Railroad car uncoupling lever with antifriction slideway arrangement

In a railroad car adapted to ride on track rails and having a coupler mounted at one end thereof for side to side swinging movement and movement longitudinally of the car in response to buff and draft forces and including a lock lifter for uncoupling the coupler, and an uncoupling device including a lever assembly comprising a lock lifter section including a hook eye at one end thereof operatively engaging the lock lifter and supported by the coupler for pivotal movement about a pivot pin point lift the lock lifter to uncouple the coupler, and a handle section including a handle portion at one end thereof pivotally secured to the car to one side of the end of the car to swing about a pivot point to move said hook eye portion to operate said lock lifter for mounting the lever assembly in operative relation on the car, with the handle section comprising an elongate rectilinear bar of polygonal transverse cross-sectional configuration, with the handle portion being fixed to one end of said bar, and the lock lifter section comprising an elongate rectilinear bar having the hook eye affixed to one end of same, and with the lock lifter section bar adjacent the other end of same including an elongate slideway extending generally longitudinally of same, and the handle section bar slidably received in said slideway in cranking relation to the lock lifter section bar for accommodating shifting action of the lock lifter section relative to the handle section on side to side swinging movment of the coupler, the improvement wherein:

• said slideway comprises:
• an elongate tube having a bore defining slideway surfacing thereabout formed from a high density polymer having self-lubricating characteristics,
• said tube being open at either end of said for free travel of said lock lifter section slideway longitudinally of said handle section bar to, on movement of said lock lifter section bar toward the handle portion, dispose the other end of said handle section bar exteriorly of said slideway at the hook eye end of same for accommodating contraction of said device under coupler swing when the coupler swings toward said handle portion,
• said bars being formed for free travel of said lock lifter section bar relative to said handle section bar, on said movement to project said other end of said handle section bar from said slideway, to adjacent said one end of said lock lifter section bar, and for free travel of said slideway lengthwise of said handle section bar,
• said bars being proportioned to dispose said other end of said handle section bar intermediate said one end of said lock lifter section bar and the slideway inboard end when the coupler is centered relative to the car,
• and means for fixing said tube to said lock lifter section bar against movement longitudinally of said lock lifter section bar, with said tube being free of bonded connection to said lock lifter section bar.