U.S. patent number 3,593,675 [Application Number 04/708,586] was granted by the patent office on 1971-07-20 for railway car construction.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Magor Railcar Division, Fruehauf Corporation. Invention is credited to Danilo A. Dominguez.
United States Patent |
3,593,675 |
Dominguez |
July 20, 1971 |
RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
The underframe means of a railway car includes bolster means
adjacent opposite ends thereof. Transition means is mounted at the
four corners of the car over the bolster means. Each transition
means is of generally channel-shaped cross-sectional configuration
and includes an upper flange attached to the side of the car and a
lower flange attached to the underframe of the car whereby the
transition means is adapted to transfer loads between the
underframe and the sides of the car and to support the sides at a
horizontal level substantially above the underframe means.
Inventors: |
Dominguez; Danilo A. (Wayne,
NJ) |
Assignee: |
Magor Railcar Division, Fruehauf
Corporation (Clifton, NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
24846397 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/708,586 |
Filed: |
February 27, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
105/404; 105/247;
105/362; 105/228; 105/248; 105/413 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B61D
5/002 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B61D
5/00 (20060101); B61d 007/00 (); B61d 049/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;105/404,358--362,247--253,414,418,420,228 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hoffman; Drayton E.
Assistant Examiner: Bertsch; Richard A.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A railway car comprising underframe means, generally vertically
extending transition means supported by said underframe means, said
car including side means supported by said transition means at a
horizontal level substantially above said underframe means to
provide a substantial saving of material of said side means, said
transition means being of generally channel-shaped cross-sectional
configuration including an integral upper flange rigidly attached
to said side means and an integral lower flange rigidly attached to
said underframe means.
2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said underframe means
includes bolster means, said transition means being supported at a
position substantially above said bolster means.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said transition means
includes an upper flange having means for attaching the upper
flange to said side means, said transition mean also including a
lower flange having means for attaching the lower flange to said
underframe means.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said transition means
includes a sloping outer end surface.
5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said transition means
includes a sloping inner end surface defining a tapered inwardly
extending area of the transition means adapted to distribute loads
between the transition means and a relatively large area of said
side means.
6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said underframe means
includes a bolster means adjacent opposite ends of the car,
transition means disposed at the four corners of the car, each
transition means being supported substantially over an end portion
of one of the said bolster means.
7. A railway car comprising underframe means, transition means
supported by said underframe means, said car including side means
supported by said transition means at a horizontal level
substantially above said underframe means to provide a substantial
saving of material of said side means, said transition means
including an upper flange, said side means including side sill
means interconnected with said upper flange, said side means also
including side sheet means supported by said side sill means, and
side posts supported by said side sheet means.
8. A railway car comprising underframe means, transition means
supported by said underframe means, said car including side means
supported by said transition means at a horizontal level
substantially above said underframe means to provide a substantial
saving of material of said side means, said side means including
bolster means adjacent opposite ends of the car, transition means
disposed at the four corners of the car, each transition means
being supported substantially over an end portion of one of said
bolster means, said transition means being generally channel-shaped
in cross-sectional configuration including an upper flange and a
lower flange, said upper flange having means for interconnecting
the upper flange with said side means, said lower flange having
means for interconnecting the lower flange with said underframe
means.
9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said transition means
includes a sloping outer end surface, said transition means also
including a sloping inner end surface defining a tapered inwardly
extending area of the transition means adapted to distribute loads
between the transition means and a relatively large area of said
side means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a railway car construction and
more particularly to a novel side construction of hopper cars and
the like.
The present invention represents an improvement in the construction
of hopper cars wherein there is commonly employed in the prior art
an arrangement such that the side of the car is supported directly
on the top bolster cover plate thereby permitting the side sill to
be tied directly to the bolster. The side of the care extends all
the way to the bottom of the side sill which lies substantially in
the same horizontal plane as the top of the underframe of the
car.
This arrangement as employed in the prior art uses an excessive
amount of material in the sides of the car since the lower portions
of the sides actually serve no useful purpose in a hopper car
construction. The material used in the sides may be relatively
expensive such as aluminum, and accordingly, this type of
construction substantially increases the cost of the car.
Furthermore, this excess material increases the light weight of the
car.
Additionally, the conventional hopper car construction involves
excessive fabrication costs since considerable welding of parts to
one another is required.
