Enhanced safety cage apparatus for work areas on top of rolling stock such as rail tank cars

A fall protection cage that can be extended to the top of rolling stock from a deployment apparatus and configured for surrounding a section of a work area disposed at the top of the rolling stock and provided with a fence including a handrail disposed above and surrounding the work area, the fall protection cage comprising:

• a lattice structure defining a generally quadrilateral shape with a top edge, a bottom edge, a depth extending in a direction between the top and bottom edges, the lattice having a length measured in a longitudinal direction and a width measured in a transverse direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and perpendicular to the direction in which the depth is extending;
• the lattice structure including an outboard side elongating along the length of the cage between a front end of the outboard side and a back end of the outboard side, the front end of the outboard side defining a front fence notch with a blind end near the top edge of the cage and an open end at the bottom edge of the cage, the back end of the outboard side defining a back fence notch with a blind end near the top edge of the cage and an open end at the bottom edge of the cage;
• the lattice structure including an inboard side elongating along the length of the cage between a front end and a back end, the inboard side disposed spaced apart from the outboard side along the width of the cage, the inboard side configured for attachment to the deployment apparatus;
• the lattice structure including a front frame elongating along the width of the cage between an inboard end and an outboard end, the inboard end of the front frame connected to the inboard side, the outboard end of the front frame connected to the outboard side, the inboard end of the front frame defining an inboard gap with a blind end near the top edge of the cage and an open end at the bottom edge of the cage, the front frame defining a central recess disposed between the outboard end of the front frame and the inboard gap at the inboard end of the front frame, the central recess defining an open end at the bottom edge of the cage, the central recess defining a blind end that is disposed generally intermediate the top edge of the cage and the bottom edge of the cage;
• and
• the lattice structure including a back frame elongating along the width of the cage between an inboard end of the back frame and an outboard end of the back frame, the inboard end of the back frame connected to the inboard side, the outboard end of the back frame connected to the outboard side, the inboard end of the back frame defining an inboard gap with a blind end near the top edge of the cage and an open end at the bottom edge of the cage, the back frame defining a central recess disposed between the outboard end of the back frame and the inboard gap at the inboard end of the back frame, the central recess defining an open end at the bottom edge of the cage, the central recess defining a blind end that is disposed generally intermediate the top edge of the cage and the bottom edge of the cage.