Lightweight container car

An improved body for a lightweight railway car having side sills connected to body bolsters pivotally supported on trucks, and adapted to support at least one container, each container having a plurality of lower corners projecting downwardly between the side sills, comprising:

• (a) a generally vertically aligned, longitudinally oriented first metal plate;
• (b) a first channel member fixedly interconnected with said first plate and extending therealong substantially parallel therewith, and in combination with said first plate defining a box beam having a height and a width which is smaller than said height;
• (c) means for providing strength in said side sill to resist local buckling of said first plate and said first channel member substantially without increasing the weight of said side sill, said means including a plurality of stiffening tubes extending generally transversely of said side sill from said first plate to said channel, each of said tubes having a first end welded to said first plate and a second end welded to said first channel member, and said first channel member defining a plurality of openings therein each communicating with the interior of a respective one of said tubes and being substantially similar in size and shape with the interior of the respective tube, each tube having a length and a largest dimension perpendicular to its length, said largest dimension being at least said length;
• (d) lower portions included in said side sills;
• and
• (e) a plurality of container-supporting feet secured to said lower portions of said side sills and adapted to engage and support a container by engaging four lower corners thereof, with a lower surface of the container being at a level substantially even with said lower portions of said side sills.

An improved body for a lightweight railway car, having side sills connected to body bolsters pivotally supported on trucks, and adapted to support at least one container, each container having a plurality of lower corners projecting downwardly between the side sills, the body comprising:

• (a) a generally vertically aligned longitudinally oriented first metal plate;
• (b) a first channel member fixedly interconnected with said first plate and extending therealong substantially parallel therewith, and in combination with said first plate defining a box beam having a height height and a width which is smaller than said height;
• (c) means for providing strength in said side sill to resist local buckling of said first plate and said first channel member substantially without increasing the weight of said side sill, said means including a plurality of stiffening tubes extending generally transversely of said side sill from said first plate to said channel, each of said tubes having a first end welded to said first plate and a second end welded to said first channel member, and said first channel member defining a plurality of openings therein each communicating with the interior of a respective one of said tubes and being substantially similar in size and shape with the interior of the respective tube, each tube having a length and a largest dimension perpendicular to its length, said largest dimension being at least equal to said length;
• (d) lower portions included in said side sills;
• and
• (e) a plurality of container-supporting feet secured to said lower portions of said side sills and adapted to engage and support a container by engaging four lower corners thereof, with a lower surface of the container being at a level substantially even with said lower portions of said side sills, said lower portions thereof including a plurality of second channel members located beneath and welded to said first plate and said first channel at locations spaced apart therealong, and said transverse beams, cross beams, and container-supporting feet being fixedly attached to respective ones of said second channel members.

An improved body for a lightweight railway car having side sills connected to body bolsters pivotally supported on trucks and adapted to support at least one container having a lower portion projecting downwardly between the side sills and body bolsters, the improvement in each side sill and body bolster comprising:

• an outer plate of each side sill being of thin metal;
• a plurality of spaced tubes welded to said outer plate and projecting inwardly therefrom;
• means defining a channel having a plurality of portions removed therefrom defining openings therein spaced a distance apart equal to the spacing of said tubes, said tubes being welded thereto adjacent the periphery of said openings, said portions removed from said channel having a weight equal to at least 3/4 of the weight of said tubes, for reducing the weight of said railway car and for improving the anti-buckling strength of said side sills;
• each body bolster including a stub-center sill;
• a pair of floor plates welded to said stub-center sill and projecting laterally outwardly in opposite directions therefrom;
• a pair of upright side walls welded to the ends of said floor plates;
• a plurality of spaced upstanding baffles welded to said floor plates and each having a large weight reducing opening therein;
• first and second upstanding walls and a top wall welded to one another and to said end walls, said end walls, said baffles and said floor plates providing a rigid, lightweight box body bolster;
• a pair of angle brackets welded between the stub-center sill and the associated bottom plate to minimize bending of the bolster relative to its stub-center sill;
• and
• means for rigidly connecting associated ends of said side sills to associated ends of said bolsters.

In an improved body for a lightweight railway car adapted to support at least one container and having vertically deep side sills connected to body bolsters pivotally supported on trucks, an improved side sill comprising:

• a transversely outer longitudinally extending thin metal wall having upper and lower surfaces;
• a transversely inner longitudinally extending thin metal wall having upper and lower surfaces;
• and
• a plurality of stiffening tubes spaced longitudinally of said side sill and transversely disposed between and rigidly secured to said inner and outer side walls for improving the anti-buckling strength of said side sill, each of said stiffening tubes having a length and a greatest dimension perpendicular to said length, said greatest dimension being greater than said length.

An improved body for a lightweight railway car for carrying an intermodel container, comprising:

• (a) a pair of longitudinally extending laterally narrow and vertically deep side sills, each including
• a laterally outer upstanding longitudinally extending thin metal wall having upper and lower margins,
• a laterally inner upstanding longitudinally extending thin metal wall spaced apart transversely of said car from said outer thin metal wall and having upper and lower margins, and
• a plurality of metal stiffening tubes spaced apart longitudinally of said side sill and transversely disposed between and rigidly secured to both of said laterally outer and inner thin metal walls for improving the anti-buckling strength of said side sill, each of said stiffening tubes having a length and a diameter, the diameter being at least equal to said length;
• and
• (b) transversely extending container support means supported by said side sills and interconnecting said side sills for suporting at least one container located at least partially between said side sills.