Railroad gondola car structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9156478-B2
Application number	US-17710608-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 21, 2008
Priority date	Jul 21, 2008
Publication date	Oct 13, 2015
Grant date	Oct 13, 2015

Abstract

A gondola car has a body for lading carried on an underframe. The underframe includes a center sill and cross-bearers. The car has deep side beams having top chords, side sills, and side sheets. The lower portion of the car includes tubs that seat between the cross-bearers. The car may have an internal volume of more than 8000 cu. ft. The car may have rotary dump claw sockets. The car has opposed internal and external stiffeners aligned at the longitudinal stations of the cross-bearers. The internal stiffeners may be triangular cantilevers extending upwardly inside the side sheets. The side sheet lies intermediate the stiffeners and their flanges. The top chords may be wider in cross-section than the side sills. The side sills may define torque tubes that co-operate with the sidewall stiffeners and the top chords to resist lateral deflection. The car may include a false deck, or dog-house at one end to accommodate the brake reservoir and brake valve, such that the car is longitudinally asymmetric.

First claim

I claim:

1. A gondola car comprising:
a center sill;
cross-bearers extending laterally of said center sill;
a receptacle defining an accommodation for lading, said receptacle being mounted to said cross-bearers and including predominantly upstanding sidewalls;
said sidewalls including side beams running parallel to said center sill, said side beams having a top chord, a side sill, and a side sheet extending between said top chord and said side sill;
said side sill defining a torque tube mounted to resist lateral deflection of said top chord;
sidewall reinforcements extending predominantly upwardly from said side sills; and
said sidewall reinforcements being connected to respective ones of said cross-bearers at structural knees.

2. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein said gondola car is a bathtub gondola car.

3. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein said gondola car is an ice-cube tray gondola car.

4. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said receptacle includes a lading accommodation region lying lower than said center sill.

5. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein:
said cross-bearers include a first cross-bearer having a pair of spaced apart webs, an upper flange and a lower flange;
said reinforcements include a first reinforcement associated with said first cross-bearer, said first reinforcement being connected to said first cross-bearer distant from said center sill;
said first reinforcement having a pair of webs corresponding to said webs of said first cross-bearer;
said first reinforcement has a first flange spaced from said side sheet;
said first cross-bearer has an end cap mounted across said webs of said first cross-bearer, said end cap mating with said lower flange and said upper flange of said first cross-bearer;
said structural knees including a first structural knee associated with said first cross-bearer and said first reinforcement;
said first flange of said first reinforcement and said side sheet being mounted to transmit a moment couple to said upper and lower flanges of said first cross-bearer through said first structural knee.

6. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein:
said cross-bearers include a first cross-bearer having a pair of spaced apart webs, an upper flange and a lower flange;
said reinforcements include a first reinforcement associated with said first cross-bearer, said first reinforcement being connected to said first cross-bearer distant from said center sill;
said first reinforcement has a pair of webs corresponding to said webs of said first cross-bearer;
said first reinforcement has a first flange spaced laterally outboard from said side sheet;
said first reinforcement has a second flange spaced laterally inboard from said first flange;
said first cross-bearer has an end cap mounted across said webs of said first cross-bearer, said end cap having flange continuity with said first flange of said first reinforcement, said end cap being mounted to transfer loads from said first flange of said first reinforcement into said webs of said first cross-bearer;
said first cross-bearer having a flange continuity member associated with said second flange of said first reinforcement, said flange continuity member being mounted between said upper and lower flanges of said first cross-bearer, said flange continuity member being mounted to transfer loads from said second flange of said first reinforcement to said webs of said first cross-bearer; said upper and lower flanges of said first cross-bearer being mounted to react loads transferred to said webs of said first cross-bearer from said first and second flanges of said first reinforcement.

7. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein:
said cross-bearers include a first cross-bearer having a pair of spaced apart webs, an upper flange and a lower flange;
said reinforcements include a first reinforcement associated with said first cross-bearer, said first reinforcement being connected to said first cross-bearer distant from said center sill;
said first reinforcement has a pair of webs corresponding to said webs of said first cross-bearer;
said first reinforcement has a first flange spaced laterally outboard from said side sheet;
said first reinforcement has a second flange spaced laterally inboard from said first flange;
said second flange has a length from a first end thereof mounted proximate to said first cross-bearer to a second end thereof distant from said first cross-bearer; and
over a majority of said length of said second flange, said side sheet is located laterally intermediate said first flange and said second flange of said first reinforcement.

8. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein:
said top chord has an enclosed cross-sectional area, a weight of section per unit of lineal measure, and a second moment of area in the lateral direction;
said torque tube has an enclosed cross-sectional area, a weight of section per unit of lineal measure, and a second moment of area in the lateral direction; and
at least one of (a) said enclosed cross-sectional area of said top chord is greater than said enclosed cross-sectional area of said torque tube;
(b) said weight of section of said top chord is greater than said weight of section of said torque tube; and
(c) said second moment of area said top chord is greater than said second moment of area of said torque tube.

9. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein said receptacle has a width, said sidewalls have an height, and said height is greater than said width.

10. The gondola car of claim 1 wherein said receptacle has an inside length, an inside width, and an inside height measured upwardly of said center sill, wherein said inside length is at least five times as large as said inside width, and said inside height is at least as great as said inside width.

11. A rail road gondola car, said rail road gondola car having an underframe and a lading containment receptacle mounted thereto, said lading containment receptacle having a predominantly upstanding sidewall; said lading containment receptacle having an internal width, an internal length, and an internal height, said internal height being greater than said internal width; and said receptacle being longitudinally asymmetric.

12. The rail road gondola car of claim 11 wherein said receptacle has a feature of longitudinal asymmetry, said feature including a raised end deck portion defining a sheltered machinery accommodation space thereunder.

13. The rail road gondola car of claim 11 wherein said receptacle has a first end and a second end; at said first end said receptacle has a partial raised deck portion at one end thereof, said partial raised deck portion being unmatched at said second end.

14. The rail road gondola car of claim 11 wherein:
said rail road gondola car has a through center sill, said center sill having center plates mounted thereto for seating on corresponding center plate bowls of associated rail road car trucks, said center sill having a first end and a second end;
said railroad gondola car has an accommodation formed in said receptacle, said accommodation protruding longitudinally asymmetrically into said receptacle;
said accommodation being of a size to shelter therewithin at least one of (a) a brake reservoir, and (b) a brake valve.

15. The rail road gondola car of claim 14 wherein said car has a volumetric capacity in excess of 8000 cu. ft.

Assignees

• Forbes James W
• Nat Steel Car Ltd

Inventors

• Forbes James W

Classifications

• B61F1/12 Primary

  Cross bearers · CPC title

• B61D17/08 Primary

  Sides · CPC title

• B61D17/00 Primary

  Construction details of vehicle bodies (for tank wagons B61D5/00; for hopper cars B61D7/00; body details specially adapted for tipping wagons B61D9/06; for mine cars B61D11/00) · CPC title

• B61D9/00

  Tipping wagons · CPC title

• B61D3/00

  Wagons or vans (tank wagons B61D5/00; hopper wagons B61D7/00; tipping wagons B61D9/00; mine cars B61D11/00; vehicles specially adapted for animal transportation B60P3/04; {container traffic B65G}) · CPC title