Ramp car
AssigneeWestinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
InventorThomas H. Engle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ramp car rail vehicle can have a contoured deck portion to reduce the height above the rails of the deck at the ramp end of the car such that a smaller, shorter ramp can be utilized for loading freight, such as semi-trailers, onto the ramp car and any other rail cars which may be connected to the ramp car. The contoured end of the ramp car can further be provided with a movable draft arm and coupler arrangement such that the coupler can be lowered to provide clearance for loading the ramp car, and thereafter returned to a standard height for coupling with conventional couplers.
Claims6
A ramp car comprising:
- a. a platform having a first end and a second end;
- b. at least one truck supporting each of said first and second ends such that said platform is supported by at least two trucks;
- c. a coupler at each of said first and second ends;
- d. at least one of said first and second ends being contoured downward such that said contoured end descends substantially to rails on which said ramp car travels to facilitate loading said platform;
- and
- e. said coupler at said contoured end movable between raised and lowered positions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.