Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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GONDOLA CAR STRUCTURE
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of railroad freight cars, and, in
particular to railroad
gondola cars.
Background
It is often desirable for railroad cars to weigh out at the same time as they
bulk out.
For example, the maximum gross weight on rail of a "110 Ton" railroad freight
car in North
America is 286,000 lbs. If the car carries less than the maximum allowed
lading by weight,
then an unnecessarily high proportion of the weight being hauled is the weight
of the car
itself ¨ which is also backhauled empty. Therefore, it follows that most often
when
relatively low density lading is to be carried it is desirable to have a high
volume. This
reflects conventional understanding in the railroad industry. Municipal waste
tends to
provide an example of relatively low density lading. Wood chips may provide
another
example.
It may be desirable to increase the size of the car by making the car taller.
However,
a fully laden car must not have a center of gravity more than 98 inches above
top of rail
(TOR). Therefore, is may also be desirable to extend the lading carrying
envelope
downward, below the upper flange (or top cover plate) of the center sill,
below the height of
the center of the couplers, and even below the bottom flange (or bottom cover
plate) of the
center sill. For this purpose a designer might consider the "bathtub" feature,
of which the
classic example is the bathtub gondola car shown and described in US Patent
4,361,097 of
Jones et al., issued November 30, 1982. As the walls of the gondola increase
in height, there
may not only be a center of gravity concern, but also a concern that the side
walls of the car
may begin to lack adequate side-ways stiffness. This may be particularly so
where the car is
to be emptied in a rotary dumping apparatus and where the length of the car
has also been
increased, with the truck centers being spaced more than, and possibly quite
substantially
more than, 46' ¨ 3" apart. Finally, it may be desired partially to compress
the lading in the
car. That is, in one example, it may be desired partially to compact municipal
waste in the
car as it is loaded.
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Summary of the Invention
In an aspect there of the invention there is a gondola car. It has a center
sill, cross-
bearers extending laterally of the center sill, and a receptacle defining an
accommodation for
lading. The receptacle is mounted to the cross-bearers and including
predominantly
upstanding side walls. The side walls include side beams running parallel to
the center sill,
the side beams having a top chord, a side sill, and a side sheet extending
between the top
chord and the side sill. The side sill defines a torque tube mounted to resist
lateral deflection
of the top chord. side wall reinforcements extend predominantly upwardly from
the side
sills. The side wall reinforcements being connected to respective ones of the
cross-bearers at
structural knees.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention, the gondola car is a bathtub
gondola ear.
In a further feature the gondola car is an ice-cube tray gondola car. In still
another feature at
least a portion of the receptacle includes a lading accommodation region lying
lower than the
center sill. In another feature the receptacle has a width, the upstanding
side walls have an
height, and the height is greater than the width. In another feature, the
receptacle has an
inside length, and inside width, and an inside height measured upwardly of the
center sill,
wherein the length is at least five times as large as the width, and the
height is at least as
great as the width.
In another feature, the cross-bearers include a first cross-bearer having a
pair of
spaced apart webs, an upper flange and a lower flange. The reinforcements
include a first
reinforcement associated with the first cross-bearer, the first reinforcement
being connected
to the first cross-bearer distant from the center sill. The first
reinforcement has a pair of
webs corresponding to the webs of the first cross-bearer. The reinforcement
has a first
flange spaced from the side sheet. The cross-bearer has an end cap mounted
across the webs
of the first cross-bearer. The end cap mates with the bottom flange and the
top flange of the
first cross-bearer. The first flange of the first reinforcement, and the side
sheet, are mounted
to transmit a moment couple to the upper and lower flanges of the first cross-
bearer through
the structural knee.
In another feature, the cross-bearers include a first cross-bearer having a
pair of
spaced apart webs, an upper flange and a lower flange. The reinforcements
include a first
reinforcement associated with the first cross-bearer, the first reinforcement
being connected
to the first cross-bearer distant from the center sill. The first
reinforcement has a pair of
webs corresponding to the webs of the first cross-bearer. The first
reinforcement has a first
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flange spaced laterally outboard from the side sheet. The first reinforcement
has a second
flange spaced laterally inboard from the first flange. The first cross-bearer
has an end cap
mounted across the webs of the first cross-bearer, the end cap having flange
continuity with
the first flange of the first reinforcement, the cap plate being mounted to
transfer loads from
the first flange of the first reinforcement into the webs of the first cross-
bearer. The first
cross-bearer has a flange continuity member associated with the second flange
of the first
reinforcement, mounted between the top and bottom flanges thereof, the flange
continuity
member being mounted to transfer loads from the second flange of the first
reinforcement to
the webs of the first cross-bearer. The upper and lower flanges of the first
cross-bearer are
mounted to react loads transferred to the webs of the first cross-bearer from
the first and
second flanges of the first reinforcement.
