Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RAIL ROAD CAR BODY STRUCTURE
This Application claims the benefit of the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application
No. 60/809,340, entitled Rail Road Car Body Structure, and filed May 31, 2006.
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of rail road freight cars, and, in
particular to rail road
freight cars such as may employ a body structure for containing lading.
Background
There are many kinds of rail road cars for carrying particulate material, be
it sand or
gravel aggregate, plastic pellets, grains, ores, potash, coal or other
granular materials. These
materials are not liquid, yet may in some ways tend to flow in a quasi liquid-
like manner under
the influence of gravity. Many of those cars have an upper opening, or
accessway of some kind,
by which the particulate is loaded, and a lower opening, or accessway, or
gate, by which the
particulate material exists the car under the influence of gravity. Others
such as rotary dump
gondola cars, may be unloaded by use of a rotary dumping system in which the
entire railroad
car is inverted such that the lading may be dumped out while the car is upside
down.
In general, design of cars of this nature tends to involve a balancing of a
need to reduce
car weight to pennit a greater mass of lading to be carried, and a need for
relative simplicity of
construction with a desire for robustness and long service life.
Summary of the Invention
In an aspect of the invention, there is a rail road car. The car has a
containment structure
mounted on railroad car trucks. The containment structure includes a
peripheral wall defining an
accommodation for lading therewithin. The containment structure includes a
bottom portion and
peripheral wall panels mounted thereabout and standing upwardly thereof. The
peripheral wall
panels include sidewall portions running lengthwise along the bottom portion.
The sidewall
portions include at least one sidewall member having a lower portion meeting
the bottom portion
at a junction, and an upper portion upwardly distant from the bottom portion.
The upper portion
has a margin more laterally inboard than the junction.
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In a feature of that aspect of the invention the rail road car is a rotary
dump gondola car.
In another feature the rail road car is a gondola car, the bottom portion of
the containment
structure includes a deck plate, and the lower portion of the sidewall member
mates substantially
perpendicularly with the deck plate. In a further feature the rail road car is
a gondola car, the
bottom portion of the railroad car is a deck plate, and the lower portion of
the sidewall member
mates with the deck plate at an angle lying in the range of 75 degrees to 90
degrees. In a
narrower expression of that feature, the angle lies in the range of 80 to 90
degrees. In a still
narrower expression of that feature, the angle lies in the range of 85 to 90
degrees.
In another feature the sidewall member has a location of maximum car width at
a height
HI. The sidewall has an overall height measured upwardly from the deck 112. H1
is less than one
third of H2. In still another feature the sidewall member is part of a
convergent wall section.
The sidewall tends generally to narrow from a wider base to a narrower upper
margin. The
sidewall has an arcuate portion. The sidewall is more nearly perpendicular to
the bottom portion
at the junction than at the upper margin.
In yet another feature the sidewall has a maximum car width at the bottom
portion, and
narrows progressively toward the upper margin. In still yet another feature
the car has a top
chord extending along the upper margin of the sidewall member. The top chord
being located
outboard of the margin, and the top chord extends laterally outboard a
distance D corresponding
substantially to that of the sidewall portion at the junction. In still a
further feature wherein D
lies at most equally as far laterally outboard as the sidewall member at the
junction.
In a further feature the sidewall member has its widest point at its lower
margin. In yet a
further feature the sidewall member has an arcuate portion that increasingly
inwardly angled as a
function of upward height from the bottom portion. In another aspect the
arcuate portion forms
the majority of the sidewall member. In yet another aspect of that feature the
sidewall member
has a lower margin and has a thickened member running along the lower margin.
In still a
another aspect of that feature the sidewalls portions are curved on a concave
curve, and the
peripheral wall includes curved endwall members.
In yet still another aspect of that feature at least one of the endwall
members is formed on
a cylindrical section that has a vertical axis. In further aspect of that
feature at least one of the
curved sidewall members and at least one of the curved endwall members
intersect at a common
locus of intersection. In yet a further aspect of that feature the sidewall
member has a sidewall
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top chord running therealong,. The endwall members have endwall top chord
members running
therealong. At least one of the sidewall top chord members and at least one of
the endwall top
chord members are joined at a pin-jointed connection.
In another feature the bottom portion of the containment structure includes a
floor plate.
The floor plate extends longitudinally proud of at least a portion of one of
the endwall members
in a transversely outboard region thereof. In still another feature a ladder
is mounted to a corner
region of the floor plate lying outboard of the peripheral wall.
In another aspect of the invention, there is a rail road gondola car that has
a containment
wall structure. The containment wall structure defines an accommodation for
lading. The
containment wall structure is mounted upon railroad car trucks for rolling
motion along rail road
tracks. The containment wall structure includes a bottom portion and an
upstanding sidewall
portion. The sidewall portion includes at least one endwall portion. The
endwall portion is
formed on a longitudinally bulging profile. In another feature a predominant
portion of the
endwall portion is formed on an arc. In still another feature the endwall
includes a cylindrical
portion. The cylindrical portion has a substantially vertical axis. In yet
another feature the
cylindrical portion is formed on a circular arc.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is a rail road gondola car that
has a
containment structure mounted upon rail road car trucks for rolling motion
along rail road car
tracks. Each truck has a truck bolster extending cross-wise between a pair of
sideframes, and
wheelsets mounted in the sideframes. Each wheelset has an axle and a pair of
first and second
wheels mounted at either end thereof. The containment structure includes a
bottom portion and
upstanding sidewall portions. The bottom portion has at least one body bolster
mounted cross-
wise thereunder. The body bolster is pivotally mounted on the truck bolster.
