System, method, and apparatus for railroad turnout and derail lift frog

Abstract

A railroad turnout lift frog has a combination tread and flange bearing design that uses two separate castings to form the lift frog and securely bolt it to the main rail. The lift frog allows for a continuous, unbroken mainline track and also has built-in guarding for a safer move.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Technical Field [0002] The present invention relates in general to railway track sections and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for a railroad turnout lift frog. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] A railway frog is employed where one track crosses another. For example, in a turnout, a switch will selectively switch a train from a main track to a turnout track. As the turnout track progresses in a curve from the switch, one of the rails must cross a rail of the main track. The junction assembly at such crossing is called a frog. If two tracks cross each other, four frogs are required, one at each intersection of one rail with another. [0005] There are a number of different types of frogs. One type, referred to as a spring frog, has a fixed wing rail and a movable wing rail. The wing rails converge toward each other in a central area of the frog, and then diverge from each other. If a casting, a point member...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] One embodiment of a system, method, and apparatus for a railroad turnout lift frog allows for a continuous, unbroken mainline track. A combination of a solid, self-guarded, tread and flange bearing design uses two separate castings are used to form the lift frog and securely bolt it to the main rail.

Problems solved by technology

The gap increases the contact pressure of the wheel against the point and the fixed wing rail because the tread will not be fully supported on steel as it passes over the gap.

This creates repetitive excessive loads on part of the fixed wing rail and point member that cause them to wear more than other portions of the frog.

Once the wing portion wears to the point, it is not economical to repair, and the entire casting may be replaced.

Replacing an entire casting is a time-consuming and expensive task.

A rail made of austenitic manganese steel would be too expensive for the lengthy fixed wing rail.

Consequently, they also tend to wear in the areas that are contacted by the railcar wheel adjacent the point.

However, every subsequent repair shortens the casting's life, and replacement is costly.

When the wheels cross the gap they generate impacts that adversely affect the frog, wheels, and the track structure.

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