Rail drilling station for a rail loading and unloading machine

摘要

A drill station for a rail loading and unloading machine. The drill station is provided between primary and secondary drive units to enable adjacent ends of a pair of sections of rail to be driven independently by a respective drive unit to position the ends on the drill station for drilling. The drill station is raised from a stowed position below a walkway to conduct a drilling operation and retracted to provide workspace for an operator to install joining plates on segments of rail.

主权项

1. A rail loading and unloading apparatus comprising:
a first drive unit that drives a first rail along the apparatus; a second drive unit that drives a second rail along the apparatus; a drill carriage disposed in a stowed position beneath a surface of the apparatus and between the first and second drive units, the drill carriage including, a lift that moves the drill carriage vertically from the stowed position to an operational position above the surface of the apparatus for performance of a drilling operation and returns the drill carriage to the stowed position upon completion of the drilling operation, a support member that supports adjacent ends of the first and second rails during the drilling operation, at least a pair of drill units operable to perform the drilling operation to substantially simultaneously drill a hole in a web of each of the first and second rails, and a clamping assembly on said drill carriage configured to hold a first end of the first rail and a second end of the second rail in an abutting relationship during the drilling operation performed by the drill units; and a platform disposed over the drill carriage when in the stowed position, forming a portion of the surface, and configured to support an operator thereon.