The wall structure
has a reinforcement that extends partially cross-wise therewithin abreast of
one of the body
bolsters. The reinforcement extends laterally inboard of one of the wheels of
the truck.
In a further aspect of the invention, there is a rail road gondola car. The
gondola car has
a predominantly flat deck and a peripheral wall structure that stands upwardly
thereof and has an
accommodation for lading defined therewithin. The peripheral wall structure
includes at least
one sidewall portion that has an arcuate profile.
In yet a further feature of that aspect, the arcuate sidewall portion has a
region mated to
the deck at a welded junction. The junction is protected by a shroud. The rail
road gondola car
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has arcuate end wall sheets. The railroad gondola car has end wall top chords.
The end wall top
chords have a bulging arcuate form when viewed from above. In still a further
feature of the
invention, the rail road car has side walls and side wall top chords mounted
thereto. The end
wall top chords are connected to the side wall top chords at a pin joint
connection
In yet still a further aspect of the invention, there is a rail road gondola
freight car. The
car has sidewalls that include portions that have an arcuate profile when
viewed in cross-section.
The sidewalls have clamp fittings. The clamp fittings permit the rail road car
to be inverted for
dumping of lading from the gondola car.
In still another aspect of the invention, there is a rail road gondola car
that has curved
side walls. The gondola car has a predominantly flat floor. The gondola car
has cross-bearers
that support at least a portion of the floor. The gondola car is free of an
upwardly extending
posts abreast of at least one of the cross-bearers.
In a further feature of the invention a majority of the cross-bearers are
mounted at
longitudinal stations of the gondola car that are free of upstanding sidewall
reinforcement posts.
In another feature of the invention, the car is free of external side wall
support posts abreast of
the cross-bearers. In yet another feature of the invention, there is provided
a rail road gondola
car. The gondola car has a peripheral wall that defines an accommodation in
which to transport
lading. The peripheral wall includes side wall portions and end wall portions.
The first of the
side walls has a cross-sectional profile that is predominantly arcuate. The
first of the end walls is
arcuately formed. The first end wall mates with the first side wall.
In a further feature of the invention, there is rail road gondola car. The
gondola car has a
lading containment structure carried upon railroad car trucks for rolling
motion along rail road
tracks. The gondola car has bolsters mounted cross-wise above the trucks. The
bolsters have a
central upstanding web running lengthwise therealong. In yet still a further
feature the
containment structure includes a peripheral wall. The containment structure
further includes a
wall reinforcement web mounted in alignment with the central upstanding web of
the bolster. In
a yet still a further feature of the invention the containment structure
includes a peripheral wall.
The peripheral wall includes side walls. One of the side walls has a profile,
when viewed in
cross-section, that is arcuate.
In another aspect of the invention there is a rail road gondola car having a
peripheral wall
structure defining a containment vessel for lading. The wall structure
includes side beams
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running along opposite sides of the car, each of the side beams having a top
chord. At least one
of the top chords has a first region and a second region. The first region has
a first second
moment of area for resisting vertical bending, Z1, and a first second moment
of area for resisting
sideways deflection Y1. The top chord also has a second region, the second
region having a
second second moment of area for resisting vertical bending, Z2, and a second
second moment
of area for resisting sideways deflection, Y2. The first region is locally
reinforced such that a
ratio of Z1/Z2 is greater than a ratio of Yl/Y2.
In still another aspect of the invention there is a railroad gondola car
having a lading
containment structure mounted upon trucks for rolling along railroad tracks.
The containment
structure includes a deck sheet and a pair of opposed upstanding sidewalls
running along the car.
The deck sheet has bolsters and cross-bearers extending cross-wise thereunder.
The sidewalls
have an inwardly concave portion. The deck sheet defines an upper flange of
the cross-bearers
and bolsters, and a predominantly horizontally extending bottom flange of the
sidewalls.
In a feature of that aspect, the car further includes a lengthwise running
center sill, and
the deck sheet forms a top cover of the center sill. In another feature, the
containment structure
includes cross-wise extending reinforcement members mounted to the deck sheet
at lengthwise
intermediate locations, the cross-wise reinforcements being mounted upon the
deck sheet. In
still another feature the trucks have wheels, the reinforcements are channels,
and the deck sheet
has accommodations formed therein beneath the reinforcements, the
accommodations being
formed at locations above the wheels of the trucks.
These and other aspects and features of the invention may be understood with
reference
to the description which follows, and with the aid of the illustrations of a
number of examples.
