Rail puller including a clamping beam and two clamping members and a method thereof

A rail puller for reducing gap between rail sections, the rail puller comprising:

• a first clamp assembly and a second clamp assembly disposed at opposite ends of the rail puller, each clamp assembly including a clamp bracket and at least two swing arms pivotally coupled to the clamp bracket at an inner joint;
• an elongated clamping beam coupled to the first clamp assembly and the second clamp assembly, and having a clamping cylinder that is extendable and retractable to adjust the length of the clamping beam, each clamp bracket being coupled to an opposite end of the clamping beam from one another;
• at least two elongated pulling members coupled to the first clamp assembly and the second clamp assembly, wherein each pulling member has a pulling cylinder that is extendable and retractable to adjust the length of the pulling members, and the ends of each pulling member are pivotally coupled to one of the swing arms at an outer joint;
• wherein the swing aims pivot with respect to the outer joints to clamp the rail sections.

A method for reducing a gap between rails comprising:

• providing a rail puller including:
• a first clamp assembly and a second clamp assembly disposed at opposite ends of the rail puller;
• a clamping beam coupled to the first clamp assembly and the second clamp assembly, and including a clamping cylinder;
• and
• at least two pulling members coupled to the first clamp assembly and the second clamp assembly, each pulling member including a pulling cylinder, wherein the pulling members are on opposite sides of the clamping beam;
• positioning the rail puller near the rails with the clamp assemblies on opposite sides of the gap;
• extending the clamping cylinder to move the clamp assemblies away from one another and engage the clamp assemblies with the rails;
• and
• retracting the pulling cylinders to move the clamp assemblies toward one another and reduce the gap between the rails.

A rail puller for reducing a gap between rail sections, the rail puller comprising:

• clamping beam having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a clamping cylinder being extendable and retractable to adjust the length of the clamping beam;
• a first clamp assembly coupled to the first end of the clamping beam and a second clamp assembly coupled to the second end of the clamping beam;
• and
• at least one pulling member coupled to the first and second clamp assemblies and having a pulling cylinder being extendable and retractable to adjust the length of the pulling member, the first and second clamp assemblies each being movable between an open condition, in which the clamping cylinder is retracted and the pulling cylinder is extended, and a closed condition, in which the clamping cylinder is extended and the first and second clamp assemblies engage the rail sections.