Railroad missile garrison system

• US 4,896,580 A
• Filed: 12/21/1988
• Issued: 01/30/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
• Inventors: Rudnicki, Ron
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US07/287,938
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 340/991, 340/992, 340/994, 340/47, 340/48, 340/53, 364/426.05, 364/461, 89/1.815, 89/1.11, 105/394
• US Class Current: 89/1.815
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 17/00 Switching systems for classification yards
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/125 using short-range radio transmission

Abstract

An improved railroad missile garrison system, which helps to reduce the dangers to the civilian population, by providing a computerized system for issuing track warrants to missile trains, and other non military trains, and by providing for remote intervention of the throttle and brake functions on the missile train locomotives.

Claims

1. An improved railroad missile garrison system, that launches ICBMs from rail cars operated over an expansive geographic region, on a rail network that also carries nonmilitary trains;

the missile garrison system comprising;

at least one railroad missile launch car for transporting and launching said ICBM'"'"'s, from remote locations;

at least one locomotive having a geographic position, coupled with said at least one railroad missile launch car for providing motive force necessary for travel about the rail network;

means on-board said locomotive, for generating locomotive position signals in response to the geographic position of said locomotive;

a communication system, on-board said locomotive, for communicating said locomotive position signal to various users about the rail network;

said communication system further receiving track information signals, from sources off-board the locomotive, relating to a status of tracks in the rail network; and

means for automatically causing said locomotive to stop, in response to a predetermined track information signal;

means for automatically causing the locomotive to change throttle position, in response to a second predetermined track information signal,

WHEREBY, the missile launch car, with ICBM thereon, can be automatically stopped and accelerated at remote locations about the rail network so that collisions can be avoided, derailments reduced and threats from sabotage, vandalism and terrorism minimized.