Brief Description of the Figures
The description is accompanied by a set of Figures that are provided by way of
illustration and not of limitation of an example of an embodiment of aspects
and features of the
invention, and in which:
Figure la is a general arrangement, isometric view of a rail road freight car
from one
corner and above;
Figure lb is an isometric view of the railroad freight car of Figure la, taken
from an
opposite corner and below;
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Figure lc is a top view of the rail road freight car of Figure la;
Figure ld is another top view of the rail road car of Figure lc, with the
underframe and
other hidden features shown;
Figure le is a side view of the rail road freight car of Figure la;
Figure lf is another side view of the railroad car of Figure ld, with hidden
structure
shown;
Figure lg is an end view of the rail road freight car of Figure la;
Figure lh is lateral cross-section of the rail road freight car of Figure la,
taken on
section lh¨ lh' of Figure le, looking longitudinally outboard facing the main
bolster;
Figure li is lateral cross-section of the rail road freight car of Figure la,
taken on section
'lf ¨ ir of Figure le, looking longitudinally outboard facing a cross-bearer
longitudinally inboard of the main bolster;
Figure lj is a cross-section taken on sections lj ¨ lj of Figure le looking
downward
through end; and
Figure lk is a cross-section taken on section lk¨lk of Figure le looking
toward side of
car.
Detailed Description
The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, are
provided by
way of illustration of an example, or examples, of particular embodiments of
the principles,
aspects or features of the present invention. These examples are provided for
the purposes of
explanation, and not of limitation, of those principles and of the invention.
In the description,
like parts are marked throughout the specification and the drawings with the
same respective
reference numerals. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some
instances proportions
may have been exaggerated in order more clearly to depict certain features of
the invention.
In terms of general orientation and directional nomenclature, for the rail
road car
described herein, the longitudinal direction or x-axis is defined as being
coincident with the
rolling direction of the rail road car, or rail road car unit, when located on
tangent (that is,
straight) track. In the case of a rail road car having a center sill, the
longitudinal direction is
parallel to the center sill, and parallel to the top chords. Unless otherwise
noted, vertical, z-axis,
or upward and downward, are terms that use top of rail, TOR, as a datum. In
the context of the
car as a whole, the term lateral, or laterally outboard, or transverse, or
transversely outboard refer
to a distance or orientation in the y-axis direction measured from the
longitudinal centerline of
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the railroad car, or car unit, or of the centerline of the centerplate. The
term "longitudinally
inboard", or "longitudinally outboard" is a distance taken relative to a mid-
span lateral section of
the car, or car unit. Pitching motion is angular motion of a railcar unit
about a horizontal axis
(i.e., the y-axis) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Yawing is
angular motion about a
vertical or z- axis. Roll is angular motion about the longitudinal or x- axis.
Given that the rail
road car described herein may tend to have both longitudinal and transverse
axes of symmetry, a
description of one half of the car may generally also be intended to describe
the other half as
well, allowing for differences between right hand and left hand parts. Unless
otherwise noted, it
may be assumed that the structural components of railroad cars described
herein are made of
steel, most typically a mild steel having a yield strength of 50 kpsi,
although other materials,
such as aluminum or reinforced composite materials might be used in some
instances.
This specification is to be understood in the context of the North American
railroad
industry. Terms used in this specification are to be given their customary and
ordinary meanings
as understood by persons of ordinary skill in the railroad industry. In that
regard, following from
Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 75 U.S.P.Q.2d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2005), the
specification
and claims are to be understood in context, and are not to be interpreted
according to general
dictionary definitions. In this context, Railway Age's Comprehensive Railroad
Dictionary (9
1984 Simmons-Boardman, Omaha) may provide definitions of rail road terms that
are not
inconsistent with this specification. The Applicant explicitly excludes
interpretations made by
any Examiner in the US Patent Office, or in any other Patent Office, other
than those
interpretations supported by the wording and context of this specification,
unless those
interpretations are shown to have been used in a manner that (a) is not
inconsistent with this
specification; and (b) is supported either (i) by objective evidence of record
in the form of at
least two independent examples of pre-existing railroad literature written by
persons engaged in,
and having knowledge of, the railroad industry in North America, Britain, or
former British
empire or commonwealth countries, or (ii) by the testimony, which may be by
way of affidavit
or declaration, of a non-PTO-employed person of at least ordinary skill in the
art and having not
less than 10 years experience in the North American railroad industry.
Figure la shows an isometric view of an example of a rail road freight car 20
that is
intended to be representative of a wide range of rail road cars in which the
present invention may
be incorporated. While car 20 may be suitable for a variety of general purpose
uses, it may be
taken as being symbolic, and in some ways a generic example of, a gondola car,
in which lading
is introduced by gravity flow from above, and removed either by a bucket
loader from above, or
by gravity discharge when the car is engaged and inverted by, for example, a
rotary dumping
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machine. Gondola cars may come in many different types, whether potash cars,
ore cars, coal
cars and so on. In one embodiment car 20 may be a gondola car such as may be
used for the
carriage of bulk commodities in the form of a granular particulate, such as
ballast, be it in the
nature of relatively coarse gravel or fine aggregate in the nature of fine
gravel or sand, coal, ores
in the form of pellets or concentrate, and so on. Car 20 may be symmetrical
about both its
longitudinal and transverse, or lateral, centreline axes. Consequently, it
will be understood that
the car has first and second, left and right hand side beams, bolsters and so
on.
