Method and apparatus for operating a vehicle on rails of a railroad track with an auxiliary drive assembly

A method of operating a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• providing an auxiliary drive assembly suspended below a frame of a vehicle to be driven including a roller component for engaging a tire of the vehicle;
• placing the vehicle on railroad tracks so that tires of the vehicle engage the tracks;
• and
• extending the roller component so that the roller component engages the tire;
• rotating the roller component so that the roller component imparts a corresponding rotary force to the tire of the vehicle.

An auxiliary drive assembly, comprising:

• a hydraulic roller assembly including a roller component for engaging a tire of a vehicle to be propelled;
• a hydraulic cylinder for moving said roller component from a first, unengaged position to a second, engaged position;
• and
• a motor operatively connected to said roller component so that said roller component rotates and imparts a corresponding rotary force to the tire of the vehicle;
• and
• wherein said motor is a hydraulic motor and a chain drive extends between and is operatively associated with said hydraulic motor and said roller component so that operation of said hydraulic motor causes corresponding rotation of said roller component.