Railway car door actuating apparatus

In a railway car having a plurality of doors for selectively opening and closing an opening, said doors being of the type of including a pair of pipes and cranks rotatably secured to the door, an operating mechanism for rotating said pipes means secured on said shaft and transmission means supported on said door inter-connecting said operating mechanism with said pipes and cranks whereby rotation of said shaft in response to operation of said activating means imparts corresponding rotation to said pipes and cranks and selective lateral movement of said door into and out of the opening, said car being equipped to have internally projecting lading restraining members selectively attached and removed from inside of the railway car side wall adjacent said opening, and filler members removably attached to the inside of said door, said filler members project into said car by an amount substantially equal to the internal projection of said lading restraining members, the improvement comprising:

• means for selectively increasing and decreasing the amount of rotation of said pipes and cranks possible such that when said filler members are attached to the inside of said door, said pipes and cranks can move a greater rotational distance to move said door laterally out of said opening a first, greater distance to permit said filler members to clear said side wall;
• when said filler members are removed, said cranks and pipes are permitted to rotationally move a lesser distance which is sufficient for said door without said filler members attached thereto to move a second, lesser distance laterally out of said opening and to clear said side wall, and
• adjustable door stop means for protecting the doors from damage from impact with each other, said doors in combination providing means for opening and closing said opening,
• said adjustable door stop means including an adjustable stop member selectively secured and mounted on one of said doors in a first position to prohibit movement of second, adjacent door in a direction along said side wall and toward said one door when said second, adjacent door is moved laterally out of said opening a first, greater distance to permit said filler members to clear said side wall and allow movement of said second, adjacent door along the side wall and toward said one door when said second, adjacent door is moved laterally out of said opening a second, lesser distance which is sufficient for the inner surface of said second adjacent door to clear said side wall and move along said side wall in a direction away from said one door.