Railroad car coupling system

A railroad car coupling system extending longitudinally into a car center sill structure for releasably connecting adjacent railcar ends, said center sill structure defining a cavity, a longitudinal axis, along with longitudinally spaced pairs of front and rear stops, said coupling system comprising:

• a yoke movably retained within the cavity defined by said center sill structure, with said yoke having a longitudinal axis arranged in general alignment with the center sill longitudinal axis and including a top wall and a bottom wall which extend longitudinally and generally parallel to each other, with said top and bottom wall being connected to a rear wall so as to define a yoke pocket, and with the top wall of said yoke defining a two forward facing stops which are arranged in generally coplanar relationship relative to each other and extend in opposed lateral directions relative to the longitudinal axis of said yoke, and with the bottom wall of said yoke defining two forward facing stops which are arranged in generally coplanar relationship relative to each other and extend in opposed lateral directions relative to the longitudinal axis of said yoke, with forward facing stopping surfaces defined by the stops on the top and bottom walls of said yoke being arranged in generally coplanar relationship relative to each other;
• a coupler having a coupler head disposed toward a first end and outward from an end of said center sill and a butt end extending from said coupler head and longitudinally into said yoke pocket, with said coupler being operably coupled to said yoke;
• a cushioning assembly arranged in said yoke pocket for receiving and dissipating external forces experienced by said coupler, with said forces being transferred from said coupler head to the butt end of said coupler;
• a follower mounted substantially between said top and bottom walls of said yoke for receiving forces experienced by said coupler, with said follower being positioned transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of said yoke and is configured with a front face and a rear face, with the said follower being urged toward an open end of said yoke by said cushioning assembly such that the front face of said follower is urged into contact with the butt end of said coupler, and with the front face of said follower contacting the front pair of stops on said center sill when said coupling system is in a neutral or full draft condition, and
• with said follower and said yoke defining cooperating instrumentalities for restricting use of a standard follower between said top and bottom walls of said yoke.

A railroad car coupling system extending longitudinally into a car center sill structure for releasably connecting adjacent railcar ends, said center sill structure defining a cavity, a longitudinal axis, along with longitudinally spaced pairs of front and rear stops, said coupling system comprising:

• a yoke retained within the cavity defined by said center sill structure, with said yoke having a longitudinal axis arranged in general alignment with the center sill longitudinal axis and including a top wall and a bottom wall which extend longitudinally and generally parallel to each other, with said top and bottom all being connected to a rear wall so as to define a yoke pocket, and with the top wall of said yoke defining two forward facing stops which extend in opposed lateral directions relative to the longitudinal axis of said yoke, and with the bottom wall of said yoke defining two forward facing stops which extend in opposed lateral directions relative to the longitudinal axis of said yoke, with forward facing stopping surfaces defined by said stops on the top and bottom walls of said yoke being arranged in generally coplanar relationship relative to each other;
• a coupler having a coupler head disposed toward a first end and outward from an end of said center sill and a butt end extending from said coupler head and longitudinally into said yoke pocket, with said coupler being operably coupled to said yoke;
• a cushioning assembly arranged in said yoke pocket for receiving and dissipating external forces experienced by said coupler, with said forces being transferred from said coupler head to the butt end of said coupler;
• a follower mounted substantially between said top and bottom walls of said yoke for receiving forces experienced by said coupler, with said follower being positioned transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of said yoke and has a generally rectangular configuration including a major front face and a major rear face, with the said follower being urged toward an open end of said yoke by said cushioning assembly such that the major front face of said follower is urged into contact with the butt end of said coupler, and with a top side of said follower being configured with two laterally spaced vertical extensions disposed toward opposed upper corners of said follower, and a bottom side of said follower being configured with two laterally spaced vertical extensions disposed toward opposed lower corners of said follower, with forward facing surfaces on the extensions on said follower being arranged in generally coplanar relationship relative to each other, and with rearward facing surfaces on the extensions on said follower being arranged in generally coplanar relationship relative to each other, with the rearward facing surfaces on the extensions being in operable contact with the forward pairs of stops on said center sill when said coupling system is in a neutral or full draft position, and with rearward facing surfaces on the extensions being in operable engagement with the forward facing stops on the yoke so as to enhance the distribution of force when the system is in full draft position, and wherein said follower and said yoke define cooperating instrumentalities for restricting use of a standard follower between said top and bottom walls of said yoke.