Railcar coupler key retainer apparatus

In combination with a railroad car having an elongated sill with first and second laterally spaced and generally parallel side walls, with at least one side wall of said sill defining an elongated slot, a yoke arranged within said sill, and a railcar coupler shank releasably secured to said yoke through a coupler key, an apparatus for maintaining said coupler key between said side walls of said sill in position to releasably secure said coupler shank and said yoke to each other, said apparatus comprising:

• a key stop configured to be releasably secured relative to an interior surface surrounding the elongated slot defined by said side wall on the sill of said railcar, with said slot providing access to said coupler key when said apparatus is in an unlocked condition;
• and with said key stop including, intermediate the ends thereof, a flange portion projecting through said slot to beyond an exterior surface of the side wall of said sill defining said slot, with said flange portion defining a through bore having a closed margin;
• a retainer mounted to the exterior surface of the side wall of said sill defining said slot, with said retainer defining a through bore which aligns with the through bore in the flange portion of the key stop when said retainer apparatus is in a locked condition with said key stop abutting with a closed end of the elongated slot defined by the side wall of said sill;
• and
• a pin accommodated in said through bores in said key stop and said retainer to releasably secure the key stop in the elongated slot defined by the sill.