By way of a general overview, car 20 may have a car body 22 that is carried on
trucks 24
for rolling operation along railroad tracks. Car 20 may be a single unit car,
or it may be a multi-
unit car having two or more car body units, where the multiple car body units
may be connected
at articulated connectors, or by draw bars. Car body 22 may include a lading
containment vessel
or shell or structure 26 such as may include a bottom portion 27, that may be
a floor, or deck,
whether having outflow gates or not; and an upstanding wall structure 28
standing upwardly
therefrom, which may include a pair of opposed first and second end walls 30,
32, that extend
predominantly cross-wise, and a pair of first and second side walls 34, 36
that extend lengthwise,
the end walls 30, 32 and side walls 34, 36 co-operating to define a generally
rectangular form of
peripheral wall structure 28. Wall structure 28 may include top chords 38
running along the top
of side walls 34, 36, and top chords 40 running atop end walls 30, 32. Those
top chords may
tend to be connected at the corners, or points, of the car body and may form a
frame or rim, or
lip, at the top of the car body sidewalls.
In some instances car 20 may have stub center sills at either end, in which
case side walls
34, 36 may act as deep beams, and may provide the primary load path by which
to carry vertical
loads to the main bolsters that extend laterally from the centerplates.
Alternatively, or in
addition to, deep side beams, car 20 may include a center sill 42, which may
be a straight-
through center sill, running from one end of the car body to the other. In the
case of a single,
stand alone car unit, draft gear and releaseable couplers may be mounted at
either end of the
center sill. In a gondola car the upper portion of the car may typically
include an opening 35
defined between the top chord members 38 and 40, through which lading may be
introduced, or
extracted or emptied, as may be. The end wall and side wall members of
containment structure
26 may define a peripheral wall structure bounding an at least partially
enclosed space, volume,
receptacle, bin, hopper, catchment, box, tub or accommodation 45, however the
space inside the
gondola body for receiving and containing lading may be termed.
Bottom portion 27 may include a floor panel, or sheet, or deck 44. The floor
panel, or
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deck 44, may have lateral supports or reinforcements mounted thereunder, such
as cross-bearers
48 and body bolsters 50. The body bolsters may be pivotally mounted to trucks
24, such as to
permit relative angular displacement about a vertical axis, a conventional
method being to
provide a center plate to the body bolster for seating in a center plate bowl
of a truck bolster.
Where car 20 is intended for use as a rotary dump car, the car body may also
include
manipulation or lifting fittings, indicated generally as 55, by which the car
may be engaged by a
rotary dumping apparatus, crane, jig, clamp, or the like for the purpose of
holding the car while it
is flipped and emptied.
Trucks 24 may, most typically, include a laterally extending truck bolster 52
such as may
extend cross-wise between a pair of first and second sideframes 54, 56, the
ends of the truck
bolster being resiliently mounted on spring groups in the sideframe windows.
The sideframes
are mounted on wheelsets 58, each of which has an axle and a pair of first and
second wheels 60.
Most conventionally, wheels 60 sit laterally inboard of sideframes 54, 56.
Car 20 may be a car for transporting particulate material, such as ores. In
one
embodiment, car 20 may have 38 inch wheels, and may have a rated carrying
capacity of
315,000 lbs., gross weight on rail (GWR), such as is nominally referred to as
a '125 Ton' car in
AAR terminology. In other embodiments it may be a car having 33 or 36 inch
wheels, and may
have a rated load capacity of 70 Tons (220,000 lbs GWR), 100 Tons (263,000 lbs
GWR), or 110
tons (286,000 lbs., GWR) It may be, for example, that car 20 is an iron ore
carrying car, and it
may have an abnormally short truck center distance. (That is, the regular
truck center distance
may be considered to be 46'-3", cars having truck centers of greater pitch
spacing being required
to be narrower to allow for swing out. A car having a truck center spacing of
less than 46' ¨ 3"
may be considered to have short truck spacing). It may also be that such a car
may be built to
fall within the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Plate B, and may have
a maximum
width of about, but not more than, 128 inches.
Car 20 may have sidewalls, or sidewall portions 62, that are curved such that
they are
inwardly concave and outwardly bulging, or convex (i.e., a straight line chord
drawn from the
extremities of the curved portions will lie inside rather than outside the
containment vessel). In
one embodiment, side wall portion 62 may run substantially the entire length
of the car from end
wall 30 to end wall 32. Sidewall portion 62 may extend from a lower portion 64
that may run
outboard of, and be connected along the outboard margin of, the floor plate
(i.e., deck 44), to an
upper portion 66, to which the respective top chord member 38 may run. It may
be that the
overall width of the accommodation, as measured over the outside width of
sidewall portion 62,
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may vary with height relative to deck 44 (or, indeed, with respect to top of
rail). It may be that
deck 44 is supported by cross members, such as cross bearers 48, that have at
least one
substantially vertically standing, laterally running, web 72, and a
predominantly horizontally
extending, laterally running bottom flange 74. Lower portion 64 may extend
downwardly to,
and past, the floor sheet (deck 44), to which it may be connected both above
and below by fillet
welds, to overlie, cover, and be connected to, the abutting ends of web 72 and
flange 74 of the
cross-bearers, and to the corresponding webs and flanges of the bolsters.
