RAILCAR FLOOR ASSEMBLY

ELEMENT DE PLANCHER DE WAGON

English Abstract

A railcar capable of carrying freight in commercial rail transport comprising
a novel
floor support structure and a novel method of assembly. The railcar may
comprise a center
beam car or other freight car having a load bearing floor. The railcar body
comprises a
plurality of floor sheets, a plurality of floor supports, and a frame
comprising a plurality of
elongate structural members. Each of the elongate floor supports has its ends
supported in
upwardly-opening channel segments on the elongate structural members. The
floor supports
are preferably plug welded to the floor sheets. In the preferred embodiment,
the floor
supports are tubular stringers of square or other rectangular cross section.
The floor sheets
and stringers may be pre-assembled for drop-in installation, with the stringer
ends being
lowered into pockets formed by the channel segments. The channel segments
constrain the
floor supports against displacement out of position while they are welded in
place.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A railcar capable of carrying loads in commercial rail transport comprising
a pair of
trucks and a railcar body supported on said trucks, said railcar body
comprising a frame
including a plurality of elongated structural members and a plurality of floor
supports, and a
plurality of floor sheets, said railcar further comprising a plurality of
upwardly-opening
channel segments supported by said structural members, each of said floor
supports having
opposite ends supported in said upwardly-opening channel segments.
2. The railcar of claim 1 wherein each of said floor sheets is plug welded to
a
respective one of said floor supports.
3. The railcar of claim 1 wherein each of said structural members has a
vertical web
and a top flange, and each of said channel segments is welded to said web and
to said top
flange and extends outward from said web beyond said flange to provide an
upwardly opening
pocket receiving said opposite ends of said floor supports.
4. A method of assembling a railcar floor comprising:
providing at least one pair of cross bearers;
providing a floor sheet;
securing at least one stringer to each floor sheet;
providing channel supports on said cross bearers;
lowering the ends of said stringers into said channel supports; and
securing said ends of said stringers to said channel supports.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising securing a floor plate to said
stringers.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein securing the floor plate to the stringers
comprises
plug welding the floor plate to the stringers.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the floor plate is secured to the stringers
to provide
a pre-assembled, reinforced floor section before the ends of the stringers are
lowered into said
channel supports.
8. In a center beam railcar capable of carrying loads in commercial rail
transport,
comprising a pair of trucks and a railcar body supported on said trucks, said
railcar body
comprising a plurality of floor sheets and a plurality of structural members
providing support
to said floor sheets, the improvement comprising a plurality of upwardly-
opening channel
segments supported by said structural members, and a plurality of floor
supports, each of said
floor supports having opposite ends supported in said upwardly-opening channel
segments.
9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein each of said floor sheets is plug welded
to a
respective one of said floor supports.
10. The improvement of claim 9 wherein each of said structural members has a
4

vertical web and a top flange, and wherein said channel segments are secured
to said web and
top flange.
11. The improvement of claim 10 wherein each of said floor supports comprises
a
longitudinally extending stringer of tubular configuration.
12. The improvement of claim 10 wherein each of said floor supports comprises
a
longitudinally extending stringer of rectangular cross-section.

Description

CA 02313834 2000-07-11
Railcar Floor Assembly
Background of the Invention
The invention relates to a railcar, and more particularly to a railcar floor
structure that
may lie used in center beam cars or other railcars having load bearing floors.
Center beam cars have for many years provided an efficient mode of transport
for
lumber products and other large, bulky freight loads. Center beam cars are
shown and
described in, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,088,417, No. 4,813, 359, No. 4,784,067
and No.
4,543,887. In the past, center beam cars were frequently manufactured with
open floors.
While floor sheets are desirable for certain loads, the floor sheets add
weight and expense to
the cars.' It is an object of the invention to provide an improved floor
structure that may be
useful in center beam cars or other railcars. Another object of the invention
is to provide an
improved method of constructing railcar floors.
Summary of the Invention
The invention provides a railcar capable of carrying freight in commercial
rail transport
comprising a novel floor support structure and a novel method of assembly. The
railcar may
comprise a center beam car or other freight car having a load bearing floor.
The railcar body
comprises a plurality of floor sheets, a plurality of floor supports, and a
frame comprising a
plurality of elongate structural members. Each of the elongate floor supports
has its ends
supported in upwardly-opening channel segments on the elongate structural
members. The
floor supports are preferably plug welded to the floor sheets.
In the preferred embodiment, the floor supports are tubular stringers of
square or other
rectangular cross section. The floor sheets and stringers may be pre-assembled
for drop-in
installation, with the stringer ends being lowered into pockets formed by the
channel segments.
The channel segments constrain the floor supports against displacement out of
position while
they are welded in place.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 illustrates a portion of a floor and underlying structure of a railcar
in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the floor and underlying structure of
Fig. l, with
3 S the right half of Fig. 2 illustrating a section taken at the bolster, and
the left half of Fig. 2
illustrating a section taken at a cross bearer.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 in Fig. 4
Fig. 4 is a plan view of a railcar including the floor and underlying
structural members
of Fig. 1. In the left half, the floor sheets are not shown, and the center
beam is shown in
section.

