Railway hopper car door seal

In a hopper car of the type having a plurality of chutes, each comprising substantially triangular hopper sheets and a cooperating pair of opposed hopper doors swingable between a closed position and a downwardly depending open position, each of said substantially triangular hopper sheets being mounted on said hopper car with its apex pointing downwardly and having a pair of converging lower edge portions each located adjacent one of said doors of said pair when said doors are in said closed position, said hopper doors having substantially planar inside surfaces extending between said hopper sheets, seal means to prevent seepage of a fine granular commodity between said hopper doors and the adjacent lower edge portions of said hopper sheets, said seal means comprising elongated strips of flexible resilient material mounted along the inside surface of each of said lower edge portions of said hopper sheets, each of said seal means having a free longitudinal edge portion extending below said lower edge portion of said hopper sheet to which it is attached by an amount sufficient to be bent inwardly by and to lie in substantial sealing engagement against said planar surface of the adjacent one of said hopper doors when said adjacent hopper door is in said closed position with the weight of said commodity bearing against said free longitudinal edge portion forcing it tightly against said hopper door planar surface when said hopper car is loaded to complete said sealing engagement.