Rail Guide Shoe and Channels for Loading Rails on Curved Track
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for loading railroad ribbon rails onto rack cars of a rail train face difficulties in guiding the rails into alignment, particularly when the train is on a curved section of track, requiring significant effort and often the use of pry bars to maintain proper spacing and alignment.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of upwardly opening guide channels and funnel members on the rail car base, along with a shoe equipped with horizontal and vertical rollers, facilitates the alignment and loading of rails into pockets on the shelves, allowing for easier guidance and spacing between rails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the rail train traverses curves in the track, then the rails can be transported along curved tracks, but the ends of the rails tend to move in a straight line and sag, making it difficult to thread them into desired pockets
Solution Approach 1:
A guide shoe is introduced as an intermediary device attached to the leading end of the rail. The guide shoe includes a guide arm with a receiver that engages with the previously loaded rail, creating a mechanical connection that transfers alignment information to the next rail being loaded, thereby compensating for the natural tendency of rails to sag and move straight during curved track traversal
Solution Approach 2:
The guide shoe and guide arm are positioned and engaged with the previously loaded rail before the next rail is threaded into place. This preliminary alignment action ensures that the guide receiver is already in the correct position to receive and align the leading end of the next rail, preventing alignment issues during curved track operation
2Ease of operation
If workers use pry bars to redirect the end of the rail, then the rail can be guided into the desired pocket, but the loading process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The guide shoe and guide arm system is designed to automatically guide the rail into the desired pocket without requiring external tools. The guide receiver engages with the previously loaded rail and mechanically directs the leading end of the next rail into alignment, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for pry bars or other manual redirection tools
3Stability of the object's composition
If the stands are spaced 30 feet apart, then the rails are supported without excessive sagging, but the loading process becomes more difficult as the rails are longer
Solution Approach 1:
The 30-foot spaced stands divide the long rail into manageable segments for support purposes. Each stand acts as an independent support point that prevents excessive sagging between adjacent stands, effectively breaking down the loading of long rails into smaller, more manageable sections while maintaining overall structural stability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies the loading process by guiding the rails into alignment with the shelves, reducing the need for manual intervention and ensuring proper spacing, even on curved tracks, thereby improving efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
A shoe, attached to the front of the rail and having a horizontal roller recessed within the base of the shoe, facilitated threading the rail through aligned pockets of successive shelves of the cars in the rail train. The horizontal roller facilitates advancement of the shoe across the web of the guide channel.
Implementation Method 2
The shoe may also include vertical rollers to facilitate movement of the roller across any vertically extending surfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for guiding rails onto a rail train having rail cars with a plurality of vertically spaced rail support shelves includes upwardly opening guide channels extending from funnel members position at the end of the rail car to each shelf in alignment with the outermost rail receiving pockets of each shelf. A guide shoe with a horizontal roller recessed therein and projecting below the bottom of the shoe is mounted on the end of a rail threaded across the shelves and guide channels of the rail support car. An alternative guide shoe further includes vertically extending rollers projecting from the sides of the guide shoe.