EP0028668B1 - Train for stabilising a railway track - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for the improvement and drainage of a length of railway track employs a train to carry out the method whereby it is made possible to dismantle and reassemble the length of track together with its infrastructure. Ballast and earth are excavated from the track and replaced by a layer of sand which is distributed and compacted mechanically through an empty frame of a working truck of the train. Two travelling gantries are provided on the train and equipped both with a lifting device for a length of track and a lifting and tipping device for buckets. The working truck is also equipped with a strip for levelling a platform and a tamper. These two members are mounted on a common chassis supported by travelling on the two side parts of the empty frame of the working truck within the travelling supports for the gantries so that the levelling-tamping chassis may move freely by passing below the gantries.

Description

The invention relates to a train for cleaning up a railway track.

In some areas where water flow is difficult, the stability of the railway track may be compromised. Such pathways must be sanitized by a permeable platform.

The known method of cleaning up a railway track consists of excavating the ballast and the earth from the platform to a depth which depends on the terrain, and replacing the excavated materials with a layer of compacted sand.

For correct distribution and compaction of the sand layer it is essential to completely dismantle the old track.

We know of different sets of machines for the excavation of the ballast, its loading and its evacuation, Swiss patents Nos 597 428 and 609 622, usable in this case. There is also known an installation for the renewal of the railway track, Swiss patent No. 549 692. The train described by this latter patent comprises a continuous running track for gantries provided with machines for lifting track spans and a compound wagon an empty frame through which the track spans can be passed.

This installation was not planned to carry out the cleaning up of the track, any more than the renewal train described by the Swiss patent No. 583 822. The design of this train does not allow to insert the operations of setting in place of the sand layer, which must intervene before the installation of the ballast.

It follows from this state of the art that the distribution and compaction of the sand and the ballast are still carried out manually and using equipment which is unsuitable for this type of work. This procedure requires a large staff on site, and the hourly output is low. In addition, the current working system requires the storage of old and new sleepers on site. For lack of space, the sleepers are often stored in the area of the platform to be sanitized and, therefore, this part must be treated before or after cleaning the rest of the track.

• - Déchargement préalable des nouvelles traverses sur la plate-forme.
• - Démontage manuel des anciennes traverses et stockage sur le côté de la voie. Les anciennes traverses sont évacuées hors du chantier.
• - Excavation et chargement du ballast à l'aide de machines.
• - Montage d'une voie de travail qui prend appui sur la plate-forme par l'intermédiaire de plots.
• - Déchargement des wagons et distribution manuelle du sable.
• - Démontage manuel de la voie de travail ainsi que des plots d'appuis enfouis dans le sable.
• - Compactage du sable.
• - Déchargement et répartition du ballast.
• - Montage des nouvelles traverses soit manuellement soit à l'aide d'un engin de levage.
• - Déchargement et distribution du ballast complémentaire.
• - Montage de la nouvelle voie.

Currently the work is carried out as follows:

• - Prior unloading of new sleepers on the platform.
• - Manual dismantling of the old sleepers and storage on the side of the track. The old sleepers are evacuated from the site.
• - Excavation and loading of ballast using machines.
• - Installation of a working track which rests on the platform by means of studs.
• - Unloading of wagons and manual distribution of sand.
• - Manual disassembly of the working track as well as the support pads buried in the sand.
• - Sand compaction.
• - Unloading and distribution of the ballast.
• - Installation of new sleepers either manually or using a lifting device.
• - Unloading and distribution of additional ballast.
• - Installation of the new track.

The present invention aims to remedy this state of affairs. The invention, as characterized in the claims, solves the problem of cleaning up a track by the fact that the layer of compacted sand is established mechanically through the empty frame of a wagon of work specially equipped for this purpose.

The advantages obtained thanks to this invention are above all the speed of the work advance, which is of the first importance for a railroad, a considerable reduction of the personnel on the site, a greater regularity and a better quality of the work. obtained, this owing to the fact that the platform under the working wagon being free of any obstacle, its mechanical equalization, the distribution, the leveling and the compaction of the sand and the ballast can be done under optimal conditions.

• La figure 1 représente schématiquement une vue d'ensemble du train d'assainissement.
• La figure 2 représente à plus grande échelle le wagon-cadre et son équipement.
• La figure 3 représente une coupe transversale du wagon-cadre avec un portique et le châssis de régalage-damage.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with the aid of drawings representing an embodiment.

• Figure 1 schematically shows an overview of the sanitation train.
• Figure 2 shows on a larger scale the frame wagon and its equipment.
• FIG. 3 represents a cross section of the frame wagon with a gantry and the leveling-damage chassis.

The train for sanitation, shown schematically in Figure 1, consists of a first train which includes the tractor 1, the wagons 2 for transporting the excavated ballast according to Swiss Patent No. 609 622 and the excavation machine 3 according to Swiss patent No. 597 428. This train travels on a track, called working 4, provided with quickly removable iron sleepers. To compensate for the height of the ballast and of the platform which have been excavated, the rails 4 are placed on studs 5 at the place where the front bogie 6 of the working wagon 15 rolls.

The second train comprises the working wagon 15 composed of bogies 6 and 7 and an empty frame 8 provided with rolling tracks extending on the wagons of the second train. This second train comprises wagons 9 loaded with sand skips, wagons 10 loaded with emptied skips, wagons 11 loaded with ballast, wagons 12 loaded with track spans, wagons 13 loaded with additional ballast, and tractor 14.

