Temporary sign holder

A temporary sign holder attachable to a rail base formed with first and second rail base flanges which project from opposite sides of a rail web supporting a rail head to provide a support for temporary signage observable by both train operating personnel and maintenance personnel, comprising:

• (a) a support base;
• (b) a post connected to the support base and being adapted to support said signage;
• (c) a first rail base engaging section including an angled or curved first clamping section adapted to engage the first rail base flange;
• (d) a second rail base engaging section including an angled or curved second clamping section adapted to engage the second base flange, one of said first and second rail base engaging sections being attached to the support base;
• and
• (e) a threaded tightening mechanism formed between said first and second rail base engaging sections and having a clamping axis extending transverse to the rail longitudinal axis for selectively moving said first and second rail base engaging sections towards each other in the direction of the rail web and thereby into and out of clamping contact with the rail base,
• wherein said first base engaging section includes a threaded bolt portion at one end thereof and said first clamping section at an opposite end thereof, said second rail base engaging section including an opening through which said threaded bolt portion extends when said first and second rail base engaging sections are operatively connected to each other,
• further comprising a sleeve attached to a bottom portion of said second rail base engaging section and extending transversely to receive said first rail base engaging section, said opening being defined by an end of said sleeve through which opening said threaded bolt portion extends,
• wherein said tightening mechanism includes a plate formed with a threaded section adapted to receive the threaded bolt portion therethrough, whereby rotation of said plate draws the first clamping section towards the second clamping section and into clamping contact with said rail base flanges, and
• wherein said tightening plate includes at least one opening and said sleeve includes a mounting tab also formed with an opening therein, whereby alignment of said respective openings with each other enables a locking mechanism to be inserted through the aligned openings to lock the plate to the sleeve and thereby prevent unauthorized removal of said first and second clamping sections from the rail.

A temporary sign holder attachable to a rail base which projects from opposite sides of a rail web supporting a rail head to provide a support for temporary signage observable by both train operating personnel and maintenance personnel, comprising:

• (a) a support base;
• (b) a post connected to the support base and being adapted to support said signage;
• (c) a first clamp and a second clamp respectively formed with a clamping section adapted to respectively engage said rail base along opposing parallel edges thereof;
• (d) a tightening member interconnected to said first and second clamping sections and being operable to move said clamping sections towards each other in the direction of the rail web;
• and
• (e) a locking member for locking said tightening member in its tightening position to prevent unclamping of said first and second clamping sections.

A temporary sign holder comprising:

• (a) a support base;
• (b) a post connected to the support base and being adapted to support said sign;
• (c) a first rail engaging section including an angled or curved first clamping section adapted to engage a portion of a rail base;
• (d) a second rail engaging section including an angled or curved second clamping section adapted to engage another portion of said rail base, one of said first and second rail engaging sections being attached to the support base;
• and
• (e) a threaded tightening mechanism formed between said first and second rail engaging sections and having a clamping axis extending transverse to the rail base longitudinal axis for selectively moving said first and second rail base engaging sections towards each other in the direction of a rail web and into and out of clamping contact with the rail base, wherein said threaded tightening mechanism includes a plurality of openings to facilitate manual grasping and tightening interaction of said threaded tightening mechanism.

A method of temporarily securing a sign holder to a rail, comprising the steps of:

• (a) positioning first and second clamps into loose contact with opposite sides of parallel lower rail flanges by passing one of said first and second clamps into a space beneath the rail;
• (b) tightening said first and second clamps into respective contact with the lower flanges by moving said first and second clamps towards each other along a clamping axis extending perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said rail in the direction of a rail web;
• and
• (c) locking said first and second clamps into a tightened position utilizing a locking mechanism.