US 7,681,506 B2Granted

Truck bolster

AssigneeNational Steel Car Limited

InventorsJames W. Forbes, Tomasz Bis

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Abstract

A railroad car truck bolster may be formed as a steel casting. That bolster may include side bearing fitting access sockets located abreast of the side bearing seats. It may also include substantially continuous internal cavities to either side of a cross-wise internal vertical web plate mounted under the center plate bowl. The truck bolster may have large brake rod apertures that have large radii of curvature, and that may be bounded internally be a shear reinforcement at the vertical plane of the truck mid-span centerline, and another shear reinforcement spaced laterally outboard of the mid-span vertical plane. The webs of the bolster may be substantially imperforate outboard of the brake rod openings. The brake rod openings may have a profile that is large enough to accept either conventional or Wabco brake rods. The end portions of the truck bolster may include bolster pockets that have both primary and secondary wedge angles.

Claims42

Dependent claims

A truck bolster for a railroad freight car truck, wherein:

said truck bolster is a casting;
and
said truck bolster includes
a beam having an upper flange portion, a lower flange portion, a first web portion and a second web portion, said upper and lower flange portions and said first and second web portions being outside walls of said beam defining a hollow box section;
said beam having a deep central region, shallow first and second ends for mounting to rail road car truck sideframes, and intermediate regions extending between said deep central region and said shallow ends, said upper flange portion running lengthwise between said ends;
a centerplate bowl located at mid-span between said first and second ends, said centerplate bowl surmounting said deep central region;
said beam having brake rod openings formed in said first web portion and said second web portion in said deep central region of said beam to permit brake rods to extend through said beam;
a shear transfer reinforcement mounted cross-wise within said beam substantially centrally under said centerplate bowl, a first portion of said shear transfer reinforcement being mounted to receive downward forces from said centerplate bowl, a second portion of said shear transfer reinforcement having a shear force transfer connection to said first web portion, and a third portion of said shear transfer reinforcement having a shear transfer connection to said second web portion;
and
in said deep central region, said beam is free of lengthwise extending internal vertical shear webs joining said upper flange portion to said lower flange portion intermediate said outside walls of said beam.

7 more elements

A truck bolster for a railroad freight car truck, wherein:

said truck bolster is a casting;
and
said truck bolster includes
a beam having an upper flange portion, a lower flange portion, a first web portion and a second web portion, said upper and lower flange portions and said first and second web portions being outside walls of said beam defining a hollow box section;
said beam having a deep central region, shallow first and second ends for mounting to rail road car truck sideframes, and intermediate regions extending between said deep central region and said shallow ends, said upper flange portion running lengthwise between said shallow ends;
a centerplate bowl located at mid-span between said shallow first and second ends, said centerplate bowl surmounting said deep central region;
said beam having brake rod openings formed in said first web portion and said second web portion in said deep central region of said beam to permit brake rods to extend through said beam;
a shear transfer reinforcement mounted cross-wise within said beam substantially centrally under said centerplate bowl, a first portion of said shear transfer reinforcement being mounted to receive downward forces from said centerplate bowl, a second portion of said shear transfer reinforcement having a shear force transfer connection to said first web portion, and a third portion of said shear transfer reinforcement having a shear transfer connection to said second web portion;
said shear transfer reinforcement is a first shear transfer reinforcement, and said bolster includes a second shear transfer reinforcement mounted cross-wise within said beam, said second shear transfer reinforcement being located outboard of said first shear transfer reinforcement and outboard of said brake rod openings, said second shear transfer reinforcement being connected to said upper flange portion and to said first and second web portions.

6 more elements

A truck bolster for a railroad freight car truck, said truck bolster comprising:

a casting in the form of a beam, said beam having an upper flange portion, a lower flange portion, a first web portion and a second web portion,
when seen in a cross-section taken cross-wise in said bolster said upper and lower flange portions extending predominantly horizontally, and said web portions extending predominantly up-and-down between said flange portions;
said upper and lower flange portions and said first and second web portions being outside walls of said beam defining a hollow box section;
said beam having a deep central region, shallow first and second ends defining upper spring seats for main spring groups of the railroad car truck, and intermediate regions extending between said deep central region and said shallow first and second ends;
said upper flange portion running lengthwise between said ends;
a centerplate bowl surmounting said deep central region at mid-span between said first and second ends;
a shear transfer reinforcement mounted cross-wise within said beam substantially centrally under said centerplate bowl, said shear transfer reinforcement being operable to transmit vertical loads from said centerplate bowl into said first and second web portions;
and
said truck bolster has first and second brake rod openings formed in said first web portion and said second web portion respectively in said deep central region of said beam to permit brake rods to extend through said beam;
said first brake rod opening of said truck bolster has an area, A, a perimeter P, and a first characteristic dimension Dh, Dh being calculated according to the formula Dh=4A/P;
and
said bolster satisfies any one of the set of conditions consisting of
(a) a first condition, wherein Dh is greater than 6½ inches;
(b) a second condition, wherein said first brake rod opening has a second characteristic dimension, Dp, Dp being calculated according to the formula Dp=(P/π);
and a ratio of Dh/Dp lies in the range of 0.9 to 1.0;
and
(c) a third condition, wherein said first brake rod opening has a second characteristic dimension, Dc, Dc being calculated according to the formula Dc=the square root of [4A/π];
and a ratio of Dh/Dc lies in the range of 0.95 to 1.0.

15 more elements

A truck bolster of a railroad freight car truck, said truck bolster being a casting, wherein said truck bolster comprises:

a hollow beam having shallow first and second ends for mounting to sideframes, said truck bolster having a lengthwise direction running between said first and second ends, said beam having a deep central region, and intermediate regions extending between said deep central region and said shallow first and second ends;
said hollow beam having an upper flange portion, a lower flange portion, a first web portion and a second web portion, said upper and lower flange portions and said first and second web portions being outside walls of said beam co-operating to define a box section;
a centerplate bowl located at mid-span between said first and second ends;
said centerplate bowl surmounting said deep central region;
said beam having brake rod openings formed in said first web portion and said second web portion in said deep central region of said beam to permit brake rods to extend through said beam;
an internal shear web mounted cross-wise relative to said lengthwise direction, said internal shear web being mounted to reinforce said centerplate bowl, said internal shear web extending from said centerplate bowl to said lower flange portion, and from said first web portion to said second web portion;
and
said internal shear web being located at a lengthwise station of said beam lying inboard of said brake rod openings;
additional shear transfer reinforcements located longitudinally outboard to either side of said internal shear web, and outboard of said brake rod openings in said first and second web portions defining outside walls of said beam;
said additional shear transfer reinforcements being internal arches oriented cross-wise in said beam, said arches having an upper portion protruding downwardly of said upper flange portion, and respective legs extending downwardly thereof merging into said first and second web portions defining outside walls of said beam.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.