, asymmetrically spaced with respect to the axis of symmetry of the backbone beam 103, with the shorter section of the hinge joint mounting, whose articulated joints form the second element L2 of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism,
- the drive lever 12 connected at the bottom with the articulated bracket joint of the hinge plate 11 , and at the top with the articulated joint of the connector 13, whose articulated joints form the third element L3 of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism and connected by an articulated joint on the side of the connector 13
with the platform actuator 8 supported through an articulated joint on the bottom ledge of the backbone beam 103,
the connector 13 connected by an articulated joint, on the one hand with the drive lever 12, and on the other, with the bracket lug 10 on the transverse beam 201 of the loading platform 2, whose articulated joints form the fourth element L4 of rectangular pivoting rotation mechanism.
The element L1 is larger than L3, and the element L2 is larger than L4.
When the loading platform 2 is lowered to the horizontal position, the axes of the articulated joints of the hinge plate 11 and the drive lever 12 of the swingarm are substantially aligned on a line inclined downward at an angle "b", i.e. ranging from 8° to 12°, which enables the platform actuator 8 to work with the optimum distribution of forces during the lifting and lowering of the loading platform 2.
In the plane of the swingarm operation, the horizontal bumper plate 14 is permanently attached to one side of the backbone beam 103, which determines the heel side of the railway car, and on the other side of the backbone beam 103, the slanted bumper plate 15 is attached, which determines the pivoting side of the railway car. The inclined position of the loading platform 2 in transport mode is determined by the incline blocking mechanism. The incline blocking mechanism of the loading platform 2 is formed by a lock handle 16 mounted by an articulated joint in the slanted bumper plate 15 and the notch 202 in the transverse beam 201 of the loading platform 2.
The incline angle "a" of the loading platform 2 is in the range between 55° and 62° and is determined by interchangeable adjusting shims installed loosely on the slanted bumper, in order to precisely adapt to the outline of the rolling stock gauge while in transit.
Cranes 4 are mounted separately with the use of the base 5 of the undercarriage 1 of the railway car in the transition zone between the backbone beam 103 and the swivel beam 102. The vertical OZ rotation axis of the crane 4 is, in the horizontal projection, located on the heel side of the railway car i.e. with respect to the OW
longitudinal axis of the railway car, opposite to the orientation of the location of the horizontal OP pivoting axis of the loading platform 2, which clearly determines the pivoting side of the railway car. In the base 5 of the crane 4, oval openings 17 for mounting screws 21 of the M 42 screw set are located transversely. The oval openings 17 in the base 5 enable the adjustment of the OZ rotation axis of the crane 4 in the transverse plane of the railway car. This solution ensures respecting the limitations of the outline of the rolling stock gauge while the railway car is in transit. In the transport mode, the crane 4 is folded and its boom is placed transversely to the OW longitudinal axis of the railway car and is fixed in this position by a mechanical lock.
Each crane 4 has its own power supply from an internal combustion engine. The power unit cabinet 6 containing the engine and hydraulic equipment of the crane 4 is installed on the swivel beam 102 between the end sill 101 and the base 5 of the crane 4.
The railway car has support legs 7 which can be telescopically extended and turned upwards, and which in the transport mode have an additional mechanical blocking of the upright position of the reversed support legs 7.
In addition, under each loading platform 2, on the side of the backbone beam 103 on the heel side of the platform, ballast boxes 24 are installed between the horizontal plates of the horizontal bumpers 14 to counterbalance the transport weight of the railway car.
After assembly at the production facility (e.g. a factory, workshop), a railway track switch is divided into three functional blocks. Each block is loaded onto a separate railway car. The blocks are set on loading platforms 2 in the horizontal position. After the blocks are attached to the loading platforms 2, the platforms are inclined to the transport position and locked with the lock handle 16 in the inclined position. Preferably, the inclination angle is determined at approximately 60°, which ensures respecting the limitations of the outline of the rolling stock gauge during the transport of blocks. Each block is transported to the construction site on one
railway car, and on-site, the loading platforms 2 are lowered back to the horizontal position and with the help of cranes 4, controlled remotely and synchronously, a given block of railway track switch is removed and set in the trackage.
List of identification numbers
Item Description
a Inclination angle
b Lowering angle of the drive lever of the swingarm
L Swingarm elements
OP Platform pivoting axis
OW Longitudinal axis of the railway car
OZ Vertical rotation axis of the crane
1 Undercarriage of the railway car
2 Loading platform
3 Trailer bogie
4 Crane
5 Base of the crane
6 Power unit cabinet
7 Supporting legs
8 Platform actuator
9 Hinge lug of the swingarm
10 Bracket lug of the swingarm
11 Hinge plate of the swingarm
12 Drive lever of the swingarm
13 Swingarm connector
14 Plate of the horizontal bumper
15 Plate of the slated bumper
16 Lock handle
17 Oval openings in the base of the crane
Arched ribs of the backbone beam
Front opening of the backbone beam
Side opening of the backbone beam
Screw fixing the crane
Brake actuator
Brake lever
Ballast box
End sills of the undercarriage
Swivel beam of the undercarriage
Backbone beam of the undercarriage
Transverse beam of the loading platform
Notch in the transverse beam