In still yet another feature, the cross-bearers include a first cross-bearer
having a pair
of spaced apart webs, an upper flange and a lower flange. The reinforcements
include a first
reinforcement associated with the first cross-bearer, the first reinforcement
being connected
to the first cross-bearer distant from the center sill. The first
reinforcement has a pair of
webs corresponding to the webs of the first cross-bearer. The first
reinforcement has a first
flange spaced laterally outboard from the side sheet. The first reinforcement
has a second
flange spaced laterally inboard from the first flange. The second flange has a
length from a
first end thereof mounted proximate to the first cross-bearer to a second end
thereof distant
from the cross-bearer; and over a majority of the length of the second flange,
the side sheet is
located laterally intei mediate the first flange and the second flange of
the first reinforcement.
In a further feature, the top chord has an enclosed cross-sectional area, a
weight of
section per unit of lineal measure, and a second moment of area in the lateral
direction. The
torque tube has an enclosed cross-sectional area, a weight of section per unit
of lineal
measure, and a second moment of area in the lateral direction. At least one of
(a) the
enclosed cross-sectional area of the top chord is greater than the enclosed
cross-sectional
area of the torque tube; (b) the weight of section of the top chord is greater
than the weight of
section of the torque tube; and (c) the second moment of area the top chord is
greater than
the second moment of area of the torque tube. In a further feature, all of
(a), (b), and (c) are
true.
In another aspect of the invention there is a railroad gondola car. The car
has an
underframe and a lading containment receptacle mounted thereto. The lading
containment
receptacle has a predominantly upstanding side wall. The lading containment
receptacle has
an internal width, an internal length, and an internal height. The height is
greater than the
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width. The receptacle is longitudinally asymmetric.
In another feature of that aspect of the invention, the receptacle has a
feature of
longitudinal asymmetry, the feature being a dog-house formed at one end
thereof. In another
feature, the receptacle has a first end and a second end. At the first end the
receptacle has a
partial raised deck portion at one end thereof, the partial raised deck being
unmatched at the
second end. In another feature, the gondola car has a through center sill, the
center sill has
centerplates mounted thereto for seating on corresponding centerplate bowls of
associated
railroad car trucks. The center sill has a first end and a second end. The
center sill has at
least one of (a) brake reservoir, and (b) a brake valve, mounted at the first
end thereof The
railroad car has an accommodation formed in the receptacle therefore. The
accommodation
protrudes longitudinally asymmetrically into the receptacle. In still another
feature, the car
has a volumetric capacity in excess of 8000 cu. ft.
In another aspect of the invention, there is a railroad gondola car having a
receptacle
for lading carried on trucks for rolling motion along railroad tracks. The
receptacle includes
upstanding side walls extending lengthwise along the car. The side walls
include a top
chord, a side sill, and predominantly upright side sheets extending
therebetween. The side
walls have predominantly upstanding side sheet reinforcements. The sidc sheet
reinforcements include a first side sheet reinforcement having an outer flange
and an inner
flange, and a length. Over a majority of the length of the reinforcement the
outer flange
stands laterally outward of, and spaced from. the sheet. The inner flange
stands laterally
inwardly of the spaced sheet.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention, the railroad car includes rotary
dumping
fittings by which to grasp the receptacle for inversion. In another feature,
the car has a
through center sill, and receptacle has an inside width, and inside length,
and an inside height
measure upwardly of the center sill, the inside height being at least as great
as the inside
width; the car having a volumetric capacity greater than 8000 Cu. ft. In a
further feature, the
first reinforcement includes an exterior member, the exterior member being a
channel having
first and second legs and a back defining the first flange, the legs having
toes mounted to the
side sheet; and the first reinforcement including an interior member, the
interior member
having webs and the second flange extending between the webs, the webs of the
interior
member having toes mounted to the side sheet substantially opposite the toes
of the exterior
member. In still another feature, the interior member tapers from a wide base
adjacent the
side sill to a narrower toe distant therefrom.
