Method and apparatus for unloading ribbon rails from rail cars

A method of unloading elongated rails from a railcar which travels on track on a railway bed, comprising the steps of:

• feeding a first rail on the railcar into a first thread box having a power operated drive for transporting the rails through said first thread box and onto the railway bed;
• feeding a second rail on the railcar into a second thread box located sidewardly from the first thread box and having a power operated drive for transporting the rails through said second thread box and onto the railway bed;
• operating said drives of the first and second thread boxes to transport the respective first and second rails therethrough and onto the railway bed at locations spaced apart sidewardly until said first and second rails are unloaded from the railcar onto the railway bed;
• feeding a third rail on the railcar into said first thread box;
• feeding a fourth rail on the railcar into said second thread box;
• operating said drives of the first and second thread boxes to transport the respective third and fourth rails therethrough while propelling said railcar away from the first and second rails along the track at a speed sufficient to maintain said third rail substantially end to end with said first rail and disconnected therefrom and said fourth rail substantially end to end with said second rail and disconnected therefrom, thereby unloading said third and fourth rails from the railcar onto the railway bed with the first and third rails disconnected and positioned on the railway bed substantially end to end and the second and fourth rails disconnected and positioned on the railway bed substantially end to end.