Telescoping uncoupling lever

In an uncoupling lever device for a railroad car 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, with said uncoupling device including a lever assembly comprising a lock lifter section including a hook eye portion at the distal end thereof adapted to operatively engage the lock lifter for support by the coupler, a handle section including a handle portion at the distal end thereof adapted to be 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, and an elongate housing telescopingly receiving the proximal end of said sections in substantially parallel relation, with said lever sections being in torque transmitting relation to said housing,

• the improvement wherein:
• said housing comprises:
• an elongate sleeve defining within same and extending longitudinlly thereof a pair of channels in substantially parallel relation and each defining a slideway surfacing therealong formed from a polymer having self-lubricating characteristics,
• said sleeve defining outboard and inboard ends of said housing at the respective ends of said sleeve,
• said device sections each comprising a rectilinear bar shaft integral with a U-shaped retainer at the respective proximal ends thereof,
• with said retainer portions of each of said device sections defining a U-bend and a free end length spaced laterally of and substantially paralleling the shaft thereof and extending in the direction of the distal end thereof and below said bar shaft thereof,
• with said bar shaft and said retainer portion thereof said handle section being slidably received in one of said sleeve channels for free sliding movement longitudinally thereof with said handle portion of said handle section being movable therewith toward and away from said housing outboard end,
• and said bar shaft and said retainer portion thereof of said lock lifter section being slidably received in the other of said channels for free sliding movement longitudinally thereof with said hook eye portion of said lock lifter section being movable therewith toward and away from said housing inboard end,
• a first stop pin fixed across said sleeve one channel transversely thereof adjacent the outboard end of said housing and positioned to be disposed between the paths of movement of said handle section bar shaft and said free end length of same with said handle section U-bend disposed in said one sleeve channel inboard of said first stop pin,
• a second stop pin fixed across said sleeve other channel transversely thereof adjacent the inboard end of said housing and positioned to be disposed between the paths of movement of said lock lifter section bar shaft and said free end length of same, with said lock lifter section U-bend disposed in said sleeve other channel outboard of said second stop pin,
• said handle section and said lock lifter section being proportioned lengthwise of said sleeve for positioning of, in the retracted relation of the lever, said handle section handle portion at said outboard end of said housing, and said lock lifter section hook eye portion at said inboard end of said housing, with the respective handle section and lock lifter section free end lengths substantially remaining in torque transmitting relation with said sleeve within their respective channels,
• said handle section and said lock lifter section being proportioned lengthwise of said sleeve for positioning of, in the maximum extended relation of the lever, said handle section retainer portion in stopped relation with said first stop pin adjacent said outboard end of said housing and said lock lifter section retainer portion in stopped relation with said second stop pin adjacent said inboard end of said housing, with the respective handle section and lock lifter section free end lengths substantially remaining in torque transmitting relation with said sleeve within their respective channels,
• and with said handle section bar shaft and said free end length thereof riding on said surfacing of said one channel lengthwise thereof for antifrication bearing engagement of both said handle section bar shaft and said free end length thereof thereagainst,
• and with said lock lifter section bar shaft and said free end length thereof riding on said surfacing of said other channel lengthwise thereof for antifriction bearing engagement of both said lock lifter section bar shaft and said free end length thereof thereagainst.