Abstract: A railroad ballast broom vehicle uses a double or split auger to move ballast received from a rotary core broom. The auger has various features to minimize the risk of it jamming on ballast which it moves to the field side of rails of the railroad bed which is being swept. Flex plates are used to mount broom drive hydraulic motors to minimize or avoid problems which might otherwise be caused by slight misalignments in the motors and the rotary core of the broom. A dust control system is used to minimize escape of dust from operation of the vehicle. A method of using the vehicle advantageously uses only a single pass of the vehicle over a given section of road bed in need of sweeping.

Abstract: A vehicle and vehicle bumper provide protection against other vehicles underriding the vehicle. The bumper uses breakable links which break at a predetermined force. The bumper structure has a pivoting arrangement such that, upon breakage of the breakable links, the pivoting of the bumper tends to lift the rear of the vehicle which is being hit and tends to smash downward on the front end of the impinging vehicle, which might otherwise underride the vehicle having the present bumper. A method of using the bumper to prevent underride includes the smashing down and lifting up features.

Abstract: A railroad ballast sweeper controls dust by use of a double segmented skirt arrangement. Segments of elastic, flexible material extend downwardly from a housing in which a rotary broom is disposed. The skirts prevent leakage of dust-laden air out from the housing. Further, a fan and associated filters are used to draw air out from within the housing, thus creating a slight negative pressure within the housing. A grate having a series of metallic strip grate elements is used to block dust from reaching the filters. The grate elements force air to turn up abruptly in order to get to the filters, whereas the dust, by virtue of its higher mass, is generally unable to make a sufficiently quick change in direction in order to reach the filters. The grate has an orientator to insure that, upon replacing the grate, any new grate will necessarily be inserted with the proper orientation.

Abstract: Tie plates are moved between a position on a tie plate manipulator vehicle and a track position, which is under a rail and above a tie. A magnetic wheel is used in conjunction with a rail lifter. The rail lifter lifts the rail while the magnetic wheel installs or removes a tie plate from between a tie and a rail. The vehicle may include another magnetic wheel used for picking up tie plates loosely placed upon ties. A ballast sweeper or broom with a rotary core may be incorporated into the vehicle.

Abstract: A rail spike cleaning apparatus includes a tumbler and an arrangement whereby the tumbler is automatically loaded and unloaded. The tumbler is a continuous tumbler in that it is operable to receive spikes continuously while it is tumbling and operable to automatically discharge cleaned spikes while it is tumbling. The tumbler is connected to a motor which causes the tumbler to rotate about a rotation axis, which is preferably horizontal. The tumbler is cylindrical and the axis of rotation is the center axis of the cylinder. The tumbler includes a cleaning chamber separated from a discharge chamber by a wall. When spikes reach sufficient height in the cleaning chamber, they may overflow the wall and go into the discharge chamber. Spikes which land in the discharge chamber are caught by vanes which carry them up to drop upon a conveyor belt whereupon they are carried out of the tumbler.

Abstract: Rail anchors used to secure rails to ties are spread by pushing on the tie plates immediately adjacent to the anchors. A pair of hydraulic cylinders are disposed upon a common rod and are used to push a tie plate in opposite directions, thereby spreading each of two anchors associated with one side of a particular tie.

Abstract: A magnetic pick up system for tie plates uses a pick up head having a rotatable wheel with a plurality of fingers pivotably attached to the wheel. The fingers, which are magnet pole pieces adapted to magnetically grip tie plates and lift them from the ground, are pulled outwardly by centrifical force and serve to extend the effective distance of a magnetic circuit including block magnets mounted within the head. Tie plates lifted by the magnetic pick up head are deposited upon a conveyor belt which lifts them to a hopper upon a rail vehicle. An operator control adjacent to the pick up head provides easy and quick movement of the pick up head both vertically and horizontally allowing an operator walking along beside the pick up head to insure that the pick up head satisfactorily picks up any tie plates upon the roadbed.

Abstract: A railroad tie plate placing vehicle uses a crawler track to place plates upon rail ties. The crawler track is meshed to a magnetic wheel which holds tie plates to the crawler track until the tie plates have actually contacted a tie. The crawler track at least partially propels the vehicle down the railroad track when the vehicle is placing plates. A tie detector switch is used to control gates which gate tie plates onto the conveyor and magnetic wheel upon detection of a tie such that a tie plate released by the gates will reach a release point in the closed loop of the conveyor at the same time as the release point reaches the tie whose detection triggered the gating of the tie plate.

Abstract: A railroad scarifying device is adapted to automatically distinguish between ballast and ties. The device includes a mounting piece or drum on which a plurality of hammer arms are pivotably attached. The hammer arms are pulled outwardly by the centrifugal force of rotation of the drum and include hammer teeth to pound and fracture hardened ballast in between railroad ties. The hammer arms have a tie protector or tie protecting portion which strikes ties and causes the hammer arms to retract inwardly such that the teeth avoid damaging contact with the ties. The hammer arms include a stop slot which cooperates with a stop pin mounted on the drum so as to limit the range of pivoting of the hammer arms relative to the drum.

Abstract: A railroad scrap pick up machine includes a magnetic wheel and transversely extending support arm or beam which pivots in a plane transverse to the right and left sides of the machine. The magnetic wheel may alternately be mounted on the left or right side of the machine for picking up loose tie plates disposed on the railroad bed. The single magnetic wheel which is used for picking up tie plates may be removed and a support arm having two magnetic wheels for picking up spikes may be attached at either the right or left side of the machine. Stripper trays are used for separating metallic articles from the magnetic wheels. Crawlers which may slide from left to right on the machine are used to support the machine when traveling on a roadbed having only one rail.

Abstract: A bristle for use in a railway roadbed broom is disclosed. The bristle is made of an elongate elastomeric core member with two elastomeric skin members bonded around it. Pieces of reinforcing stranded material are used to strengthen the interfaces between the elastomeric members.

Abstract: A vehicle for cleaning a railway roadbed of magnetic articles such as spikes, tie plates, rail support plates, bolts, and the like has a chassis supported by rail engaging wheels which are rotated by a hydraulic motor powered by an internal combustion engine driven pump mounted on the chassis. At least one endless conveyor of non-magnetic flexible material is mounted on the chassis with a lower end thereof adjacent the roadbed and passing over a lower drum supporting fixed magnets. The conveyor is driven by a hydraulic motor powered by the pump to move at the same speed as the vehicle to prevent scuffing over the ballast of the roadbed. The endless conveyor is provided with spaced parallel cleats across the conveyer whereby metallic articles attracted by the magnets acting through the conveyor will engage the articles and move them along the conveyor out of the field of action of the magnets.

Abstract: A bristle for use in a railway roadbed broom is disclosed. The bristle is made of an elongate elastomeric core member with two elastomeric skin members bonded around it. Pieces of reinforcing stranded material are used to strengthen the interfaces between the elastomeric members.