A further disadvantage of known constructions of hopper cars is the
fact that the underframe arrangement is relatively complicated and
expensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, the sides of the hopper car do not extend
downwardly so as to be in substantially the horizontal plane as the
top of the underframe of the car. Transition means is supported on
the underframe substantially above the bolsters at either side of
the car and extending upwardly therefrom. The sides of the car are
supported by the upper portions of the transition means whereby the
lower edges of the sides of the car are disposed at a horizontal
level substantially above that of the top of the underframe.
Accordingly, the arrangement of the present invention employs less
material in the sides thereof since the side sheets are of less
vertical dimension than that required in the prior art, and less
material is required in the side posts. A substantial saving in
cost is thereby obtained since less of the relatively expensive
material is employed in the sides of aluminum cars without in any
way decreasing the efficiency or operability of the car.
Additionally, the light weight of the car is reduced.
The construction of the present invention also reduces the
fabrication costs of the car since less welding of components is
required.
The present invention also permits the use of a simplified
underframe construction, and the upper structure of the car may
simply be lowered into place and bolted in operative position.
The transition means of the present invention also enables smooth
transfer of stresses between the bolsters of the underframe and the
sides of the car. Additionally, conventional wrecking equipment and
hydraulic jacks may readily be employed with the invention
construction for jacking, maintaining and rerailing a car, in the
same manner as has been done in the past.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away, of a hopper car
according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially
along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the
arrows;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of one of the transition means of
the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of
FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows; and
FIG. 5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially
along line 5-5 of FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the
arrows.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters
designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a
covered hopper car is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is indicated
generally by reference numeral 10. The car includes a more or less
conventional underframe 12 having a first truck and wheel assembly
14 supported in the usual manner at one end of the car and a second
conventional truck and wheel assembly 16 is supported at the
opposite end of the car.
A first pair of stub side sills 20 are provided at opposite sides
at one end of the car, one of these stub side sills being visible
in FIG. 1. A transversely extending body bolster 22 is incorporated
in the underframe structure and has its opposite ends in abutting
relationship with the inner surfaces of stub side sills 22.
A similar pair of stub side sills 24, 24' are supported by the
underframe at the opposite end of the car. A transversely extending
body bolster 26 is incorporated in the underframe structure and has
its opposite ends in abutting relationship with the inner surfaces
of stub side sills 24, 24'.
A pair of corner posts 30 are supported at one end of the car, one
of these corner posts 30 being visible in FIG. 1. A ladder means 32
is interconnected with and disposed adjacent end post 30. A similar
pair of end posts 34 are provided at the opposite end of the car,
and a ladder means 36 is interconnected with and disposed adjacent
end post 34.
The roof of the car is indicated generally by reference numeral 40,
and a longitudinal running board 42 extends the length of the
car.
The sides of the car are substantially identical, one of the sides
being visible in FIG. 1 and including side sill means 50 extending
throughout the length of the side of the car, a side sheet 51 being
interconnected with and extending upwardly from the side sill. The
upper edge portion of the side sheet is in turn interconnected with
a side plate 52 extending along the length of the upper portion of
the side of the car.
A plurality of intermediate side posts 54 are secured to the outer
surface of the side in the usual manner. A first bolster post 56 is
secured to the outer surface of the side substantially directly
over the body bolster 22. A similar bolster post 58 is secured to
the outer surface of the side substantially over the body bolster
26.
A first hopper of conventional construction is indicated generally
by reference numeral 60, and is provided with the conventional
closure means 62 at the lower end thereof. A portion of another
hopper is indicated generally by reference numeral 64, the
remainder of this hopper having been broken away. It is apparent
that the car may incorporate any suitable number of hoppers, and in
a typical example the car may be provided with three hoppers.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the laterally extending body bolster 26
includes a bottom cover plate 66 and a lower web 68, the bolster
being interconnected with the longitudinally extending center sill
indicated generally by reference numeral 70. A top cover plate 72
is provided on bolster 26. The stub side sill 24' disposed at the
opposite side of the car is substantially identical with the stub
side sill 24 previously described.
A bolster upper web 76 extends upwardly from the bolster top cover
plate 72 to the underside of the sloping end floor sheet of the
car, and upwardly extending stiffener posts 78 are suitably secured
to the outwardly facing surface of the end floor sheet. The end
floor sheet is provided with a pair of cutouts 80 at opposite sides
thereof for receiving the upper flange portion of the transition
means hereinafter described as well as the lower portion of the
side sill means interconnected therewith.