Center sill 42 may
include internal web separators 74 that provide shear web continuity between
left and right hand
webs 72 of cross-bearers 48, while center sill bottom cover plate 75 provides
flange continuity
between left and right hand flanges 74 of cross bearers 48. In one embodiment,
the floor plate of
the containment vessel defined by the upstanding peripheral walls, namely deck
sheet 44, may be
a substantially continuous sheet that may run from side to side, and may run
from end to end, of
the car body, and may form the top cover plate of the center sill, the upper
flange of the cross-
bearers, the upper flange of the bolsters, and may form or function as the
bottom or horizontal
flange of the side beam or sidewall assembly.
Although car 20 may not have a side sill, as such, the region of the junction
65 of the
lower portion 64 of side wall portion 62 with the deck sheet 44, may tend to
yield a stiffened
structural section that may tend to function somewhat in the manner of a side
sill, by which the
side beam of the car defined by the sidewalls and the top chords is given a
structure that may
tend to function as a bottom flange. The predominantly upwardly standing
portion of sidewall
portion 64 extending upward of deck 44 may tend to mate with the floor sheet
at an angle that is
substantially a right angle. To the extent that lower portion 64 may be
somewhat arcuate, and
the point of greatest width may not necessarily be at floor level, (or,
expressed alternately, the
center of curvature of the section may not lie in the plane of deck sheet 44,
but may lie above or
below that level) the angle at which the floor sheet and the sidewall sheet
meet may not be
precisely 90 degrees. In one embodiment that angle lies in the range of 75 to
90 degrees. In a
narrower range, it may lie in the range of 80 to 90 degrees, and, in a still
narrower range, it may
lie in the range of 85 to 90 degrees.
Commencing below deck level, the sidewall, or sidewall portion 62, may include
a lower
margin or lower region that may include a length-wise running skirt, or plate
or sheet 80. Sheet
80 may have a lower portion 82 and an upper portion 84. Lower portion 82 may
lie along, and be
welded across the ends of, the various cross-bearers 48 and bolsters 50. Lower
portion 82 and
upper portion 84 may meet at a lengthwise running slope discontinuity, which
may either be a
longitudinal butt, fillet or bevel weld, or a bend formed in a single
monolithic sheet. In either
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case, the lower and upper portions are welded to the outboard peripheral edge
of the deck sheet
44, and tend to form a generally T-shaped section, in which the influence of
the members may
tend to stiffen each other. The zone of influence may tend to extend 20 to 30
times the thickness
of the member away from the joint. Upper portion 84 may act as the upwardly
extending leg of
a fabricated angle iron, while the deck sheet 44 acts as a horizontal leg.
Upper portion 84 may
be arcuate, or may be predominantly planar, and may stand in a vertical, or
substantially vertical
plane, or may have a lower portion adjoining deck sheet 44 that is
substantially planar, and an
upper portion that is bent inward, such as on a continuous arc that may extend
to an upper
margin at or near the top chord.
In one embodiment, upper portion 84 may extend upwardly and seamlessly all the
way to
top chord 40. In another embodiment, there may be a transition to an upper
wall plate, or sheet
86. Sheet 86 may be joined to sheet 80 along a lap joint 88 as indicated, or
by other means such
as to form a longitudinal seam or join. Sheet 86 may be of a different
thickness from sheet 80,
and may be thinner than sheet 80. For example, deck sheet 44 may be made of,
for example,
plate, which may be steel plate, in the range of 1/4" to 1/2" thick, and may
in one embodiment
be about 3/8" thick. Sheet 86 may be in the range of 0.1" to 5/16" thick, and
in one
embodiment may be about 1/8" to 3/16" thick. Sheet 80 may be in the range of
about 1/4" to
5/8" thick. In one embodiment it may be in the range of 5/16" to 1/2" thick,
and may be about
3/8" thick. It may be that where a relatively mild steel is employed, such as
may have a 50 kpsi
yield, a greater thickness may be selected than when a higher yield steel (70
kpsi or more) is
selected. Sheet 86 may be between 1/3" as thick and the same thickness as
sheet 80, and, in one
embodiment may be about 1/2" as thick. In one embodiment sheet 80 may be about
as thick as
deck sheet 44.
Sheet 86 may be joined to sheet 80 at a tangent, i.e., such that there is
slope continuity
between sheet 80 and sheet 86, even if the mating seam is not flush but rather
offset. Further,
sheet 80 may continue upward on an arcuate profile, which may in some
embodiments be
parabolic, elliptic, or circular. When made on a circular arc, such that sheet
86 has a circular
cylindrical section, and an axis of curvature parallel to the longitudinal
centerline of the car, the
radius of curvature may be quite large. In one embodiment it may be in the
range of 250 ¨ 500
inches, and may, in one embodiment, be about 400 inches (+/- 10%). The center
of curvature
may lie at a height that is at or relatively near the height of deck sheet 44.
For example, in one
embodiment, the center of curvature may lie between deck sheet 44 and a height
that is up to
twice the height of upper portion 84 above deck sheet 44. In one embodiment,
the center of
curvature may lie in the range of about 75 % to 125 % of the height H1 of the
upper margin of
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upper portion 84 above deck sheet 44. Expressed differently, in the light car
(i.e., empty)
condition, the center of curvature may be located at a height that is in the
range of 100% to 200
% of the height H2 of the deck sheet 44 (which, itself, may be at
substantially the same height as
the center sill top cover plate) relative to top of rail, TOR. More narrowly,
this may fall in the
range of 125 % to 175 % of H2, and in one embodiment, about 150 %, (+/- 10 %).
