Method for tamping ballast supporting track ties

Abstract

In a method for tamping ballast supporting sequentially arranged ties of a track extending in a longitudinal direction, which comprises a tamping cycle at each one of the ties, the tamping cycle comprises lowering a tamping head carrying tamping tools hydraulicallly reciprocable in the longitudinal direction to immerse the tamping tools in the ballast, reciprocating the tamping tools to tamp the ballast, vibrating the tamping tools in a first tamping cycle phase, discontinuing vibration of the tamping tools in a second tamping cycle phase, raising the tamping head to lift the tamping tools out of the ballast, and moving the tamping head from tie to tie.

1 . A method for tamping ballast supporting sequentially arranged ties of a track extending in a longitudinal direction, which comprises a tamping cycle at each one of the ties, the tamping cycle comprising 
 (a) lowering a tamping head carrying tamping tools hydraulically reciprocable in the longitudinal direction to immerse the tamping tools in the ballast,    (b) reciprocating the tamping tools to tamp the ballast,    (c) vibrating the tamping tools in a first tamping cycle phase,    (d) discontinuing vibration of the tamping tools in a second tamping cycle phase,    (e) raising the tamping head to lift the tamping tools out of the ballast, and    (f) moving the tamping head from tie to tie.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tamping tools are lowered and reciprocated to tamp the ballast in the first tamping cycle phase.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the tamping tools are vibrated in the first tamping cycle phase in subsequent steps at differing vibration frequencies.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the tamping tools are vibrated during lowering of the tamping head at a frequency which is higher than the subsequent vibration frequency during the reciprocation of the tamping tools.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tamping head is raised and moved from tie to tie in the second tamping cycle phase.