Telescoping uncoupling lever for railroad cars

An improved telescoping uncoupling lever for uncoupling railroad cars having a coupler and a support bracket mounted to the endsill thereof, said lever including first and second adjacent longitudinal housings, first and second telescoping members slidably received by said first and second housings, respectively, each telescoping member having a distal end and a proximal end, a handle member connected to the distal end of said first telescoping member including a handle portion for being pivotally supported by said support bracket, an uncoupling arm connected to the distal end of said telescoping member for engaging said coupler, the improvement comprising:

• (a) first bearing disposed between said first telescoping member and said first housing;
• (b) second bearing disposed between said second telescoping member and said second housing, said first and second bearings slidable with respect to the telescoping member and the housing associated therewith, said bearings dimensioned to prevent axial rotation of each telescoping member relative to its associated housing thereby transmitting torque from one telescoping member to the other telescoping member;
• and
• (c) means for captivating said first and second bearings within said first and second housings, respectively, said first and second bearings cooperating with said captivating means to allow the proximal end of each telescoping member to extend beyond its associated housing without restriction due to said bearings.