A rail-lifting and ballast-spreading apparatus that may be employed to rehabilitate damaged tracks or aid rough in of new tracks, is described. The apparatus includes a track-lifting unit at a forward end thereof that includes an arm that is pivotable to extend forwardly and over a section of track in need of repair or ballast replenishment. Rail clamps are provided on a distal end of the arm that engage and travel along the rails as the apparatus moves forward. A conveyor provides a stream of ballast across the width of the tracks while the tracks are lifted and as the apparatus moves forward onto the now repaired tracks. A surge bin is provided to increase a rate of distribution of the ballast material by the conveyor over that available from the ballast-delivery consist.

A lift device includes a chassis having a first end and an opposing second end, a first actuator coupled to the first end, a second actuator coupled to the first end, a third actuator coupled to the opposing second end; and a fourth actuator coupled to the opposing second end. The first actuator and the second actuator are selectively engageable to facilitate providing active control of a first pitch adjustment and a first roll adjustment of the first end of the chassis. The third actuator and the fourth actuator are (i) selectively fluidly couplable to facilitate providing passive control of a second pitch adjustment and a second roll adjustment of the opposing second end of the chassis and (ii) selectively fluidly decouplable to facilitate providing active control of the second pitch adjustment and the second roll adjustment of the opposing second end of the chassis.

A lift device includes a chassis having a first end and an opposing second end, a first actuator coupled to the first end, a second actuator coupled to the first end, a third actuator coupled to the opposing second end; and a fourth actuator coupled to the opposing second end. The first actuator and the second actuator are selectively engageable to facilitate providing active control of a first pitch adjustment and a first roll adjustment of the first end of the chassis. The third actuator and the fourth actuator are (i) selectively fluidly couplable to facilitate providing passive control of a second pitch adjustment and a second roll adjustment of the opposing second end of the chassis and (ii) selectively fluidly decouplable to facilitate providing active control of the second pitch adjustment and the second roll adjustment of the opposing second end of the chassis.

The invention relates to a method for tamping sleepers of a track by means of a tamping assembly comprising at least two tamping units which have tamping tools lying opposite one another in each case and supported on a lowerable tool carrier, wherein the tamping tools—actuated with a vibration—are lowered into a ballast bed during a tamping operation and squeezed towards one another via squeezing drives. In this, for tamping an obliquely-lying sleeper, the tamping tools or tamping tool pairs in a raised position are moved via a control by means of the squeezing drives in the squeezing direction with different adjustment paths in such a manner that the free ends of the tamping tools or tamping tool pairs rotate approximately about a common vertical rotation axis in order to adapt themselves to the oblique position of the sleeper. With this method according to the invention, the necessity of a separate mechanical rotation device is eliminated.

The invention relates to a method for the automatic correction of the position of individual faults (H(n)) of a track formed by rails (16) and sleepers (9) with a track tamping machine (2). After the left and right rails have been surveyed independently by means of an inertial measuring unit (11), the length and position of the individual fault (TAMP, S, E) to be corrected is determined by taking into account a limit value of the individual faults (F.sub.LIM) and a maximum extension (s.sub.max) in the longitudinal direction of the track (s). The tamping units (7) of the tamping machine (s) are positioned exactly at the starting point (S) and end the tamping at the end point (E) of the determined track correction section (TAMP). Both track sections (F.sub.LI,F.sub.RE) are tamped and corrected simultaneously.

The invention relates to a method for the automatic correction of the position of individual faults (H(n)) of a track formed by rails (16) and sleepers (9) with a track tamping machine (2). After the left and right rails have been surveyed independently by means of an inertial measuring unit (11), the length and position of the individual fault (TAMP, S, E) to be corrected is determined by taking into account a limit value of the individual faults (F.sub.LIM) and a maximum extension (s.sub.max) in the longitudinal direction of the track (s). The tamping units (7) of the tamping machine (s) are positioned exactly at the starting point (S) and end the tamping at the end point (E) of the determined track correction section (TAMP). Both track sections (F.sub.LI,F.sub.RE) are tamped and corrected simultaneously.

A leveling system for a lift device includes a control system. The control system has programmed instructions to acquire operation data regarding operation of the lift device, fluidly couple a first leveling actuator and a second leveling actuator based on the operation data, acquire an update regarding the operation data, fluidly decouple the first leveling actuator and the second leveling actuator based on the update regarding the operation data, and selectively control the first leveling actuator and the second leveling actuator to (i) selectively reposition a first tractive element and a second tractive element relative to each other about a longitudinal axis defined by the lift device and (ii) selectively reposition the first tractive element and the second tractive element about a first lateral axis defined by the lift device.

A leveling system for a lift device includes a control system. The control system has programmed instructions to acquire operation data regarding operation of the lift device, fluidly couple a first leveling actuator and a second leveling actuator based on the operation data, acquire an update regarding the operation data, fluidly decouple the first leveling actuator and the second leveling actuator based on the update regarding the operation data, and selectively control the first leveling actuator and the second leveling actuator to (i) selectively reposition a first tractive element and a second tractive element relative to each other about a longitudinal axis defined by the lift device and (ii) selectively reposition the first tractive element and the second tractive element about a first lateral axis defined by the lift device.

A method for tamping a track in the region of a switch uses a tamping machine mobile on a track. In a first working pass a first branch is brought into desired position and tamped, thereafter the tamping machine travels backward to a point before a branching point, and in a second working pass a second branch is brought into desired position and tamped. During the backward travel, an actual position of the second branch is recorded by a sensor arrangement, particularly relative to the position of the first branch, and correction values for the position of the second branch are calculated based on the recorded actual position. Therefore, the backward travel, which is necessary anyway, is used to determine the position of the second branch, which position changes in the course of the first working pass. A tamping machine for carrying out the method is also provided.

A lift device includes a chassis having a first end and an opposing second end, a first actuator coupled to the first end of the chassis, a second actuator coupled to the first end of the chassis, a third actuator coupled to the opposing second end of the chassis, a fourth actuator coupled to the opposing second end of the chassis, and a control system. The control system is configured to fluidly couple at least two of the first actuator, the second actuator, the third actuator, and the fourth actuator, and fluidly decouple and actively control the at least two of the first actuator, the second actuator, the third actuator, and the fourth actuator.