Railroad freight car
AssigneeNational Steel Car Limited
InventorsJames W. Forbes, Tomasz Bis, Mohammed Al-Kaabi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A railroad freight car may have a body for carrying lading. The body may be a gondola car body. The car body may include a decking or floor structure, and may include longitudinally extending side beams bordering the floor structure. The connection of the side beams to the floor structure may be may without the use of a dedicated side sill. The car body structure may include cross-bearers and side beam stiffeners that are joined together by structural knees. The car body may also include clean out ports to facilitate cleaning of the lading receptacle.
Claims20
A rail road gondola car, said rail road gondola car having:
- a lading containment receptacle mounted on a pair of spaced apart rail road car trucks for rolling motion along rail road tracks in a longitudinal direction;
- first and second side beams defining first and second side walls of said receptacle;
- a deck defining a floor of said lading containment receptacle;
- an array of cross-members extending cross-wise underneath said deck between said first and second side walls;
- said array of cross-members including at least a first cross-member;
- said first cross-member having a first end and a second end;
- said first end being adjacent to said first side beam, said first cross-member of said array of cross-members extending laterally inboard of said first end;
- said first side beam including a predominantly upstanding web running lengthwise along said car;
- an array of longitudinally spaced upstanding stiffeners mounted to reinforce said first side wall;
- said array of longitudinally spaced upstanding stiffeners including a first stiffener;
- said upstanding web of said first side beam extending upwardly of said deck;
- said first side beam having a first web extension, said first web extension extending predominantly downwardly of said deck, and said first web extension being mounted to said first end of said first cross-member;
- there being web continuity between said first web extension and said upstanding web;
- said first web extension having a lower margin downwardly distant from said deck;
- said first web extension being narrower at said lower margin than nearer to said deck, said first web extension having broadening wings to either side of said first end of said first cross-member.
A rail road gondola car, said rail road gondola car comprising:
- a car body carried by rail road car trucks for rolling motion in a longitudinal direction along rail road car tracks;
- a first side wall and a second side wall spaced apart cross-wise;
- a first end wall and a second end wall spaced apart in the longitudinal direction;
- a substantially flat deck;
- an array of cross-members, said array including a first cross-member;
- said deck having a first end at which said first end wall is mounted, and a second end at which said second end wall is mounted;
- said deck having a first laterally outboard margin and a second laterally outboard margin;
- said first side wall has a first side wall web running along said first laterally outboard margin, said first side wall web being directly connected to said deck;
- said second side wall has a second side wall web running along said second laterally outboard margin, said second side wall web being directly connected to said deck whereby said deck defines a bottom flange of said first and second side walls;
- said first cross-member having a laterally running web, said laterally running web being directly connected to said deck, said laterally running web extending downwardly of said deck, whereby said deck defines an upper flange of said first cross-member;
- and
- at least half of said deck is formed from a single monolithic piece of steel sheet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.