Rail road freight car

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9346472-B2
Application number	US-201314025262-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2013
Priority date	Sep 12, 2013
Publication date	May 24, 2016
Grant date	May 24, 2016

Abstract

A drop-center rail road freight car may have a gondola body for carrying lading, which may have end sections and a deep central section therebetween. The body may include a decking or floor structure, and longitudinally extending side beams bordering the floor structure. The car may have U-shaped bending-moment transmitting cross-bearers. The cross-bearers and side beam stiffeners may have inner and outer flange continuity such as to transmit a bending moment. The car may have stub sills. The stub sills may each have an inboard gooseneck that extends downward and inboard. The gooseneck may have a longitudinally extending portion that connects to the endmost cross-bearer of the central portion of the car. The main shear plate may lap the side sills, and may be bent downwardly to mate with the end margins of the side sheet lower portion to form a converging box-like truncated pyramidal structure.

First claim

We claim:

1. A rail road gondola car comprising:
a gondola car body carried by railroad car trucks for rolling motion in a lengthwise direction along rail road tracks;
said gondola car body including a drop-center portion located between the trucks;
said drop center portion having a floor structure and a wall structure standing upwardly of said floor structure, said floor structure and said wall structure defining a lading receptacle; and
said drop center portion of said floor structure having at least one cross-wise oriented bending-moment-transmitting frame said frame being mounted outside of said lading receptacle whereby said lading receptacle is free of internal obstructions to unloading.

2. The rail road gondola car of claim 1 wherein said car is a stub sill car.

3. The rail road gondola car of claim 1 wherein said drop center portion of said car is free of a center sill.

4. The rail road gondola car of claim 1 wherein said car has a stub center sill, said stub center sill has an inboard end terminating at said drop-center portion; said inboard end having a goose-neck formed thereat, said gooseneck co-operating with said drop center portion.

5. A drop-center railroad freight car, comprising:
a gondola car body mounted on trucks for rolling motion in a longitudinal direction along railroad tracks;
said gondola car body having first and second end portions and a deeper central portion located longitudinally between said first and second end portions;
said central portion having a floor and at least a first cross-member to which said floor is mounted;
said first cross-member defining a spring;
said spring having a middle portion and first and second ends;
said first and second ends being upturned relative to said central portion.

6. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 5 wherein said cross-member has the form of an upwardly opening bow member.

7. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 5 wherein each of said end portions is joined to said central portion at a structural knee.

8. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 5 wherein said car has first and second stub center sills mounted at said first and second end sections respectively.

9. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 5 wherein said freight car is free of a straight-through center sill.

10. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 5 wherein said cross-member is a cross-bearer, said freight car has first and second laterally spaced apart side sills, and said first and second ends of said cross-bearer extend upwardly toward said first and second side sills respectively.

11. A drop-center rail road freight car, comprising:
a gondola car body mounted on trucks for rolling motion in a longitudinal direction along railroad tracks;
said gondola car body having first and second end sections and a deeper central section located longitudinally between said first and second end sections;
said gondola car body being free of a straight-through center sill;
said deeper central section having a floor;
said deeper central section having at least a first cross-bearer to which said floor is mounted; and
upwardly of said first cross-bearer said gondola car body being free of obstructions to unloading.

12. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 11 wherein said first cross-bearer has the form of an upwardly opening bow member.

13. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 11 wherein:
said first cross-bearer has a depressed central portion and first and second end portions;
said depressed central portion of said first cross-bearer runs across said floor;
each of said end portions of said cross-bearer extends upwardly from said depressed central portion to a respective side beam of said gondola car body; and
each of said end portions of said first cross-bearer is joined to said central portion of said cross-bearer at a respective structural knee.

14. The drop-center railroad freight car of claim 13 wherein each of said end portions of said first cross-bearer extends upwardly and laterally outwardly from said central portion of said cross-bearer on an incline corresponding to the underframe portion of AAR Plate C.

15. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 13 wherein said gondola car body has first and second sidewalls running along opposite sides thereof, said first and second sidewalls have upstanding posts and top chords, and said first cross-bearer is aligned with respective posts of said first and second sidewall; and said posts and said first cross-bearer co-operate as a U-shaped spring resistive to lateral deflection of said top chords.

16. The drop center rail road freight car of claim 11 wherein said car has first and second stub center sills mounted at said first and second end sections respectively.

17. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 11 wherein:
said gondola car body has first and second sidewalls running along opposite sides thereof;
said first and second sidewalls have respective upstanding posts, top chords, and bottom margins distant from said top chords;
said first cross-bearer is aligned with respective ones of said upstanding posts of said first and second sidewalls;
said first cross-bearer has a depressed central portion and first and second end portions;
said depressed central portion of said first cross-bearer runs across said floor;
each of said end portions of said cross-bearer is joined to said central portion;
each of said end portions of said first cross-bearer extends upwardly from said depressed central portion of said first cross-bearer to a mate with a respective bottom end of a respective aligned post of said side beam of said gondola car body; and
said posts and said first cross-bearer co-operate as a U-shaped spring resistive to lateral deflection of said top chords.

18. The drop center rail road freight car of claim 11 wherein said freight car has first and second laterally spaced apart side sills;
said first cross-bearer has a depressed central portion and first and second end portions connected to said depressed central portion; and
said first and second ends of said cross-bearer extend upwardly from said depressed central portion of said cross-bearer upwardly toward said first and second side sills respectively.

19. The drop-center rail road freight car of claim 11 wherein said first and second end sections have first and second stub center sills respectively; and said first stub center sill has a downwardly inclined gooseneck.

20. The railroad freight car of claim 19 wherein said gooseneck of said first stub center sill terminates at an endmost cross-bearer of said central section.

21. The railroad freight car of claim 20 wherein said gooseneck of said first stub center sill meets said endmost cross-bearer at a structural knee.

22. A drop-center rail road gondola car comprising:
a gondola body having first and second end sections and a drop-center middle section therebetween;
said drop center middle section having at least a first cross-bearer, said first cross-bearer having a U-shape.

23. The drop-center rail road gondola car of claim 22 wherein said gondola body has first and second side sills, and said U-shaped cross-bearer has first and second upturned ends connected to said first and second side sills respectively.

24. The drop-center rail road gondola car of claim 22 wherein said first cross-bearer has a low central porti

Assignees

• Nat Steel Car Ltd

Inventors

• Black Ken
• Batchelor James
• Forbes James W
• Quan Damon King

Classifications

• B61F1/14

  Attaching or supporting vehicle body-structure · CPC title

• B61D17/04

  with bodies of metal; with composite, e.g. metal and wood body structures · CPC title

• B61D3/16 Primary

  adapted for carrying special loads · CPC title

• Y02T30/34

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B61F1/00

  Underframes (making railway vehicle underframes by forging or pressing B21K7/12) · CPC title