Plate gripping assemblies for maintenance

Abstract

A rail plate grasping assembly may include a holder part that may be coupled with a rail vehicle that moves along one or more rails of a track with the one or more rails coupled with rail plates that are coupled with rail ties. The assembly also may include a wear part that may be coupled with the holder part and shaped to engage the rail plates to support the rail plates while the rail ties are removed beneath the rail plates. The wear part may be separated from the holder part and replaced with another wear part.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A rail plate grasping assembly, comprising:
 a holder part configured to be coupled with a rail vehicle that moves along one or more rails of a track with the one or more rails coupled with rail plates that are coupled with rail ties; and   a wear part configured to be coupled with the holder part and shaped to engage the rail plates to support the rail plates while the rail ties are removed from beneath the rail plates, the wear part configured to be separated from the holder part and replaced with another wear part.   
     
     
         2 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the holder part includes one or more tongues, and the wear part includes one or more recesses shaped to receive the one or more tongues of the holder part. 
     
     
         3 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the holder part and the wear part include coaxial fastener openings positioned to receive fasteners that secure the wear part to the holder part. 
     
     
         4 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the holder part includes one or more tongues, and the wear part includes one or more recesses shaped to receive the one or more tongues of the holder part, the holder part and the wear part including coaxial fastener openings that extend through the one or more tongues and that are positioned to receive fasteners that secure the wear part to the holder part. 
     
     
         5 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the wear part includes an engagement edge shaped and positioned to engage one of opposite edges of the rail plates. 
     
     
         6 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the wear part forms either part but less than an entirety of a bottom surface of the rail plate grasping assembly that faces the rail ties or the wear part forms the entirety of the bottom surface of the rail plate grasping assembly that faces the rail ties. 
     
     
         7 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the wear part includes a collection opening configured to allow parts of the rail ties to move from between the wear part and the rail plates. 
     
     
         8 . A maintenance system, comprising:
 plural external rail plate grasping assemblies that are configured to move toward each other to grasp and to pull a rail plate against a rail during removal of a rail tie beneath the rail; and   plural internal rail plate grasping assemblies that are configured to move toward each other to grasp and to pull the rail plate against the rail during removal of the rail tie, wherein each of the rail plate grasping assemblies includes a holder part configured to be coupled with a rail vehicle that moves along the rail and a wear part coupled with the holder part and shaped to engage a corresponding first rail plate or a second rail plate to support the first rail plate or the second rail plate while the rail tie is removed beneath the rail plates, the wear part being configured to be separated from the holder part and replaced with another wear part.   
     
     
         9 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the plural external rail plate grasping assemblies are configured to be on an opposite side of the rail than the plural internal rail plate grasping assemblies. 
     
     
         10 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the holder parts include one or more tongues, and the wear parts include one or more recesses shaped to receive the one or more tongues of the holder parts. 
     
     
         11 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the holder parts and the wear parts include coaxial fastener openings positioned to receive fasteners that secure the wear parts to the holder parts. 
     
     
         12 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the holder parts include one or more tongues, and the wear parts include one or more recesses shaped to receive the one or more tongues of the holder parts. 
     
     
         13 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the wear parts include engagement edges shaped and positioned to engage an edge of the rail plate. 
     
     
         14 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the wear parts form either part or an entirety of bottom surfaces of the plural external rail plate grasping assemblies and the plural internal rail plate grasping assemblies that face the rail tie. 
     
     
         15 . The maintenance system of  claim 8 , wherein the wear parts of the plural external rail plate grasping assemblies include a collection opening configured to allow parts of the rail tie to move from between the wear parts and the second rail plate. 
     
     
         16 . A rail plate grasping assembly comprising:
 an internal grasping tool configured to be mounted to a rail vehicle that moves along one or more rails of a track with the one or more rails coupled with rail plates that are coupled with rail ties, the internal grasping tool configured to be pivotally mounted for movement between an open position and a closed position in which the internal grasping tool is configured to engage a forward edge of a first rail plate of the rail plates and a rearward edge of the first rail plate of the rail plates;   an external grasping tool configured to be pivotally mounted to the rail vehicle for movement between an open position and a closed position in which the external grasping tool is configured to engage the forward edge of the first rail plate and the rearward edge of the first rail plate; and   one or more spacers configured to be positioned between the internal grasping tool and the external grasping tool, the one or more spacers configured to:
 increase a distance between the internal grasping tool and the external grasping tool in a direction transverse to the route responsive to the one or more spacers being in a first position, or 
 decrease the distance between the internal grasping tool and the external grasping tool in a direction transverse to the route responsive to the one or more spacers being in a second position. 
   
     
     
         17 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 16 , wherein a wear part is configured to be coupled with the internal grasping tool, the wear part positioned to engage the rail plates to support the rail plates while the rail ties are removed from beneath the rail plates, the wear part configured to be separated from the internal grasping tool and replaced with another wear part. 
     
     
         18 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 16 , further comprising an internal actuator configured to be mounted to the internal grasping tool and configured to move the internal grasping tool between the open and closed position; and
 an external actuator configured to be mounted to the external grasping tool and configured to move the external grasping tool between the open and closed position.   
     
     
         19 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the internal grasping tool includes a first grasping tool and a second grasping tool, further comprising meshing fingers on complementary facing edges of the first grasping tool and the second grasping tool. 
     
     
         20 . The rail plate grasping assembly of  claim 19 , further comprising a pocket configured to be formed between adjacent meshing fingers of the second grasping tool, wherein the meshing fingers of the first grasping tool are configured to engage the pocket.