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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 illustrative Figures in which:
Figure la is a general arrangement, isometric view of a railroad freight car
such as a
gondola car that may incorporate the various aspects of the present invention,
the view being taken from below and to one diagonal corner;
Figure lb is a general arrangement, isometric view of a the railroad freight
car of
Figure la taken from above at that diagonal corner;
Figure 1 c is a side view of the railroad car of Figure la;
Figure id is a top view of the railroad car of Figure la;
Figure le is an end view of the railroad car of Figure la;
Figure if is a partial cut-away isometric view of the railroad freight car of
Figure la
showing details of construction of the car;
Figure lg shows an alternate embodiment of gondola car to that of Figure la;
Figure 2a is a transverse sectional view of the railroad freight car of Figure
la taken
on staggered section '2a ¨ 2a' of Figure le looking longitudinally inboard
with the downwardly extending tubs omitted for clarity;
Figure 2b is a transverse sectional view of the railroad freight car of Figure
le taken
on section '2a ¨ 2a' of Figure le showing the relative relationship of the
downwardly extending tubs to the bolster and cross-bearers, the left hand
portion showing the position of the tub relative to the cross-bearer, and the
right-hand portion showing the position of the tub relative to the main
bolster;
Figure 2c is an enlarged detail of the railroad freight car of Figure 2a;
Figure 2d is an isometric view of the detail of Figure 2c; and
Figure 2e shows an alternate embodiment of gondola car to that of Figure 2b;
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
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dcscription, like parts are marked throughout the specification and the
drawings with the
same respective reference numerals. The drawings are generally to scale unless
noted
otherwise. The terminology used in this specification is thought to be
consistent with the
customary and ordinary meanings of those terms as they would be understood by
a person of
ordinary skill in the railroad industry in North America. Following from
decision of the
CAFC in Phillips v. AWH Corp., the Applicant expressly excludes all
interpretations that are
inconsistent with this specification, and, in particular, to confine the rule
of broadest
reasonable interpretation to interpretations that are consistent with actual
usage in the
railroad industry as understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, or
that are expressly
supported by this specification, the inventor expressly excludes any
interpretation of the
claims or the language used in this specification such as may be made in the
USPTO, or in
any other Patent Office, other than those interpretations for which express
support can be
demonstrated in this specification or in objective evidence of record in
accordance with In re
Lee, (for example, earlier publications by persons not employed by the USPTO
or any other
Patent Office), demonstrating how the terms are used and understood by persons
of ordinary
skill in the art, or by way of expert evidence of a person or persons of at
least 10 years
experience in the railroad industry in North America or in other territories
or former
territories of the British Empire and Commonwealth.
In terms of general orientation and directional nomenclature, for railroad
cars
described herein the longitudinal direction is defined as being coincident
with the rolling
direction of the railroad car, or railroad car unit, when located on tangent
(that is, straight)
track. In the case of a railroad car having a center sill, the longitudinal
direction is parallel to
the center sill, and parallel to the top chords. Unless otherwise noted,
vertical, 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 relative to the longitudinal centerline of the
railroad car, or car unit, or
of the centerline of a centerplate at a truck center. 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
perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Yawing is angular motion about a
vertical axis.
Roll is angular motion about the longitudinal axis. Given that the railroad
car described
herein may tend to have both longitudinal and transverse axes of symmetry,
except as
otherwise noted 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. In this description, the abbreviation kpsi stands for thousand of
pounds per square
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inch. To the extent that this specification or the accompanying illustrations
may refer to
standards of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), such as to AAR plate
sizes,
those references are to be understood as at the earliest date of priority to
which this
application is entitled.
As a further matter of definition, this specification may refer to structural
cross-
members. Cross-members most typically are either cross-bearers or cross-ties,
particularly
when used as underfloor supports. The cars may also include braces, often
diagonal braces,
in the nature of struts. A cross-bearer is a beam that carries loads applied
cross-wise to the
long axis of the member, and that has significant resistance to transverse
bending. Although
full width cross-bearers arc used in cars that lack center sills, most
commonly a cross-bearer
has a moment connection at the center sill, and is mounted to accept vertical
loads from the
side beams of the car. The arms of a cross-bearer that extend away from the
center sill may
often be analyzed as cantilevers. A cross-bearer is usually considered to form
part of the
primary structure of the underframe of the railcar. A cross-tie is a beam,
usually of smaller
section than a cross-bearer, that typically does not have, or is not relied
upon to have, a
moment connection at the center sill such as to permit a moment couple to be
transferred. A
cross-tie is often relied upon to carry transverse loads, and has a second
moment of area
suitable for resisting bending. Most often the ends of a cross-tie (which
"tie" the side sill to
the center sill), are analyzed as being pinned connections that are not relied
upon to transmit
bending moments, but rather that carry vertical loads to simply supported
ends. Cross-ties
may often be used in intermediate floor spans between adjacent cross-bearers.
