Convertible rail-highway traction vehicle

Claim 1

In a rail vehicle capable of partially supporting and of moving a second vehicle, said rail vehicle including a frame having first and second pairs of support wheels rollingly supported thereon adjacent opposite ends of same, said pairs of wheels being adapted to rollingly engage a pair of parallel rails, the improvement comprising: rectilinear horizontal guide means extending substantially transversely of said frame, said guide means being disposed substantially between said first and second pairs of support wheels and being mounted to permit pivotal movement about a vertical axis extending through the longitudinal central axis of the rail vehicle; slide means slidably guided on said guide means for movement therealong in the longitudinal direction of said guide means, said slide means carrying pivot means defining a substantially horizontal axis through the vertical axis about which said guide means is pivotally mounted; coupling means pivotally mounted on the pivot means carried by said slide means for pivotal movement about said horizontal axis defined by said pivot means, said coupling means including an automatic knuckle-type coupler adapted for engagement with a similar knuckle-type coupler provided on the second vehicle, said automatic knuckle-type coupler projecting substantially perpendicularly relative to the longitudinal direction of said guide means; and mounting means including a lifting jack disposed on said vertical axis and coacting between said guide means and said frame for enabling said pivotal movement of said guide means about said vertical axis and for causing vertical lifting of said guide means relative to said frame to thus transfer a portion of the weight of the second vehicle onto said rail vehicle between said first and second pairs of support wheels when the coupling means of said rail vehicle is engaged with the coupler of said second vehicle.