Auxiliary railroad wheel lift assembly for road vehicle

An apparatus for converting a vehicle for travel on a railway, the vehicle having a frame and a suspension, said apparatus comprising:

• a support arm pivotally mounted to the vehicle frame;
• means for limiting pivotal movement of said support arm relative to the vehicle frame;
• a railway wheel support arm pivotally mounted at one of its ends to said support arm for movement between raised and lowered positions with respect to said support arm;
• a railway wheel rotatably mounted to the other end of said railway wheel support arm;
• means for moving said railway wheel support arm between said raised and lowered positions so as to raise and lower the wheel with respect to the frame of the vehicle;
• and
• means for coupling said support arm with the vehicle suspension in response to said railway wheel support arm being moved to said lowered position in a manner to slidably support the vehicle suspension and for decoupling said second support member from the vehicle suspension in response to said railway wheel support arm being moved to said raised position.

An apparatus for converting a vehicle for travel on a railway, the vehicle having a frame and a suspension, said apparatus comprising:

• a support member pivotally mounted to the vehicle frame;
• means for limiting pivotal movement of said support member relative to the vehicle frame;
• a railway wheel support arm pivotally mounted to said support member for movement between raised and lowered positions;
• a railway wheel rotatably mounted to said railway wheel support arm;
• hydraulic means for moving said railway wheel support arm between said raised and lowered positions;
• and means for slidably coupling said support member with the vehicle suspension in a manner to allow the vehicle suspension and said support member to travel through different paths of movement.

Apparatus for converting a vehicle for travel on a railway, the vehicle including a frame and suspension means for supporting road wheels from the frame, said apparatus comprising:

• a support arm pivotally suspended form said frame,
• a railway wheel support arm pivotably mounted at one end portion to said support arm for movement between raised and lowered positions with respect to said support arm,
• a railway wheel rotatably mounted to the other end of said railway wheel support arm,
• means for moving said railway wheel support arm between raised and lowered positions so as to move the railway wheel with respect to the frame of the vehicle between raised and lowered positions;
• and
• means responsive to the movement of said railway wheel toward its lowered positions or movement to a position beneath the suspension means of the vehicle and for supporting the suspension means, and responsive to the movement of said railway wheel toward the raised position for movement away from the position beneath the suspension means of the vehicle.

An apparatus for converting a road vehicle for travel on a railway, the vehicle having a frame and a suspension means for suspending road wheels from the frame, said apparatus comprising:

• a pivoting support member pivotally mounted to the vehicle frame;
• a railway wheel support member mounted to said pivoting support member for movement between raised and lowered positions;
• a railway wheel rotatably mounted to said railway wheel support member adjacent one end portion of said railway wheel support member;
• means for moving said railway wheel support member between said raised and lowered positions and for securing said railway wheel support member in said raised and lowered positions;
• and
• means carried by said pivoting support member for movement into engagement with the vehicle suspension means and supporting the vehicle suspension means in response to said railway wheel support member being moved to its lowered position and for movement out of engagement with the vehicle suspension means in response to said railway wheel support member being moved to its raised position.

An apparatus for converting a vehicle for travel on a railway, the vehicle having a frame and a suspension means for suspending road wheels from the frame, said apparatus comprising:

• a railway wheel;
• support means pivotally mounted at a first portion thereof to the vehicle frame and movably supporting said railway wheel between raised and lowered positions, said railway wheel being rotatably mounted to said support means;
• means for moving said railway wheel between its raised and lowered positions;
• means for limiting pivotal movement of said support means relative to the vehicle frame;
• and
• a tongue member carried by said support means movable between a retracted position spaced from the suspension means and movable to an extended position beneath said suspension means in response to the movement of said railway wheel between its respective raised and lowered positions for supporting the suspension means when the railway wheel is in its lowered position.

An apparatus for converting a vehicle for travel on a railway, the vehicle having a frame and a suspension means suspending road wheels from the frame, said apparatus comprising:

• a support arm pivotally supported at a first portion thereof to the vehicle frame;
• a railway wheel rotatably supported by a second end portion of said support arm;
• means for pivoting said support arm about its first end portion so as to raise the railway wheel away from the railway tracks beneath the vehicle and lower the railway wheel downwardly into engagement with the railway tracks beneath the vehicle;
• and
• means responsive to the downward pivoting movement of said railway wheel toward the railway tracks for slidably engaging and supporting the suspension means and lifting the road wheels to a position raised above the railway tracks and responsive to the upward pivoting movement of said railway wheel away from the railroad tracks for disengaging from the suspension means and permitting the road wheels to be lowered.