A cross-tie
may be considered secondary structure of the underframe, by comparison to
cross-bearers
and the main bolster. Cross-ties and cross-bearers both tend to run cross-wise
i.e., cross-wise
relative to the center sill, or longitudinal direction, of the car. A strut is
a member that does
not carry transverse loads, but rather is relied upon to carry uniaxial loads
along its length in
either tension or compression. A strut is not relied upon to have, and is
usually not intended
to have, a moment-couple connection, but is generally intended to have, and to
be analyzed
as having, a pin-jointed end the does not transmit a moment.
Figure la shows an isometric view of an example of a railroad freight car 20
that is
intended to be representative of a wide range of railroad cars in which the
present invention
may be incorporated. While ear 20 may be suitable for a variety of general
purpose uses, it
may be taken as being symbolic of, and in some ways a generic example of a
freight car
having a straight through center sill. It may be a gondola car, in which
lading is introduced
by gravity flow from above. The gondola car may be a rotary dump gondola, and,
in
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particular, may be a bathtub, or quasi-bathtub, gondola car as illustrated.
Other than
ancillary fittings, the structure of car 20 may tend to be symmetrical about
its longitudinal
centreline axis. Notably, as described below, the B end of the car is somewhat
different from
the A end of the car due to the asymmetric brake valve and reservoir
installation. Otherwise,
the car is also symmetrical about its transverse mid-span center line plane
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 body 22 may typically be
of all welded
steel construction, or may be of mixed mild steel, aluminum, stainless steel
or composite
construction or any suitable combination thereof. 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 an articulated connector, or by draw bars. In gondola cars the
density of
lading may typically require that multi-unit ears be connected by draw bars
rather than
articulated connectors. Car body 22 may have a lading containment vessel,
receptacle,
accommodation or structure, or shell 26. Shell 26 may include a generally
upstanding wall
structure 28 which may include a pair of opposed first and second end walls
30, 32, that
extend cross-wise, and a pair of first and second deep side beam assemblies,
that may be
identified as side walls 34, 36 that extend lengthwise. The end walls 30, 32
and side walls
34, 36 co-operate to define a generally rectangular form of peripheral wall
structure 28, when
seen from above. In some embodiments the structure may be overlain by a cover
38, such as
may tend to permit the lading to be less exposed to wind, rain, snow, and so
on, and, to the
extent that the lading may be malodorous, perhaps also to contain the smell of
the lading in
some measure.
Wall structure 28 may include top chords 40, 42 running along the top of side
walls
34, 36, and side sills 44, 46 running fore-and-aft along lower portions of
side walls 34, 36.
The side sills 44, 46 may have the form or a closed hollow section, as
indicated, this hollow
section defining a torque tube that runs along the foot of the side walls of
the car. Side walls
34, 36 may act as deep beams, and may carry vertical loads to the main
bolsters 80 that
extend laterally from the center plates 50, which seat in the center plate
bowls of trucks 24.
Side sills 44, 46 also act as a bottom flange of the beam in opposition to the
top flanges of
the beams defined by top chords 40, 42. In one embodiment, as shown, the
torque tube may
be a rectangular steel tube having upper and lower flanges, and inner and
outer webs. Side
walls 34, 36 may also have vertical posts, or strakcs, or stiffeners or
reinforcements 52, 54,
spaced therealong. Posts 52 my be wider, or may have a greater weight of
section, than posts
54. Those posts may be aligned with cross-bearers and cross-ties,
respectively. These
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reinforcements, or posts, may have hollow sections and may be in the form of
three sided
channels of constant section as shown in Figure la, or of tapering section as
shown in the
alternate embodiment of Figure lg as at 56, with the toes welded inward
against the web
defined by the side sheets, or panels, 60 of walls 34, 36, or the posts may be
of three-sided
section with the toes welded to the side sheet to form a hollow box as at 158,
with the base of
the back or flange of the post adjoining the side sill being wider than the
distal tip that
adjoins the top chord. In each case, the depth of the resultant hollow section
may be
substantially the same as the width of the torque tube, i.e., the hollow
structural section of the
side sill, 44, 46.
