US1977170A - Method of inspecting railroad cars and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 16, 1934. M. w. CLEMENT El AL 1,977,170

METHOD OF INSPECTING RAILROAD CARS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 19, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l'lll l N V EN TOR- 7 ifudolflwLJflam Isa John Wlfawlami,

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METHOD OF INSPECTING RAILROAD CARS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 19, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 11.

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By Jflhn WATTORNEY Patented Oct. 16, 1934 sNT' orFicE 1,977,170 METHOD OF INSPECTING RAILROAD CABS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR" J Martin W. Clement, Haverford, Rudolph L. Kleine, Philadelphia, and John W. Rowland, Paoli, Pa.

Application September 19, 1932, Serial No. 633,702

4 Claims. (01. 104-26) This invention relates to a method of inspecting railroad cars while the same are moved slowly in groups along a track, as well as to apparatus designed to facilitatesuch an inspection. The invention isespecially useful when applied to the inspection of freight cars moving from a receiving yard to a classification yard, and it affords an inspection by which a great variety of defects which constitute common causes-of accidents may be detected, and their location noted so that they may be subsequently remedied.

Generallystated, the object of our invention is to provide an inspection of cars in active service which is sufficientlycomprehensive inits scope to cover substantially all visible defects which are likely to cause train wrecks or serious accidents. In U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,793,908, granted to Martin W. Clement February 24, 1931, there is shown and described a method and apparatus for making an underneathinspection of passing cars as they move slowly over a pit. Differing from the method there disclosed, our present invention contemplates a series of examinations of passing cars, conducted substantially simultaneously according to a predetermined plan, with each examination covering-a particular area of each. car, and with the several examinations collectively covering substantially the whole of each car.

Other more specific objects and advantages parent from the description of an example of the practice thereof, which follows hereinafter, havingreference to the accompanying drawings. Of

the drawings: i

' Fig. I represents a plan view of a section of track equipped with apparatus ofourinvention.

' Fig. II represents a side elevation of the same, showing a'train of freight carsundergoing inspection.' A Fig. III represents an enlarged transverse sec.- tion of the side pits, takenas indicated by the lines IIIIII of Figs. I and II from which stations the sides and-ends of the cars are inspected. IV represents a longitudinalgcross section of the same, taken as indicated by the lines IV-IV ofFigIp Fig. V represents an enlarged side elevation of the bridge constituting the station from which which side and verticalrclearance of the cars and their lading is measured; and, Y

Fig. VI represents a front elevation of the same. With reference particularly to. Figs. I and II of the drawings, there is shown a group of freight cars being moved in the direction indicated by the characteristic of our inventionwill become aparrow, and it maybeassumed that-the cars thus shown are cars in active service which have come from the main line tracks of a railroad system into a receiving yard, and that fromthere they are being hauledto a classification yard. Incident to such movement, the cars pass by a series of inspection stationslocated at spaced intervals along a track. In thepresent exampleof our invention the inspection is conducted along parallel tracks 1, each equipped with a set of inspection stations.

The first of the series of inspection stations is designated at 2., At this station twomen stand, one on each side of the track, immediately ad'- jacent thereto. v} As the cars pass by, at a slow uniform rate of speed, preferably at the rate of about two miles per hour, each man opens the'journal box lids and-hookswith a suitable. tool for waste grabs that may be under the bearings of the journal boxes interfering with proper distribution of the lubricant. Atthe same time the journal boxes '75 are visually-examinedcarebeing takento see that each journal box of each truck is subjected .to the same examination. A

3 At a point further along the track, and convenientlyabout one cars length from the initial 30 inspection station, there is a secondstation designated at 3. At this station two men, one on each side of the track and adjacent thereto, setup the packing in the previously opened journal boxes,

In advance of .thesecond station there is an 35 underground inspection pit 4, of the type shown in the Clement Patent No. 1,793,908,. referred to above. Within'the'pit 4 a man is seated on a swivel chair 5 in a position such as to command a View lengthwise of the trackin both directions, from whichthe running gear-and other under parts of the passing cars may be readily examined.