Expressed
differently again, where the height from the deck to the top chord is
identified as H3, the height
of the center of curvature above deck 44 may be at a level of less than 1/3 of
H3 above deck
sheet 44, and, in one embodiment, may be about V4 of 113 above deck sheet 44
(+/- 10 %), which
may also be about the same height as HI. In absolute terms, H1 may be in the
range of about 15
to 36 inches, and, in one embodiment may be in the range 18 to 30 inches, and,
in another
embodiment, may be in the range of 20 ¨ 24 inches. It may be that the height
of maximum width
of the car may tend to lie between the height of the center of curvature and
the height H1 of the
upper margin of upper portion 84, or, to the extent that a single sheet is
used, at or near the
transition from the tangent portion corresponding to upper portion 84 to an
arcuate upper portion
corresponding to sheet 86.
Upper sheet 86 may be formed on an inwardly tending arc, as indicated above,
and may
have an upper margin 90 meeting, and being joined to, top chord member 38. To
that end, either
top chord member 38 may be formed to conform to the curvature of upper sheet
86, generally, or
upper margin 90 may include a flange or lip 92 bent to conform to a wall or
wall portion of top
chord member 38. For example, top chord member 38 may have the form a closed
structural
section, which may, for example be a square or rectangular hollow section. Lip
92 may be
joined to a side web of that section in a lap joint, as indicated. It may be
that top chord 38 has a
joint pin/reinforcement doubler or plate 94 welded along one or both of the
upper and lower
surfaces thereof adjacent to the endwall junction, through which comer pin 95
seats. Comer Pin
95 passes through the hollow structural member of top chord 40 of end wall 30
or 32 as may be,
and plates 94, thus forming a double shear pin joint.
The shape of the profile of sidewall member 62, be it arcuate and concave as
shown, or
some other shape, may tend to converge from bottom to top, such that the
lateral width of
accommodation 45 (i.e., the width of the tub), may tend to be wider near the
floor panel, and
narrower at the clearance width between the top chords. It may be that the
majority of top chord
member 38 lies laterally inboard of the lateral extremity, or edge of the
outboard margin 46 of
deck sheet 44. In one embodiment all of top chord 38 lies inboard of that
edge. Expressed
3 5 somewhat differently, the outer fibre of top chord member 38 may lie
flush with, or laterally
inboard shy of the edge 46. Expressed differently again, the width of top
chord member 38 may
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be less than or equal to the laterally inboard cant or narrowing of wall
member 62, or is less than
or equal to half the overall decrease in width from the location of maximum
width, Wmax, to the
narrowed width W35 at opening 35, the closure width inside top chord members
38.
Car 20 may include internal reinforcements or stiffeners 100, 102 such as may
have
outboard margins 104 formed to conform to, and to maintain, the profile of
sidewall member 62.
Stiffeners 100 may be located at longitudinal stations (i.e., cross-sectional
y-z planes)
substantially level with, or overlying, each of the bolsters. Stiffeners 102
may be located at
longitudinal stations of, or overlying, cross bearers. In one embodiment
stiffeners 102 may
overlie the next adjacent longitudinally inboard cross-bearer 106 to each of
the respective
bolsters.
It may be that stiffeners 102 and 100 may be aligned over vertical webs 72 of
the
respective cross-bearers 48 and bolsters 50, and may be co-planar therewith,
such that there is
web continuity above and below deck sheet 44. Taking a left hand side
stiffener 102, a left hand
cross-bearer 48, having a web 72, web 73 in center sill 42, a right hand cross-
bearer 48 having a
web 72 and a right hand side stiffener 102, it may be seen that there is a
continuous web or web
assembly 110. Web assembly 110 is connected to an outer flange defined by the
adjacent
portion of sidewall panel 62, the bottom flange 74 of the left hand cross-
bearer 48, the bottom
flange 75, of web 73, the bottom flange 74 of the right hand cross bearer 48
and the adjacent
portion of the other sidewall panel 62 in the zone of influence of that web.
The web assembly so
defined is also connected to a partial inner flange, defined by the top flange
112 of cross-bearer
48, namely that region of deck sheet 44 that is influenced by web assembly
110. For the
purposes of approximation, that zone of influence may extend to a width of the
order of 24 times
the thickness of deck sheet 44 to either side of the web, or, in the case of
the sheets of the
sidewall panels, to 24 times the thickness of those sheets. More generally, it
may be taken as 20
¨ 30 times thickness, to either side of the web. The resultant structure is in
the nature of an
inverted arch, a former, or frame, or rib, which may have something of a
wishbone shape in
profile. This resulting structure is, in essence, both a former, and a spring,
designated as 114.
The legs of the spring have a narrowing or tapering section, and terminate at
tips 115 that join
the top chord members 38. The spring may tend to resist deflection of the
sidewalls under the
lateral pressure of the lading, and may tend to resist lateral deflection of
the top chords.
Stiffeners 100 may interact with the webs of bolsters 50 in an analogous
manner to form spring
or frame assemblies.