Car 20 includes a straight-through center sill 62, running from one end of the
car
body to the other. In the case of a single, stand alone car unit, draft gear
and releasable
couplers may be mounted at either end of the center sill. To the extent that
the car is to be
emptied in a rotary dumping apparatus, couplers 64 may be rotary couplers that
allow the car
.. to spin about a longitudinal axis running through the coupler centerlines.
The containment structure may include a bottom, floor or deck, indicated
generally as
70. This floor or deck serves to discourage downward escape of the lading. It
may include
end portions 72 and a central or intermediate portion 74. End portions 72 may
include a
substantially planar shear plate 76 that runs between the bottom chords of the
side sills,
typically at the level of the top flange of the center sill and the top
flanges of the arms 78 of
the main bolster 80. The shear plate 76 extends over truck 24. The central or
intermediate
portion 74 lies between, and clear of, trucks 24 and may include left and
right tub arrays 162,
164 that extend downwardly of the level of the center sill top flange and of
the side sills.
Intermediate portion 74 extends over the major portion of the length of the
car between the
first cross-bearers immediately longitudinally inboard of the truck centers.
Cross-bearers 82
may extend laterally from the center sill at spaced locations along the
central portion of the
center sill, and may connect the center sill and the side sills. Side wall
posts 52 may be
mounted to side sheets 60 in line with, and connected to the outboard ends of,
cross-bearers
82, and at the ends of the main bolster 80. The smaller, intetinediate posts
54 may be
mounted in the half way spaces between the tapered posts. The car body may
also include
internal stiffening posts 84, described in greater detail below.
At the or brake installation, end of the car, the deck may also
include a raised
end or "mezzanine" portion, or step deck 86 that lies longitudinally outboard
of main bolster
80 and tuns to the end wall of the car. The brake reservoir 88 and various
brake fittings are
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mountcd at the 'B' end of the car beneath this raised deck portion. There is a
stub wall 90
that extends in a vertical plane above the outboard web 92 of main bolster 80.
A vertical
main post 94 of a hollow section forming a rectangular tube rooted to the
center sill runs up
the end wall of the car. This mezzanine floor, or dog-house feature to
accommodate the
brake valve and brake reservoir is an asymmetric feature, i.e., there is no
corresponding
feature at the 'A' end of the car. This results in a net volumetric gain at
the 'A' end that may
be of the order of 200 Cu. ft., at a location well below the center of gravity
and well below
the 98 inches above TOR limit.
Straight-through center sill 62 may have vertical webs 96, 98, a top cover
plate, or
upper flange 100, and a bottom cover plate or bottom flange 102. The webs may
be spaced
to leave an inside width (e.g., 12 - 7/8") to accommodate standard draft
fittings and couplers.
Top cover plate 100 may extend only over the length wise spanning distance of
the tubs
between end shear plates 76, which then form the top flanges of center sill 62
over trucks 24.
Cross-bearers 82 also have the form of rectangular box beams, having a top
flange
104 flush with top flange 100 of center sill 62, the two meeting at a radiused
root portion of
the top flange at which a full penetration weld is made; a bottom flange 106
that is flush with
bottom flange 102 of center sill 62 and is joined thereto in the same manner
as upper flange
104; and a pair of spaced apart side webs 108, 110. The center sill has
internal webs 112
welded between webs 96, 98 in line with webs 108, 110 to provide web
continuity across the
center sill. The ends of cross-bearer arms 114 are capped by end plates 116
that have a
broadened and radiused upper margin that is welded along the lower outer edge
of the torque
tube i.e., side sill 44, in line with the outer, or back, flange of the posts
52, thus providing a
single continuous broad load path through which stresses in the post flange
118 may be
carried into the end of the bolster. The main bolster is similarly constructed
as a box, with
the usual geometry for accommodating the side bearings and clearing the
wheels.