The man in the underground inspection pit 4 makes a thorough inspection of each car for such defectsas crackedarch bars, bent or broken cenv .ter sills; loose wheels, defects in. the brake rig- ,ging, or defects in any of the other equipment suspended from the bottom of the cars. By means :of ahand valve or other suitable control apparatus, not shown, the .man'in the pit 4 operates a spray markingdevice tocause a jet of whitewash. or the like to issue from a nozzle 6 'tomark defective cars. as the defects are observed. I the roofs of passing, cars are inspected and at At aboutone. cars length in advance of the inspection pit 4, there isastation comprising two .105 side pits '7 disposed on each side of the track. The side pits '7 are convenientlytermed .half-de'pth pits because thebottom of each pit is at such a level that a, man standing therein views the .;truc k s ofpassing carsat substantially the level as the car passes the pits.

of his eye. The side pits 7 are preferably of con crete construction with steps 8 leading downward thereto, and each pit is equipped with suitable marking apparatus for identifying defective cars. In the particular example illustrated, this apparatus comprises generally a storage tank 9 for whitewash or other marking fluid, =an:ai-r supply line indicated at 10 in Fig. IV, and-afoot treadle 11 for controlling the operation of a three-way valve 12 which in turn controls the discharge of the whitewash to a pipe 13.

from which a spray of whitewash is deliveredto the trucks of passing cars. The spray from the nozzle issues at a point ,above. the level of. the:

spray from the nozzle 6 previously described in and accordingly the location of the mark upon the car serves to indicate whether the detect relatesto the underpart or to the side of the car. At each half-depth pit 7 there is provideda search light 15 mounted for swinging movement at the edgeof the pit and adjustable so that its rays will be thrown upon the sides of the truck frames and other gear suspended at the sides of the car. From each side pit 7 a speaking tube 16', shown in Fig. IV, leads to the underground inspection; pit {i permitting the men'in the side" pits to be in constant communication with the'rnaniri the underground pit. Obviously, other means of'communlcatio-n' may be provided, it being important that the various stations bein communication with each other so that if the man at'the under} ground inspection pit 4 is uncertain as to whether he sees a defective part and the part maybe more clearly seen from the side than undemeath, he may then notify the men in the side pits to be on the lookout for such defect. Inasmuch as the pits are located at about onecars length from the underground pit, after the man in the underground pit has warned one of the men in the side pits to be on the lookout for a defect, the latter will know that the defectis one on the carwhich is just about to pass his station. Each side pit 7 is covered whennot in use by a hinged cover 17. When the pit is to be used, the hinged cover 17 is swung upwardly as indicated in Fig. III, and is locked to "an upright support 18 7 at the rear of the pit. Pivotally attached to the upright support 18 there is a collapsible canopy 19. When the parts of this canopy are extended to the position shown in full lines in Fig.'III, the canopy together with the cover 17 forms a shelter for the man in the pit. When the partsof the canopy are collapsed, the pit cover l7 may be swung downward with the canopy housed therebeneath. The collapsed position is indicated by the dot-and-dash lines in FigJIII. I

The inspection conducted by the men in the half-depth side pits 7 consists oi'the examination of the trucks and such parts of the brake rigging and other'gear suspended from thebottom of the car as may be visible from the side. The examination also covers the side walls of the cars, it being the duty of the-men in the halfdepth pits to note such defects as more side doors, broken side ladders or'the absence of safety appliances. The examinationalso includes the end walls of the cars which are visible fora moment At a point in advance of the half-depth side pits 7, there is a station 20 at which two men are located, one at each side'of the track; from which oil may be injected into the journal boxes previously opened at the first station 2 of the series. The men at the oiling station 20 have available flexible hoses 21 with nozzle controls 22; and they oil the journal boxes as required. In cold weather it is frequently desirable to inject into the journal boxes freshly heated oil which will free so-called frozen bearings, so that the cars will-run more smoothly; This is most desirable where thecars are tobe jpassed over a yard hump from which they roll by their own Weight into the classification yard. At the poiling station 20 the journal box lids are closed. The pipe 13 terminates in a spray nozzleld Beyond the previously described station 20 there is abridge 23 which comprises the final station ofthe' series. The bridge 23 consists of an inverted U-shaped framework having a cabin 24. at the topthereof in which a man is seated on .a swivel chair 25. The man is seated centrally of the track I, and while he may view the track in both directions, he generally observes the cars as they pass toward the bridge and notes such defects as broken running" boards,- loose -vntilatorsand the-like. For this'inspection he has available search lights 26'which play upon the roofs of thefpassing cars in both-directions.

The bridge 23 also serves as aclearance tower; For this purpose there are provided swinging'tabs or slats-27, as shown in Fig. VI, arranged in ver" tical rows at-the sides of the" framework and in a horizontal; row suspended from the top thereof. As long asthetabs orslats 27 remain untouched, the vertical and side clearance is' not exceeded. If,'h0wever, there is a loose door, or if the lading projects outwardly to exceed the clearance limits, the projecting article will strik' e one-of the tabs or slats 27, andrecord to the view of the-man in the cabin 24, by means of a suitable indicator, not shown, the point at which the clearance limit is exceeded. There is also preferably provided a bell, not/shown, or similar warning alarm to notify the man in the cabin 24 that the clearance limit has been exceeded. Whenever vertical or side clearance is exceeded; or whenever: a defect is noted in-the' roofs of passing cars, the" man in the cabin 24 operates a spray nozzle 28 to mark the defective car. 'The operation ofthe spray nozzle 28 is accomplished in a similar manner to the operation of the previously described nozzles 6 and 14 at the underground and side pits respect'ively. Where two or more parallel tracks are utilized for the inspection the bridge-23 may-be duplicated over each track as indicated by the broken lines at the right-handside" of Fig. VI.