Stiffeners 100 may be of a different profile than stiffeners 102. Bolster 50
may have a
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web 101, a bottom flange 103, and a top flange 105. In one embodiment top
flange 105 may be
defined by the adjacent portion of deck sheet 44 influenced by web 101. It may
also be that car
20 is a high gross weight car that may have wheels 60 of large diameter (i.e.,
greater than 33
inches). Given that the height of the deck sheet may tend to correspond to the
height of, and may
in some embodiments form, the coupler pocket cover plate (which may, in turn
be carried
through as the height of that portion 107 of deck sheet 44 defining the center
sill top cover plate),
and given that it may be desirable to maintain a minimum clearance over the
trucks, it may be
that the outboard arm 109 of bolster 50 may be relieved in a region overlying
the sideframes, as
indicated by the relief or accommodation 116 at which a bight has been formed
in web 101, and
bottom flange 103 deviates upward as at 118, as seen by contrast with the
inboard and outboard
portions 120, 122 of bottom flange 103 that lie in a common plane, both of
them lying lower
than the portion at 118. In one embodiment, accommodation 116 may be in the
range of 1/4 to
2/3 of the depth of arm 109 outboard of the side bearing mount.
The inside margin 124 of stiffener 102 may tend to run on a more or less
straight line
from the top chord member to the deck sheet (with a generously radiused join
111 at the junction
with the floor sheet). That straight line may run substantially vertically, or
on a relatively steep
incline symbolized by angle a. The web width at the root of stiffener 102,
indicated by
dimension W, (which may be measured perpendicular to edge 124 at the point of
tangency to
radius 111, or may, alternatively, be measured from the intersection of the
straight line tangent
projection of edge 124 with deck sheet 44 to the junction of sheet 44 with
plate 84) may tend to
be at least 75 % as great as the depth of cross bearer 48, indicated as 'V'.
In one embodiment W
is at least as large as V, and in another embodiment W is at least 125 % as
large as V.
By contrast, in view of the reduction of section of bolster 50 at
accommodation 116 over
the truck sideframe, stiffener 100 may have a first, upper, or distal portion
126 having a straight
line profile 127, which may be tapering or narrowing toward tip 115, and which
may in general
correspond to or match the distal portion of the profile of stiffener 102; and
a second, lower, or
proximal portion 128 that has a profile 129 extending more laterally inboard
than that of the
lower portion of stiffener 102. Profile 129 may merge into portion 126 on a
relatively large
radius, as at 130. Portion 128 may have a predominantly straight line profile
129 and may merge
on a feathered radius 131 into deck sheet 44 at a location inboard of the side
bearing 132 of truck
24, the side bearing mount region 134 on bottom flange 103, and also inboard
of bolster side
bearing mount reinforcement gusset 136. The slope of profile 129, indicated as
6%2, may be less
steep than that of profile 127, such that al is greater than ct2, as measured
from the horizontal. It
may be that portion 128 is formed such that the narrowest throat region
measured between the
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_
deviated portion of flange 118 and edge profile 129 of portion 128, identified
by dimension `D',
is at least 75 % as great as the depth of bolster 50 immediately inboard of
reinforcement gusset
136, that depth tending to be the same as the depth of bolster 50 at side
bearing mount 134, that
depth being indicated as 'E'. In one embodiment D is at least as great as E,
and in another
embodiment, D is at least 25 % greater than E. It may be that the slope of
edge 138 is less steep
than the mean slope of edge 140 of deviation 118, both being measured from the
horizontal.
In some embodiments, it may be desirable for desk sheet 44 to be kept
unobstructed
along the centerline of the car between the inboard toes 113 of stiffeners 100
or 102,
respectively. Alternatively, in one embodiment, the left and right hand pairs
of stiffeners 100 or
102 may be formed as a single member having a U-shaped profile, i.e., with a
back extending
fully across the longitudinal centerline of car 20. The shallowest height of
this central back
portion (which may be at the longitudinal centerline of or car 20) may extend
from deck sheet 44
to a height corresponding to the widest portion of the bulge of the sidewalls,
or to the top of
target leg 86, or the height of the center of curvature of the sidewalls, as
may be. The height of
this local minimum may also be less, and may be zero in some embodiments.
Running longitudinally between the generally U-shaped springs or
reinforcements so
defined, at each end of car 20 there are lifting, or clamping, fittings 55, as
noted above. Each
lifting fitting installation may include a relief or rebate, or opening, or
accommodation 150
formed in the sidewall panel assembly. It may be that accommodation 150 is
formed in sheet 84,
and may extend from roughly the level of deck 44 upward a distance less than
the width of
portion 84. The corners of this accommodation may be radiused.
Within accommodation 150, there may be a grip member 152, which, in one
embodiment, may have the form of a channel welded toes down at the margin of
deck sheet 44,
grip member 152 extending the width of accommodation 150. Accommodation 150
may be
enclosed internally by a backwall, or backshell member 154, which may have the
form of a bent
plate extending longitudinally between stiffener 100 and stiffener 102, and
between deck sheet
44 and sidewall panel 62 to form an enclosed pocket. The fillet welded
junction of member 154
to deck sheet 44 may be protected by a shroud member 156, which may have a
curved form.