Wall reinforcements 120 in the nature of internal stiffening posts 84 are
mounted to
alternate pairs of cross-bearers 82, and serve to discourage the side walls
from bulging
outwardly under load. As indicated, posts 84 are mounted at the longitudinal
stations of the
central cross-bearers, as at 83, the second pair of longitudinally outboard
cross-bearers as at
85, and at the main bolsters, as at 87. Stiffening posts 84 include generally
triangular side
sheets 122, 124, and an inclined flange 126. The triangular side sheets 122,
124 are welded
to the top cover 104 of the respective cross-bearers 82 with slightly narrower
separation than
webs 108, 110 of cross-bearers 82 themselves, leaving an exposed shoulder 128,
as indicated
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in Figure 2d. A gusset 125 is mounted inside the respective cross-bearer 82
(or gusset 127
inside the arm of the main bolster) to provide flange continuity above and
below the top
cover. It may be noted that at these locations the depth of the reinforcement
is the combined
depth of the internal reinforcement and the external tapered post that is
aligned with the
reinforcement at that cross-bearer. In these locations, the side sheet of the
side wall actually
lies in an intermediate location between the outer fiber (the back of the
external post) and the
innermost fiber (the flange of the internal stiffener). In effect, this
junction forms a large
structural knee. For the purpose of this specification, a structural knee is
formed where a
pair of flanges (which may include web or flange continuity gussets) of a
first beam and a
pair of flanges from a second beam form a quadrilateral connected to four
edges of a
mutually shared shear plate (or shear plates). Typically, the flange pairs
intersect, and the
shear plate lies in a plane that is mutually perpendicular to both pairs of
flanges. In the
instant example, the flanges of the cross-bearer carry a moment couple that
opposes the
moment couple carried by flange 126 and the flange of post 52 as carried
through the side
wall of the side sill and end plate 116. The webs of the cross-bearer form the
resolving
planes, or members, where these moment couples meet and are balanced. The
resultant
structure is, in essence, a very large U-shaped spring made up of one of the
cross-bearers as
the back and two of the tapered side-posts in combination with two of the
tapered internal
supports as the legs. The legs of the spring then extend upward to the top
chord, and may
tend to resist lateral deflection of the top chords, whether inward under
longitudinal squeeze
loads when empty, or outwards under the pressure of the lading.
At these locations the through-thickness depth of the reinforcement is the
combined
depth of the internal reinforcement and the external tapered post that is
aligned with the
reinforcement at that cross-bearer. In these locations, the side sheet of the
side wall actually
lies in an intermediate location between the outer fiber (the back of the
external post) and the
innermost fiber (the flange of the internal stiffener). The inset of the side
sheet is the same as
the depth of the legs of the outside reinforcement. That depth may be in the
range of 2 ¨ 6",
and, in one embodiment may be about 3". The side sheet extends in a plane
parallel to the
plane of the back flange of the side wall stiffener.
In one embodiment, as shown in Figures If and 2d, internal reinforcements 120
do
not extend to the full height of the car. Rather they terminate at a height
well short of the top
chord, and there is a region of the side wall, indicated as upper region 130,
that is free of
internal obstructions or protrusions such as posts 84, and, above this height
the walls a
reinforced only externally, as by the upper or distal end regions of posts 52
and 54. The
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vertical extent of this region is indicated as H130. This may permit a
compaction device, or
press, or hammer, to work on the lading as it is loaded from above, while
tending to avoid
damage to the internal posts (because of the clearance height) and to the
external posts
(because they are outside the side wall sheet). In one embodiment, H130 may be
of the order
of 4¨ 8 feet, and may be about 6 ft. Expressed differently, H130 may be in the
range of 1/5
to 3/5 of the overall height of side wall 34 (or 36) from side sill 44 (or 46)
to top chord 40 (or
42), and in one embodiment may be in the range of about 1/4 to 1/2 of that
height, and in
another embodiment may be in the range of about 1/3 to 3/8 of that height.
In another embodiment, as shown in Figures 2e, where, perhaps, the internal
stiffeners may not be as exposed to possible damage from loading and unloading
equipment
in quite the same way, the car has side walls 134, 136 having side wall sheets
138 and
internal stiffeners 140. In this instance, side wall stiffeners 140 have a
base or root, or
proximal end at deck 70, and a tip or distal end at, or adjoining, or
connected to top chord 40
or 42. Stiffeners 140 may be understood to have the same structural knee
connection to the
cross-bearers or main bolster as described above. Stiffeners 140 may be
substantially
triangular when viewed in profile, having a pair of spaced apart triangular
side webs 142
having a wide base at deck 70 and the narrow tip at top chord 40 (or 42), and
an inner back
or flange 144. Webs 142 may be planar and parallel, or may taper from a wide
spacing at
deck 70 to a narrower spacing at top chord 40 (or 42). Flange 144 may
correspondingly be
of constant width or of tapering width. The vertical outboard edges of webs
142 may abut
side sheet 138, which, in this instance, is located at the external extremity
of the car body.
i.e., this embodiment is free of, or substantially free of, vertical
reinforcing posts located
outboard of the side sheets. As such it may gain volumetric capacity by the
increase in
width between the side sheets of the opposites side walls of the car.