A pair of roping devices 82 and 82' are secured to the outwardly
facing surfaces of stub side sills 24 and 24' respectively, these
roping devices serving as means for towing the car. As seen in FIG.
1, the roping device 82 is disposed substantially over the body
bolster 26 and a pair of arrows are provided immediately beneath
the towing device 82 these arrows indicating the points at which
jacking of the car should be carried out. A similar pair of towing
devices are provided at the opposite end of the car, one of the
towing devices 84 being visible in FIG. 1. Similar jacking arrows
are provided beneath the towing device 84.
Four transition means are provided, these transition means each
being supported by the underframe substantially over one end of an
associated body bolster. The transition means are provided at the
four corners of the car. Two transition means 90 and 92 at opposite
ends of the car are illustrated at one side thereof as seen in FIG.
1. These transition means serve to support the side of the car such
that the lower edge of the side of the car is supported at a
horizontal level substantially above the upper surface of the
underframe, as is clearly apparent in FIG. 1.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a transition means 90' substantially
identical with transition means 90 is disposed at the opposite side
of the car and substantially directly over the body bolster 26.
The construction of transition means 90 will be specifically
described, it being understood that each of the transition means is
of the same construction.
Referring now to FIGS. 3-5 inclusive, transition means 90 includes
a main substantially vertically extending wall portion 100 which
joins with a normally extending lower flange 102. Lower flange 102
has a plurality of holes 104 formed therethrough at spaced
positions therealong for attaching the flange to the underframe of
the car as hereinafter described.
Transition means 90 also includes an upper flange 108 which may be
secured to the upper end of wall portion 100 by longitudinally
extending fillet welds 110 as seen in FIG. 5. Flange 108 has a
plurality most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4 for attaching the upper
flange to the side sill means of the associated side of the
car.
The transition means formed of a relatively strong material such as
steel or the like. It will be noted as seen in FIG. 5 that the
transition means is of generally channel-shaped construction, and
if desired, the transition means could be a channel-shaped pressing
rather than comprising separate interconnected pieces as
illustrated.
The outer end surface 120 of the transition means slopes downwardly
and outwardly away from the center of the car as seen most clearly
in FIGS. 1 and 3. The inner end surface of the transition means
extends vertically upwardly for a short distance as indicated by
reference numeral 124 as seen in FIG. 3, and then slopes inwardly
and upwardly along the portion 126 thereof to terminate in a
portion 128 of relatively small vertical dimension. This sloping
inner end surface defines a tapered area A of the vertical wall
portion 100 which serves to properly distribute the loads between
the underframe and the side of the car.
It will be noted that the upper flange 108 of the transition means
is of considerably greater longitudinal dimension than the upper
edge of the side wall portion 100. This extended length of the
upper flange provides a greater area for connection of the flange
to the aluminum side sill means hereinafter described, permitting a
greater number of bolts to be interconnected between the side sill
means and the transition means to insure a good connection with the
side sill means.
Referring again to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the components
illustrated at the right hand side of this Figure have been given
the same reference numerals primed as the corresponding components
at the left side of the figure. The transition means 90 and 90' are
supported by the underframe structure over the body bolster, the
lower flanges 102 and 102' resting upon the top cover plate 72 of
the bolster as illustrated, a plurality of mechanical fasteners 120
and 120' extending through the holes provided in the lower flanges
of the transition means and aligned suitable holes provided in the
top cover plate 72 as well as the stub side sills 24 and 24'.
Side sill means 50 previously described is an angle member
including a vertically extending leg portion 126 and a horizontally
extending leg portion 128. The leg portion 128 is provided with a
plurality of holes formed through longitudinally spaced portions
thereof adapted to be aligned with the holes 112 provided in the
upper flange of the transition means 90. A plurality of mechanical
fasteners 130 extend through the aligned holes in leg 128 and
flange 108 for securing the side sill means to the upper portion of
the transition means. In this manner, the side of the car is
supported by the transition means interconnected with the lower
edges thereof at opposite ends of the car.
It is apparent from FIG. 2 that the side components at each side of
the car are interconnected in the same manner with the transition
means, and it will further be noted that the hopper walls intersect
the sides of the car at points 134 and 134' just above the side
sill means at opposite sides of the car.
As this invention may be embodied in several forms without
departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the
present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive,
all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or
that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative
equivalents are therefore intended to be embraced by those
claims.
* * * * *