As noted above, it may be that clearance space over wheels 60 is limited. In
that light,
car 20 may include cut-outs or reliefs 160 formed in deck sheet 44 at the
locations customarily
located over wheels 60. Car 20 may further include blisters, or aperture
covers 162, 164 such as
may allow additional clearance over reliefs 160, while maintaining the
integrity of the
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containment structure in a manner tending to discourage leakage of lading. In
one embodiment
covers 162 may have the form of channel members extending cross-wise across
the car with toes
oriented downward and welded to deck sheet 44 in a manner covering, or
staddling, or
overspanning, reliefs 160. In such an embodiment, the cross-wise extending
channels also
define floor stiffeners or reinforcements for the car body deck sheet 44 more
generally, where
the reinforcements are located above the level of the deck sheet, rather than
below.
Car 20 may include a number of cross bearers, 168, with which no internal
stiffener of
the nature of stiffeners 100 or 102 is associated. It may be noted that there
may be no external
side wall or side beam stiffener associated with cross-bearers 168, either.
Rather, the curved
form of sidewall panels 62, to which panels 62 are forced to conform by the
outer profile 104 of
stiffeners 100 and 102, and reinforced by the top flange function performed by
top chord
member 38 and by the bottom flange function performed by the interaction of
sidewall panel 62
and deck sheet 44, may define a deep beam to resist vertical bending. The
outboard ends of
cross-bearers 168 terminate at that deep beam. The elimination of outboard
posts at the
longitudinal stations of cross bearers 168 may tend to permit an increase in
internal volume of
car 20, and may in some instances tend to permit an overall reduction in car
weight.
In the mid span region 170 of car 20, i.e., that generally longitudinally
central region
lying between the fore and aft pairs of stiffeners 102, where car 20 may be
free of external posts,
car 20 may have a longitudinally running external top chord reinforcement 172,
rather than atop
chord underside doubler. Reinforcement 172 may have the form of a plate
extending downward
and inward from the outer web of top chord member 38 to the upper region of
sidewall panel 62.
It may be that top chord member 38, and the adjacent structure to which it is
attached have a
second moment of area for resisting vertical bending, and a second moment of
area for resisting
lateral deflection. Reinforcement 172 may increase both second moments of
area, but may,
proportionately, increase the effective second moment of area of the top chord
assembly in the
lateral direction proportionately more than the vertical second moment of area
as compare, for
example, to the adjacent sections of top chord member 38 longitudinally
outboard of stiffeners
102 where there is no additional top chord reinforcement. Expressed somewhat
differently, the
top chord assembly has a central portion that is locally reinforced to provide
a higher measure of
resistance to lateral deflection of the top chord. While that additional
member may also
somewhat increase the local resistance to vertical bending, the effect is
proportionately greater
with respect to lateral deflection than vertical deflection. In one
embodiment, the increase in the
local second moment of area may be of the order of 20 % to 100 %.
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Endwalls 30 and 32 of car 20 may employ arcuate endwall members 180. Endwall
members 180 may be formed sheets, and may be free of lateral reinforcements.
That is, a known
endwall design relies upon a substantially planar endwall sheet, with outside
stiffeners in the
nature of an array of vertically spaced, horizontally extending channel
reinforcements welded on
the outside. By contrast, endwall members 180 may include endwall sheets that
have been
formed on a bulging profile, which may be concave, and which may be arcuate.
The arcuate
profile may be parabolic, or elliptic, or catenary. From above, the arc may
appear similar to the
curve of an old style bathtub particularly as where the tangent profile of the
sheet is slightly
inclined. In one embodiment it may be formed on a portion of a circular arc of
constant radius,
and is arched only about a vertical axis, such that the profile is
cylindrical, as opposed to a
spherical or other compound curvature. It could be formed on a pair (or more)
of radii with
linking tangent or arcs. In any case, endwall members 180 may function as a
restraining
membrane, with an upper margin reinforced by top chord member 40, a lower
margin restrained
by deck sheet 44, and edges restrained at sidewall panels 62. It may be that,
as seen from above,
deck sheet 44 extends proud of the side margin regions of endwall members 180,
such as to
leave a roughly triangular end portion 178 of deck sheet 44 exposed outside of
the lading
carrying tub (i.e. accommodation 45). This triangular region may provide space
for a safety
appliance installation 182, such as for a handbrake 184, or for side or end
access ladders 186,
188. That is to the extent that endwall members 180 have a central portion 190
and lateral edge
portions 192, 194, and to the extent that central portion 190 extends further
longitudinally than
edge portions 192, 194, the distance of that protrusion leaves or augments the
space available in
which to mount the safety appliances. Expressed somewhat differently, the
longitudinal
difference in station between the center of member 180 on the car centerline,
and the corners at
the junction with the side panels, at deck level, indicated on Figure 1 j as E
may be more than half
the width of access ladder 186, and in one embodiment may be in the range of
2/3 to 4/3 that
width. Alternately expressed the ratio e/Wmax may be in the range of 2/3 to
4/3 that width.
Alternately expressed, the ratio c/Wmax may lie in the range of 1/12 to 1/8,
and in one
embodiment may be about 1/10 (+ 10%).
Various embodiments have been described in detail. Since changes in and or
additions to
the above-described examples may be made without departing from the nature,
spirit or scope ofthe
invention, the invention is not to be limited to those details but only
according to a purposive
construction of the claims herein as required under Canadian law.