CA 02313834 2000-07-11
Fig. 5 is an elevation of the railcar of Fig. 4
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
The invention is preferably embodied in a railcar 10 having an improved
structure for
supporting its floor 12. The invention is particularly useful in center beam
cars, and is shown
in ~ center beam car in the illustrated embodiment. In other embodiments,
floor structures in
accordance with the invention may be employed in other types of railcars
having load bearing
floors.
The illustrated railcar comprises pair of trucks 14 supporting a car body. The
car body
comprises a frame that includes a center beam comprising a center sill 16, a
top chord 18, a
plurality'of columns 20 extending upward from the center sill to the top
chord, and a plurality
of diagonal braces 22 extending between the center sill and the top chord.
The center beam is supported on the trucks. A pair of body bolsters 24 extend
transversely of the center sill over the trucks 14. A plurality of cross
bearers are supported by
the center sill 16, and a pair of side sills 28 are supported by the cross
bearers 26. The side
sills in the illustrated embodiment are of channel shaped cross-section. In
other embodiments,
side sills of other cross-section, e.g., Z-shaped members, I-beams, or angles,
may be
employed.
Each of the cross bearers 26 is preferably of I-shaped cross-section,
comprising a
vertical web 30 extending between a top flange 32 and a bottom flange 34. The
top flange is
sloped inward slightly toward the center beam. The web has a vertical
dimension that
decreases from the center sill to the side sills.
Floor sheets 36 are provided along each side of the center beam. The floor
sheets are
preferably rectangular, and have their inner edges 38 supported on the center
sill, and their
transverse edges 40 supported on the top flanges of the cross bearers. Their
outer edges 42
may be supported on the side sills, or may be spaced therefrom. Floor supports
44 extend
longitudinally between the cross bearers to provide additional support to the
floor sheets. In
the illustrated embodiment, the floor supports are tubular stringers of square
or other
rectangular cross section.
In accordance with the invention, upwardly opening channel segments 46 are
provided
on the cross bearers 26 and bolsters 24 to support the ends 48 of the
stringers. At the cross
bearers, each of the channel segments is preferably welded to the web 30 and
the top flange
32, and extends longitudinally beyond the top flange to provide an upwardly
opening pocket
into which the stringer end may be lowered. At the bolsters, a similar
arrangement is
provided, as shown in FIG. 3.
In the preferred method of assembly, the floor sheets 36 and stringers 44 are
pre-
assembled for drop-in installation, with the stringer ends 48 being lowered
into the pockets
formed by the channel segments to position the floor sheets for welding. The
channel segments
support and constrain the stringers 44 and floor sheets 36 until they are
welded in place. In
other embodiments, the stringers may be installed before attachment to the
floor sheets.
2

CA 02313834 2000-07-11
The floor supports are preferably plug welded to the floor sheets. More
particularly,
openings 50 are provided in the floor sheets, and the floor sheets are welded
to the underlying
supports at the openings, with the openings being filled during welding to
provide the floor
sheet with a flat upper surface at the location of the weld.
It should be appreciated that the invention provides an improved floor
structure for
railcars, and an improved method of assembling a floor structure. While
preferred
embodiments have been described above, the invention is not limited to these
or any other
particular embodiments. The invention is further described by the following
claims.

Representative Drawing