Amsted Industries Inc.

Jeffery R Ladendorf

Horst T Kaufhold

Brian A Toussaint

John F Oesch

Douglas L Compton

Ronald G Butler, Jr

Leonard D Thomason

An extended end-sill assembly for a railcar, which assembly is produced by mating a front-sill casting and back-sill casting having a transition region therebetween wherein the endsill includes a cast-in-place center plate, a support arrangement for a cushioning apparatus and a wide-mouthed end for greater lateral travel of the coupler shank arm, and such dual casting assembly is inapposite to present production of such endsill assemblies that require fabrication of numerous plates, pieces and braces.

End sill assembly with center plate casting

Center filler plates for mounting on draft sills of railway car underframes are disclosed. The center filler plates have four pockets surrounding a hub. The pockets are shallower than in the prior art, and the walls defining the pockets meet in radii having larger radii of curvature than in the prior art. The shallower pockets and larger radii of curvature facilitate removal of the casting from the molding sand in the cope and drag sections of the mold. The formation of burned-in sand is limited in the present invention, and any burned-in sand that does form is also more easily removed from the center filler plates of the present invention. The base portion of the center filler plates is not as high as in the prior art. The ribs of the center filler plate and the walls of the hub are thicker than in the prior art to provide the needed strength to the center filler plates. In one embodiment, the ribs taper toward the hub, and the hub is shorter than the surrounding web; a tool may be inserted through the kingpin hole, expanded to bear against the tapered surfaces of the ribs; a machine may be used to lift the center filler plate and move it into position on the draft sill. The tool may then be contracted and removed, and the center filler plate may be secured to the draft sill through welding or other techniques.

Railway car center filler plate

A draft sill end casting with a locking center pin is disclosed. The draft sill has an open member with an elongate channel aligned with the central aperture of its center plate. A support shelf is within the elongate channel. A center pin has an upper retainer key supported on the shelf, and the center pin extends through the elongate channel to the exterior of the draft sill. The lower end of the center pin has a slot. When mounted on a truck bolster, a lower retainer key is slid through slots in the bolster walls and through the slot in the lower end of the center pin. The two retainer keys, support shelf and bolster walls lock the center pin in position, limiting axial movement of the center pin and limit rotation of the center pin. Thus, the draft sill and truck bolster are locked together to limit relative vertical and horizontal movement between them. The shelf may include rotation stops to limit rotation of the upper retainer once it is in place. The draft sill includes a key passage so that the upper retainer key and center pin can be removed if desired. In two embodiments, the key passages are through the support shelf and lead to the exterior of the draft sill; in these embodiments, the center pin and retainer key can be removed from the draft sill as a unit. In another embodiment, the key passage is formed as a slot in the interior wall of the draft sill above the support shelf; in this embodiment, the retainer key and center pin must be removed independently of one another.

Draft sill with locking center pin

The present invention provides a lightweight draft sill end casting for use with railroad cars. The cast draft sill has side walls, front and rear stops, front and rear rib sets and a center plate that are cast as a unit. The draft sill has an open area between the tops of the side walls between the front and rear stops, with a cast metal span connecting the two side walls. The cast metal span may comprise one or more spacer bars or part of a top wall. The cast metal span is in the area between the planes of the front stops and the rear stops. The front and rear stops are spaced below the tops of the side walls. In one embodiment, there are additional lightener holes in each side wall between the ribs in the rear rib set and in the pocket. The total weight of the cast draft sill is not substantially greater than the weight of a comparable fabricated draft sill of substantially the same size, and has a greater fatigue life. The total open area connecting the interior and the exterior of the draft sill between the front stop plane and the rear stop plane is at least 130 square inches.

Growing community of inventors

Chicago, IL, United States of America

Jeffery R Ladendorf