In either case, the upper region of the side walls includes a dog-leg, or
kink, or
sweep, or angled skirt portion, indicated as 150 that joins the main,
substantially planar
portion 152 of side sheet 60 (or 138, as may be) along its upper vertex, and
then runs
upwardly and inwardly on a slope to mate with the inboard edge of top chord 40
(or 42). In
the case of the embodiment of Figure la, closure members, or webs, or gussets
154, of
generally triangular shape, are mounted between the sides 156 of the
reinforcement posts 52,
54 and portion 150. Portion 150 may itself have a bent lower edge such that a
lap joint may
be formed with the upper margin of the main portion of side wall sheet 60 (or
138).
In the embodiment of Figure la, top chord 40 (or 42) has a section that has
greater
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depth in the lateral direction than the depth of the external side wall
support posts 52, 54. In
some embodiments, this lateral depth of section may be greater than the
through thickness of
the torque tube i.e., side sill 44. For example, the top chord may have a
section of 5 x 5
inches, whereas the torque tube may be 3 x 6 inches. The top chord has a
greater enclosed
cross-sectional area, a greater second moment of area in the lateral
direction, and a greater
weight of section per unit of lineal measure than the torque tube. Also in the
embodiment of
Figure la, the depth of the side reinforcement may be such as to be equal to,
or substantially
equal to, the depth accommodation required for safety appliances, such as the
ladders
mounted at the points (i.e., the corners) of the car, such that those safety
appliances may lie
predominantly or entirely within the outer width envelope of the car overall
as defined by the
outer extremity of the backs of the posts. That is, the ladders lie
predominantly or
completely within the envelope of the side reinforcement posts.
At each end, at the location of the main bolster, there is an accommodation
158,
which may be a rotary dumping apparatus engagement member accommodation. This
accommodation may permit a claw of a rotary dumping machine to grasp the car
body prior
to rotation. To the extent that car 20 is a rotary dump gondola, the members
of the car
defining the lading containment envelope, i.e., the predominantly upstanding
side wall
members of the side beams and end walls, and the tubs defining the lading
carrying portions
.. of the car that lie downwardly of the level of the top flange of the center
sill, may be free of
discharge gates such as might be found in a flow through ear. The rotary
dumping
equipment may include clamping elements or claws that tend to draw the car
downwards,
i.e., to compress the springs of the trucks, to keep the car firmly clamped on
the rails. The
equipment may also include clamping members that bear against the outsides of
the posts.
The inward step of the side sheets relative to the exterior post flanges may
tend to mean that
clamps of the rotary dumping equipment may bear against the relatively
laterally stiff post
flanges, rather than against the relatively laterally less robust side sheets.
Tubs 160 of tub left and right tub arrays 162, 164 may be prefabricated
liners, or
buckets, or baskets, or troughs, or simply tubs (however they may be termed)
that have a
uniform size corresponding to the generally rectangular envelope defined
between adjacent
pairs of cross-bearers 82, center sill 62, and side sill 44 or 46. Each tub
160 has a pair of end
walls 166, 168, and a base wall 170 that may be bent to yield an inside wall
172, a bottom
wall, 174, and a dog-legged outer wall 176. The general form of base wall 170,
as bent,
conforms to the profile of end walls 166, 168. Each of walls 166, 168 and 170
has a bent
lip, such as indicated at 178, that, on installation, overlaps the adjacent
cross-bearer top cover
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plate or center sill top cover plate, as may be, and is welded thereto
accordingly. The upper
margin of outer wall 176 overlaps and is welded to the inside web of side sill
44 or 46 as
may bc. 'The tub materials are generally thinner than the flange materials of
the cross-bearers
and center sill. In the event that the tubs are damaged or wear out, to the
extent that they do
not form any portion of the primary structure of the railroad car underframe
(i.e., the center
sill, cross-bearers and main bolster, the side sills), they can be replaced as
modular single
units without having to cut, remove or otherwise damage the underlying primary
structure.
