Cup-shaped bolster bearing

In a center plate of a rail car body having a cylindrical boss mating with a cylindrical socket forming a bolster bowl in a truck bolster, the bolster bowl having a flat bottom wall and an upwardly projecting annular rim having an upper annular surface, a king pin extending through centrally aligned openings in the body bolster, the center plate and the bolster bowl about which the truck bolster may rotate relative to the car body, an annular bolster bearing of hardened steel concentric with the center plate and the bolster bowl, the bolster bearing having an annular sidewall lying between the cylindrical boss and the inner surface of the annular rim, lateral and longitudinal forces which develop between the center plate and the bolster bowl during car movement typically being exerted against said annular sidewall by impacting, the improvement wherein said bolster bearing is provided with means for structurally reinforcing said annular sidewall to withstand said forces, said means comprising an annular flange integrally connected with said sidewall at a terminal end thereof, said flange lying parallel to said annular base and fully overlying said upper annular surface of said annular rim, and said base, said sidewall and said flange of said bearing being of substantially the same gauge thickness, whereby said annular flange provides structural stability for said bolster bearing and produces the necessary structural strength for said bearing to resist the lateral and longitudinal forces which develop during car movement over-the-road.