Manway cover fastener

A fastener for a manway cover of a rail car comprising:

• a bolt that extends along an axis from a first end to a second end, the first end including threads and the second end including a head having an opening for securing the bolt to the rail car;
• a nut threadably engaged with the threads of the bolt and movable along the axis of the bolt;
• a housing connected to the bolt between the nut and the opening in the head of the bolt;
• a compression member positioned within the housing;
• and
• a piston that engages the compression member and the manway cover, the piston being moveable into the housing to compress the compression member in response to axial movement of the nut, the housing acting as a hard stop against the manway cover to indicate when the fastener is locked to the manway cover.

A method for securing a manway cover to a rail car comprising:

• providing a housing, a piston movable within the housing, and a compression member positioned between the housing and the piston;
• inserting a bolt through the housing, the bolt extending along an axis from a first end to a second end, the first end including threads and the second end including a head having an opening for securing the bolt to the rail car;
• positioning the piston on the manway cover;
• threadably engaging a nut with the threads of the bolt;
• and
• rotating the nut in a first direction to cause movement of the piston into the housing to compress the compression member, wherein the housing acts as a hard stop against the manway cover to indicate when the fastener is locked to the manway cover.