System for converting existing railroad tracks to trails

1 . A trail mat system for converting existing railroad tracks to trails, comprising:

a mat extending between and on top of a pair of railroad track rails;

at least one rail clamp section disposed on a bottom side of said mat including a rail cavity for receiving at least a portion of said rails;

at least one clamp arm included in said rail clamp section engaging one of said rails; and,

a securing fastener operatively associated with said at least one clamp arm to bias said clamp arm against said rail to prevent separation of said mat from said rails;

whereby said mat is configured to be placed over and removably secured to said rails to provide a trail surface overtop the rails without removing said rails or other elements of the railroad track

wherein said rail clamp section includes a first clamp arm laterally spaced from a second clamp arm, wherein said first and second clamp arms extend vertically from said bottom side of said mat and define said rail cavity; and a laterally extending arm portion disposed on each of said first and second clamp arms, wherein said laterally extending arm portions engage a fillet of a rail head on said rails to resist upward movement of said mat; and,

wherein said securing fastener extends through said first and second clamp arms and is operatively associated to draw said first and second clamp arms together to bias said laterally extending arm portions against said rails.

2 . The trail mat system of claim 1 wherein said mat comprises a recyclable material and is constructed and arranged to support equivalent design loads as the supporting rail bed ties when mounted on said rails.

3 . The trail mat system of claim 1 including a confined utility space defined by said bottom side of said mat and between said rails for receiving utility lines and conduits in a secure area underneath said mat.

4 . The trail mat system of claim 1 wherein:

the clamp arm includes a laterally extending arm portion that engages a fillet of a rail head on a first side of the rail;

wherein the clamp arm extends over the rail head; and,

wherein the clamp arm includes a vertically extending arm portion adjacent a second side of said rail that engages the securing fastener.

5 . The trail mat system of claim 4 wherein said securing fastener is disposed in a horizontal channel extending from an exterior side surface of said mat to said rail cavity to engage said vertically extending arm portion of said clamp arm, wherein said securing fastener draws said clamp arm laterally to bias against said rail.

6 . The trail mat system of claim 1 wherein said clamp arm includes a first C-shaped arm portion and a second C-shaped arm portion, wherein each of said C-shaped arm portions include a laterally extending arm portion engage a fillet of a rail head arranged on opposite sides of said rail, and wherein each of said C-shaped arm portions include a second lateral portion extending over said rail head in an overlapping arrangement and engaging said securing fastener.

7 . The trail mat system of claim 6 wherein said securing fastener is disposed in a vertical channel extending from a top surface of said mat to said rail cavity to engage said second lateral portions of said C-shaped arm portions, wherein said securing fastener draws said clamp arm vertically to bias against said rail.

8 . The trail mat system of claim 1 including a connecting member interconnecting a first mat to a second mat.

9 . The trail mat system of claim 8 wherein said connecting member includes at least one of a bolt, cable, and combinations thereof, extending horizontally through a cavity in said mats.

10 . The trail mat system of claim 8 wherein said connecting member includes a projection disposed on a side surface of said first mat and a complementary recess disposed on a side surface of said second mat, wherein said projection is received into said complementary recess to interconnect said first and second mats.

11 . The trail mat system of claim 1 including surface traction members disposed on a top surface of said mat for enhanced traction.

12 . The trail mat system of claim 11 wherein said surface traction members are selected from the group consisting of ridges, grooves, dimpling, raised or recessed repeating shapes, characters, figures, and combinations thereof.

13 . A trail mat system for converting existing railroad tracks to trails, comprising:

a mat extending between and on top of a pair of railroad track rails;

at least one rail cavity disposed on a bottom side of said mat receiving at least a portion of said rails; and,

a securing fastener carried by said mat adjacent at least one of said rails, wherein said securing fastener is operable between a retracted position allowing said rail to enter and exit said rail cavity, and an extended position biased against said rail to prevent said rail from exiting said rail cavity;

whereby said mat is configured to be placed over and removably secured to said rails to provide a trail surface overtop the rails without removing said rails or other elements of the railroad track; and,

wherein said securing fastener is disposed in a horizontal channel extending from an exterior side surface of said mat to said rail cavity, wherein said securing fastener pushes against a first side of said rail to draw a sidewall of said rail cavity against an opposite side of said rail to laterally bias against said rail.

14 . The trail mat system of claim 13 wherein said securing fastener comprises a bolt disposed in a horizontal channel and extends into said rail cavity; wherein said bolt is spring biased at a first end of said channel for directing said bolt into said rail cavity so that a second end of said bolt engages one of said rails when said rail is received in said rail cavity.

15 . The trail mat system of claim 13 wherein said securing fastener comprises a Bernoulli spiral cam clamp rotatably carried on said bottom side of said mat, wherein said cam clamp rotates to laterally bias against said rail.