Ortner Freight Car Company

Trinity Industries, Inc.

Avondale Industries, Inc.

Norman S Adams

John A Ritter

Robert E Molloy

Eugene T Fehrenbach

A hopper car is converted to a gondola-type car by replacing the hoppers and their dump doors with a light metal sheet floor. The floor sheets form a series of box-like compartments. The compartments are formed by crossbearer partitions extending between the side walls, center sill and the sheet floor. Floor frame members reinforce the rigidity of the floor structure. The partitions are formed by tubular crossbearers on gussets on the center sill, and closure walls converging at the top thereof.

Railway car conversion to gondola car

Apparatus for actuating and locking the hopper doors of a hopper car of the type having a center sill of inverted U-shaped cross section and a plurality of hopper doors extending transversely of the center sill. The hopper doors can be arranged singly to close a chute, in opposed cooperating pairs, and both. The actuating and locking apparatus of the present invention comprises a shaft extending transversely of the center sill and located between adjacent pairs of hopper doors when the hopper doors are so arranged and adjacent each single hopper door when present. Each such shaft is rotatively mounted. A lever is mounted on each shaft. Each lever has an arm for each door to which it is adjacent and a link pivotally connected to each such arm and the adjacent hopper door. Each lever also has an upright arm extending into the center sill and pivotally affixed to a segmented actuating beam located within the center sill and extending longitudinally therein. A cylinder and piston is located within the center sill and the free end of the piston is operatively connected to one end of the actuating beam. The piston and actuating beam are shiftable longitudinally between a first position wherein the levers, links and hopper doors are maintained in an over-center, locked, door-closed position, and a second position wherein the levers, links and hopper doors are rotated over-center to a door-open position. A latch may also be provided to lock the piston and the beam in the first door-closed position.

Automatic actuating and locking apparatus for the hopper doors of a

A railway flatcar for carrying a highway trailer, the flatcar having been converted from a conventional railway box car. The sides, ends and roof of a conventional box car are cut and removed therefrom substantially at the floor line. The side sill assemblies of the car are reinforced substantially throughout their length. At the bogie end of the car, those portions of the out-board floor stringers spanning between adjacent cross ties and cross bearers are reinforced. The cross ties are also reinforced and/or additional cross ties added at the bogie end of the car. At the hitch end of the car, appropriate reinforcement and mounting means are located along the bolster and center sill to which a conventional trailer hitch is affixed. When the car is to be used with circus style loading ramps, the trailer hitch is of the retractable type and the floor of the car is left in tact throughout the length of the car, except at the position of the trailer hitch, with longitudinally extending curb members mounted above the side sill assemblies. When the car is to be used with overhead or side loading crane equipment, the trailer hitch may be of the rigid type; the car floor is removed from the hitch end of the car; and the floor at the bogie end of the car supports tire guides positioned to be straddled by the highway trailer tires. The brake wheel and support therefor are relocated to one side of the flatcar near the B end thereof.

Railway box car conversion to highway trailer-carrying flatcar and

Top side chord attachment for the sides of bottom-discharge, open-top railroad hopper cars of the type with which top shakers may be used. Each car side comprises a vertically oriented side sheet, affixed at its bottom edge to a bottom chord in the form of the car frame side sill and affixed at its top edge to a top chord. A plurality of side posts having lateral flanges are arranged vertically along the car side exterior in parallel spaced relationship. Each side post is affixed to the bottom chord, to the top chord, and along its lateral flanges to the side sheet. The top chord comprises a beam-like member extending substantially the length of the side sheet and having a horizontal portion terminating at its longitudinal in-board edge in a downwardly depending leg lying along the inside surface of the upper edge of the side sheet. A pair of gussets are located to either side of the upper end of each side post, overlying the side post flanges and the adjacent portions of the side sheet. The gussets have upper edges in abutment with the horizontal portion of the top chord. The gussets enable fastening means passing therethrough and through the side post flanges, the side sheet and the in-board leg of the top chord to be in double shear for additional strength and rigidity of said top chord attachment.

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Norman S Adams