There is also provided a series of additional flood lights 29 located at some distance from the track 1 and collectively covering the whole series of inspection stations, these lights being useful for the-purpose of night inspection. Moreover, as shown in Fig. IILstationary lights 30 are preferably located outside the rails of the track 1 at positions where their rays are thrownupw'ard to illuminate the truck frames of passingcars. It will be particularly observed that the several inspection stations are located adjacent to each other so thatthe inspection of all parts is substantially simultaneous, and that the major stations of the series, to wit the underground inproximity to each other that when'defects' are noted and communicated from onestation to another there will result no confusion asto which *car of the train is refeired'to.

The method of conducting the complete inspection of this invention will be apparent from the description of the individual operations which take place at the several stations of the series. It will be particularly noted that the aggregate of the various individual examinations of particular areas of the cars constitutes a comprehensive examination of substantially all parts of the cars, so that all defects visible from below, from above, or from the sides or ends of the cars, may be noted. Where such defects are noted, the various marking devices serve to identify the location of the defects so that when the cars subsequently reach the classification yard, the defective cars may be segregated, and the repair men will be apprised in a general way of the location of the defect which is to be remedied. Furthermore, it will be especially noted that the close proximity of the inspection stations enables substantially simultaneous inspection of each car, and that the stations are inter-communicating and so positioned that one inspector may call to another, either through the speaking tubes or over the ground. lhis renders possible effective team-work between the several inspectors so that the complete inspection constitutes not merely the aggregate of the individual examinations of the cars from each station, for by the co-operative action of the inspectors many defects can be ascertained which would otherwise pass unnoticed.

While we have described one example of the practice of our invention, and one particular set of apparatus useful for facilitating such an inspection, it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form of the apparatus to be used; that changes may be made in the order of the individual examinations to which the cars are subjected; and that certain features of the invention may be used at times to advantage without a corresponding use of other features, all without departing from the spirit of our invention as defined in the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A method of comprehensively inspecting railroad cars which consists in moving the cars slowly and successivelypast a series of intercoinmunicating inspection stations from each of which a different area of the car is visible, one such inspection station being located at a level beneath the track, another at a level above the tops of the cars, and other being located at intermediate levels at the sides of the track, and examining each car from each station as it passes thereby, said inspection stations being sufiiciently near each other to admit of substantially simultaneous inspection of the entire car, the facilities at each inspection station enabling an inspector to examine therefrom a particular area of each car and note defects, and the total area thus inspected embracing substantially all of each car, whereby all of its visible defects may be noted.-

2. In combination witha railroad track, a half depth inspection pit at the side of the track, the floor of said pit being at such a level that a man standing therein views passing cars substantially at the level of the journal boxes, a hinged cover for said pit and a collapsible canopy on said cover, said canopy being extensible whereby when the cover is raised the cover and canopy together afford a shelter for the man in the pit.

3. In combination with a railroad track, a series of inter-communicating inspection stations, one such inspection station comprising a pit located at a level beneath the track, another such station being located above the level of the tops of railroad cars, and other such stations comprising half-depth pits at the sides of the track from which the trucks of passing cars may be conveniently examined, said inspection stations being sufliciently near each other to permit substantially simultaneous inspection of the cars as they pass by, and said inspection stations being so arranged that the inspectors therein may collectively view substantially the entire area of each car as it passes, and means at each said inspection station for applying marks to defective cars in such manner as to identify the general location of the defective condition.

4. A method of comprehensively inspecting railroad cars which consists in moving the cars slowly and successively past a series of intercornmunicating inspection stations from each of which a diiierent area of the car is visible, one such inspection station being located at a level beneath the track, another at a level above the tops of the cars, and others being located at intermediate levels at the sides of the track, and examining each car from each station as it passes thereby, said inspection stations being suificiently near each other to admit of substantially simultaneous inspection of the entire car, the facilities at each inspection station enabling an inspector to examine therefrom a particular area of each car and. note defects, and the total area thus inspected embracing substantially all of each car, whereby all of its visible defects may be noted, and marking for identification such cars as are defective, with the marks applied in the general vicinity of the defective condition.

MARTIN W. CLEMENT. RUDOLPH L. KLEINE. JOHN W. ROWLAND.

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