Modular articulated railcar

An assembly comprising:

• a railcar including a floor;
• a bogie attached adjacent to an end of said railcar beneath said floor;
• an extendable and retractable landing gear mounted beneath the floor of said railcar, said landing gear having means thereon for engagement with a railroad rail when said landing gear is extended;
• a front coupled comprising a tongue extending outwardly from a front end of said railcar adapted for attaching a front bogie to said front coupled to connect said railcar to other like railcars;
• a rear coupler comprising a socket within the rear end of said railcar adapted for attaching a rear bogie to said rear coupler to connect said railcar to other like railcars;
• and a front bogie having a socket therein for engagement with said tongue on said railcar and having a knuckle coupler plug detachably attached thereto for engagement with a socket on another railcar, said socket on said railcar having a knuckle coupler plug detachably attached thereto for engagement with a socket on a rear bogie.

An assembly comprising:

• a railcar including a floor defining a front end and a rear end;
• a bogie beneath said floor;
• and coupling structure on said front and rear ends for attaching said railcar to adjacent railcars and for detachably attaching a dolly adaptor to the rear end of said railcar and for detachably connecting a prime mover to the front end of said railcar;
• and a dolly adaptor connected to a rear end of said railcar for raising the rear end of the railcar when said dolly adaptor is connected to said rear end of said railcar so that said railcar can be moved off of a railroad track and around a rail yard.

A method of detaching a railcar from an articulated train on a railroad track comprised of a plurality of railcars coupled together by couplings on each end of said railcars, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of railcars, each said railcar having a floor, a landing gear having a wheel thereon mounted beneath said floor along a forward portion of said railcar and a railroad bogie attached beneath said floor along a rearward portion of said railcar;
• extending said landing gear on said railcar which is to be detached from said train until said wheel contacts the railroad track;
• detaching the couplings from each end of the railcar which is to be detached;
• relatively moving the railcars in the articulated train ahead of and behind the detached railcar away from the detached railcar;
• attaching a prime mover to a front end of said detached railcar;
• attaching a dolly adaptor to a rear end of said detached railcar;
• and
• moving said detached railcar off of the railroad track and around a rail yard.

A method of detaching a railcar from an articulated train on a railroad track comprised of a plurality of railcars coupled together by couplings on each end of said railcars, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of railcars, each said railcar having a floor, a landing gear and a railroad bogie attached beneath said floor along a rearward portion of said railcar;
• extending said landing gear on said railcar which is to be detached from said train;
• detaching the couplings from each end of the railcar which is to be detached;
• relatively moving the railcars in the articulated train ahead of and behind the detached railcar away from the detached railcar;
• attaching a prime mover to a front end of said detached railcar;
• attaching a dolly adaptor to a rear end of said detached railcar;
• and
• moving said detached railcar off of the railroad track and around a rail yard.

An assembly comprising:

• a railcar comprising:
• a floor defining a front end and a rear end, coupling structure on said front and rear ends for attaching said railcar to adjacent railcars and for detachably attaching a dolly adaptor to the rear end of said railcar and for detachably connecting a prime mover to the front end of said railcar;
• and
• a dolly adaptor connected to a rear end of said railcar, said dolly adaptor including structure which can be actuated to raise and lower the rear end of the railcar when said dolly adaptor is attached to said rear end of said railcar.