Figures 2 and 3 show the equipment of the working wagon 15. On the lateral sides of its empty frame 8 are provided tracks 28 for the gantries extending on the wagons 9 to 12 of the train.

On this track run two gantries 16 and 17 equipped with both a lifting device 18 for the track spans 21, and a lifting and tilting device 19 for the skips 20. These gantries can thus transport the skips full on the entire length of the train, over the skips in place on the wagons, tilt them to empty them through the empty frame of the work wagon, and bring them back on the empty skip cars.

FIG. 3 shows in particular the arrangement of the track 28 for the wheels 29 of the gantry cranes 16, 17. The wheels 26 of the leveling-damage chassis 25 roll inside the track of the gantries, which allows the chassis of regalage-damage to move freely by passing under the gantries. The wheels 26 of the leveling-damage chassis can roll either on the upper inner edge 27 of the frame 8, as shown in FIG. 3, or on a rolling track 27 ′ formed under the frame 8 and shown in phantom. The leveler and groomer is made up of the equalizing blades 22 and the dammers 23; these two elements cover the entire width of the platform. They are linked to the chassis 25 by means of the jacks 24 which make it possible to adjust the depth as well as the working inclination. The working inclination can be controlled automatically using a pendulum.

The gantry cranes are powered by their own engines. On the other hand, the leveling-tamping chassis will advantageously be moved back and forth along the length of the working wagon by means of a cable and a winch disposed on one of the ends of the working wagon, a deflection pulley being disposed on the other end of this wagon.

• - Au moyen du wagon de travail 15, des portiques 16, 17 et des deux wagons de transport 12 équipés de chemins de roulement, on procède au démontage des anciennes travées et au montage des travées de travail 4.
• - On met en place l'excavatrice 3 et la rame d'évacuation 1, 2.
• - On va en gare décroiser les wagons chargés des anciennes travées, et constituer la rame d'assainissement.
• - On excave l'ancien ballast avec l'excavatrice 3, et on met la voie excavée sur plots.
• - On égalise la banquette avec la lame 22 et on la dame.
• - On amène le sable avec les portiques et les bennes que l'on vide à travers le cadre du wagon de travail, puis on procède au régalage et au damage du sable.
• - On amène, distribue et compacte le ballast, et on pose les travées.
• - Pour terminer on décharge le ballast complémentaire entre les traverses, et on procède à un bourrage provisoire.

The progress of the remediation work will, for example, be as follows:

• - By means of the working wagon 15, gantry cranes 16, 17 and the two transport wagons 12 fitted with raceways, the old spans are dismantled and the working spans 4 are assembled.
• - The excavator 3 and the evacuation train 1, 2 are put in place.
• - We go to the station to uncross the wagons loaded with the old spans, and build the sewer train.
• - The old ballast is excavated with excavator 3, and the track excavated is placed on studs.
• - We level the bench with blade 22 and we get it.
• - We bring the sand with the gantry cranes and the skips which we empty through the frame of the working wagon, then we proceed to the leveling and grinding of the sand.
• - We bring, distribute and compact the ballast, and we install the spans.
• - Finally, the additional ballast is unloaded between the sleepers, and a temporary tamping is carried out.

As a variant of the working method described, the equipment of the train 2 can also be used for laying the long bars previously unloaded on the sides of the track, and for laying the sleepers alone.

In this variant, through the front part of the frame wagon 15, the platform is equalized, after which it distributes, equalizes and compacts the sand and the ballast. Through the rear of the empty frame of the wagon 15 the crosspieces are placed and at the same time the long bars are placed on the crosspieces while the train is being advanced.

Claims (4)

1. A train for stabilizing a railway track, comprising a first set of rail cars (1,2,3) for travelling on the track to be stabilized, which first set of rail cars is equipped for excavation and evacuation of ballast and earth of the old substructure, and a second set of rail cars for travelling essentially on the stabilized track, which second set of rail cars is equipped for conveying materials for the new substructure and the new track and comprises a working car (15) composed of two bogies (6 and 7) joined by an empty frame (8) having a length which is greater than the length of a track panel, one of the bogies (7) being for travelling on the stabilized track and the other bogie (6) being for travelling on the excavated zone, said working car being connected tothe cars (9-12) of the second set of rail cars by runway rails for gantries (16, 17), characterized in that said second set of rail cars is provided with two travelling gantries (16, 17) equipped as well with a lifting device (18) for a track panel as with a device (19) for lifting and tipping buckets (20), and in that said working car (15) is equipped with a plate (22) for levelling the substructure and with a tamper (23), these two latter pieces covering the entire width of the substructure and being supported by travelling on the two side parts of the frame (8).

2. A train as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the levelling plate (22) and the tamper (23) are mounted on the same travelling chassis (25) through the intermediary of a device (24) for adjusting their height.

3. A train as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the chassis (25) of the levelling plate and the tamper is supported by travelling on the two side parts of the frame (8) of the working car (15), the latter being provided on each side with two runway rails comprising outer rails (28) for the gantries (16 and 17) and inner rails (27) for the levelling-tamping chassis (25) so that said chassis is able to move freely by passing below the gantries (16 and 17).

4. A train as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the outer runway rails (28) for the gantries (16 and 17) are disposed in the upper part of the frame (8), whereas the inner runway rails (27) for the levelling-tamping chassis (25) are disposed below the frame (8) of the working car (15).

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