Standard Car Truck Company

Amsted Industries Inc.

Schaefer Equipment, Inc.

Transportation IP Holdings, LLC

Ronald D Golembiewski

Walter J Peach

V Terrey Hawthorne

Andrew J Morin

David M East

Michael K Burke

John W Kaim

Giuseppe Sammartino

Jeffrey M Ruback

Charles Moehling

Brian A Toussaint

David Cline

Various embodiments provided a railroad car brake beam wear guide for mounting in a brake beam guide bracket of a railroad car truck side frame and including a spacer that partially defines a slide-way for a brake beam lug of a brake beam and that limits lateral movement of the brake beam. In various embodiments, the wear guide can be employed for other uses besides for railroad cars.

Break beam wear guide

Brake beam wear guide

A railroad car articulated split friction wedge assembly including first and second articulated friction wedges, wherein the first friction wedge includes a first body, a first decoupling insert, a first pivot member pivotally moveable with respect to the first body and the first decoupling insert, and a first wear pad removably attached to the first pivot member, and wherein the second friction wedge includes a second body, a second decoupling insert, a second pivot member pivotally moveable with respect to the second body and the second decoupling insert, and independently of the first body and the first pivot member, and a second wear pad removably attached to the second pivot member, which in combination provide required damping, provide high warp restraint, reduce binding, and enable lateral decoupling.

Railroad car truck articulated split friction wedge assembly

A railroad car truck including a first side frame, a second side frame, a bolster, and a first plurality of warp restraints, each first warp restraint configured to prevent warping of the bolster relative to the side frames. Various embodiments include opposing bearings of each warp restraint that engage each other.

Railroad car truck with warp restraints

A railroad car bearing adapter assembly configured to be employed in combination with a high warp restraint truck (with or without an auxiliary or original warp restraint system), and including a low profile thickness and relatively longitudinally narrow roller bearing adapter, a low profile adapter shear pad with a shear stiffness in a range of 85,000 lbs/in to 125,000 lbs/inch, and side wear pad that in combination total clearance in a range of 0.09 inches to 0.36 inches between the side frame thrust lugs and the adapter with the side wear pads. This overall combination reduces wheel wear and damage, reduces fuel consumption, reduces the need for railroad track repair, improves high speed stability and curving performance for both empty cars and loaded cars, provides more truck stability under a loaded car in shallow curves and while encountering certain perturbations, and provides optimum curving performance that enables the axles to better align with curves of relatively high degrees.

Railroad car roller bearing adapter assembly

A railroad car truck including a first side frame, a second side frame, a bolster, and a first plurality of warp restraints, each first warp restraint configured to reduce, inhibit, or minimize warping of the bolster relative to the side frame, and in one embodiment including a first inner bearing race at a first end of the bolster, a second opposing outer bearing race at the first side frame, and a roller positioned in a channel formed by and between the first and second opposing bearing races, and a second plurality of warp restraints, each second warp restraint including a first inner bearing race at a second end of the bolster, a second opposing outer bearing race at the second side frame, and a roller positioned in a channel formed by and between the first and second opposing bearing races.

A strut for a brake beam assembly includes a strut body extending along a longitudinal axis between a proximal end and a distal end. At least one slot is defined in the strut body and receives and supports a brake lever extending non-parallel to the longitudinal axis. A compression member engager is connected to a distal end of the strut body and is configured to connect the strut body to a compression member of the brake beam assembly. A tension member engager is connected to the proximal end of the strut body and is configured to engage a tension member of the brake beam assembly. At least one fastener is configured to engage the compression member engager to fasten the compression member engager on the compression member. At least a portion of the strut body is rotatable about the longitudinal axis with respect to the compression member engager and the tension member engager to be oriented at opposing angles with respect to a horizontal plane extending through the longitudinal axis.

Universal brake beam strut

A low profile mounting assembly for use between a rail car side frame pedestal and the rail car roller bearing includes a shear pad and a bearing adapter. In one embodiment, the shear pad has relatively thin plates joined by an elastomeric layer. In another embodiment, the shear pad includes a projection extending downwardly from a plate to be received and retained by a recess defined in a top surface of the adapter. In another embodiment, a central cavity formed in a lower plate of the shear pad cooperates with the adapter top surface to distribute forces on the roller bearing. In another embodiment, an elastomeric projection of a shear pad plate bears against ridges on the adapter top surface to prevent disengagement.

Low profile shear pad and adapter

A reduced weight fifth wheel generally mountable on a tractor for coupling between a tractor and a trailer, which fifth wheel has the approximately the same bearing surface area, a more continuous surface area by elimination of a lever-bar pin port in the bearing surface, thinner support ribs and smaller fillets, a shorter longitudinal length with a wider kingpin receiving slot for receipt of a trailer kingpin, with a locking-jaw mechanism having a redesigned lever-bar pin and pin-receiving port to enable reduction of the weight and to enhance production casting practices, which fifth wheel further encompasses lateral support ribs at the plate outer perimeter and rearward of the mounting brackets to define support pockets ahead of the engaging ramps to avoid lateral deflection and deformation of the plate at vertical loading.

Reduced weight fifth wheel assembly

The present invention provides a sideframe for use in a traditional three piece railway freight car truck comprising a pair of laterally spaced sideframes supporting a bolster extending between the sideframes. Each sideframe comprises an elongated top compression member, two diagonal compression members extending generally downwardly at acute angles from near the ends of the top compression member, and a bottom member joining the other ends of the diagonal tension members. Two column members also extend vertically between the bottom member and the top compression member. Such column members are strengthened by two ribs that extend laterally across the structure of the column member between sidewalls of the column member.

Railway truck sideframe with reinforced columns

A reduced weight fifth wheel generally mountable on a tractor for coupling between a tractor and a trailer, which fifth wheel has the approximately the same bearing surface area, a more continuous surface area by elimination of a lever-bar pin port in the bearing surface, thinner support ribs and smaller fillets, a shorter longitudinal length with a wider kingpin receiving slot for receipt of a trailer kingpin, with a locking-jaw mechanism having a redesigned lever-bar pin and pin-receiving port to enable reduction of the weight and to enhance production casting practices.

Growing community of inventors

Chicago, IL, United States of America

Ronald D Golembiewski