Rail brake, especially a holding brake

A track brake, especially a grade-compensating track brake for braking railroad vehicles, comprising:

• at least one piston track brake with a housing against a rail;
• means actuated by a shifting mechanism for shifting said piston track brake out of an active state and into an inactive state;
• said shifting mechanism comprising a track-brake lowering device with a length of structural section extending along the piston track brake and having drag bars attached to said structural section and engaging said piston track brake;
• said piston track brake remaining fixed to said rail and in the operating region of wheels of said railroad vehicles, said active and inactive state being carried out without contacting said housing of said piston track brake, the braking process being free of acceleration forces, said drag bars contacting said piston track brake only when said piston track brake is in an inactive state to prevent acceleration forces by not actuating said piston track brake in the inactive state, in the active state said piston track brake remaining in an operating region of said piston track brake and said drag bars sliding in a piston tube adjacent to a rear wheel for entering the active state also when the wheels are in the operative region of the piston track brake, so that said piston track brake can be shifted out of the inactive state and into the active state in a braking section even when car wheels are present in the braking section;
• said structural section having a longitudinal axis, said structural section rotating about said longitudinal axis;
• said structural section being round;
• said shifting mechanism comprising a tubular motor;
• bearing pins on said structural section and resting in associated bearings;
• said structural section having upright guides for allowing said structural section and said drag bars to raise and lower a piston tube;
• bearings mounted on angle irons secured to said rail;
• said structural section being located along with said drag bars between the middle of said rail and said piston track brake and in the path of a piston tube as said tube rises;
• said drag bars having an end engaging said piston track brake and having a rollover round off;
• threaded bolts and cup springs for fastening said drag bars to said structural section;
• variable limiting switches monitoring and controlling active and inactive states of the piston track brake along with a maintenance state, the active and inactive state of said brake being attained by said drag bars shifting the piston tube vertically, said drag bars being rotatable.