It may be noted that the underside of the car resembles an ice-cube tray to
some
extent. As such, the term -ice-cube tray gondola car" used herein means a
bathtub gondola
car in which the "bathtub" is subdivided into smaller tubs by the center sill
and the cross-
bearers, such that the resulting gondola car has an array of tubs that
resembles an ice-cube
tray. In one embodiment of such a car, as illustrated, there are several cross-
members, be
they cross-bearers or cross-ties or such like that perform a structurally
equivalent function,
spaced longitudinally along the middle portion of the car between the trucks,
and a series of
lading containing members, such as might be termed buckets, or tubs, mounted
to sit
between the cross-members. The bottom portion of the car may thereby tend to
have the
appearance, at least in part, of an ice-cube tray. In some embodiments the
cross-members
may tend to lie flush, or roughly flush, with the top cover plate of the
center sill. In some
embodiments the tubs may tend to extend downwardly beyond the cross-members.
Aside
from the modularity of the tubs, the use of both (a) cross-bearers capable of
carrying a
bending moment, and (b) a series of tubs, may tend to yield a car with
increased lading
capacity (as compared to a traditional gondola with a floor flush with the top
cover of the
center sill); a reduced center of gravity height as compared to a car with a
floor flush with the
top cover of the center sill (due to lading being carried lower on the car
than otherwise); and
intermediate bending-moment-carrying structural members such as may resist
lateral
deflection of the side walls. In some embodiments this may be done without
providing strut
work inside the body of the car such as might otherwise perhaps be more
vulnerable to, or
more prominently exposed to, abusive loading (or unloading) practices, or upon
which refuse
or other objects loaded into the car might otherwise be prone to catch or snag
during
removal. That is, a railcar used for carrying municipal waste may not
necessarily always be
loaded with the utmost care and precision. Such cars may be subject to abuse,
and it may be
helpful for the structure of the car to be both (a) relatively robust; and (b)
less exposed. The
cross-members described lie under the floor sheets of the car, such that, in
expected use,
lading should not be able to be caught under or behind the cross-members as it
may do with
more exposed struts and ties as sometimes seen in coal or other gondola cars.
When the car
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is emptied in a rotary dumper, the lading should fall out without becoming
hung up on
internal struts. In some embodiments, such as that shown, the car may be
entirely free of
such struts. Alternatively, to the extent that such struts may still be
desired or required,
nonetheless, the presence of the moment-coupled spring-like structures may
tend to reduce
the number of such strut members employed.
The structure described above may be used in the context of a gondola car
having an
high aspect ratio. That is, the car has, at least in the context of gondola
cars, an abnormally
large ratio of wall height to car width. The wall height, H28, measured from
the bottom of
the side sills to the top of the top chord, is greater than the car width
between the side sheets,
indicated as W26. In one embodiment, the ratio of height to width is greater
than 5:4. In
another is in the range of about 11:8 to about 3:2 (+/-). In one embodiment
the height is
155" and the width is 108". The height of the braces, namely of wall
reinforcements 84,
indicated as H62, is greater than 1/3 of the car width W26. It may be greater
than 3/5 of the
car width, and, in one embodiment, as illustrated, it may be greater than half
the car width,
and may be in a ratio of roughly 5:3 to 2:1 relative to the car half width. In
one embodiment
it may be about 85" to 100". Expressed differently, the reinforcements may
have a base
width W26, that is more than 1/8 of the wall height, H28. In one embodiment
the ratio of
W26: H28 may lie in the range of 1/6 to 1/3, and in one embodiment may be
about 1/5.
Expressed differently yet again, the ratio of the height H140 to height H28
may be greater than
1:4, and may lie in the range of 3:10 to 7:10, and, in one embodiment, may be
about 5/8 to
2/3 (+/-). In one embodiment, the truck centers are between 58 and 60 ft
apart, H28 is
roughly 13 ft. In another embodiment, the inside length of the car is greater
than 80 ¨ 0" and
may be over 85 ¨ 0" with a length over the strikers of more than 89 ¨ 0" such
that internal
volume is greater than 10,000 ft3. The overall height of the car, including a
6" (+/-) deep
cover, from top of rail may conform to AAR Plate F (i.e., 204"). The inside
width W26 is 9
ft, and the inside length is just over 67 ft. The height of the center sill
top cover is about 43"
above TOR, and the clearance of the tubs is 9 ¨ 10" from TOR. The depth of the
center sill
1162 is about 14" and the overall depth of the tubs is about 34". The tubs
extend downwardly
about 20 inches beyond the bottom of the cross-bearers, (and, to the extent
the cross-bearer
and center sill bottom flanges are flush, also beyond the center sill bottom
flange). The tubs
160 not only extend downwardly beyond the center sill and cross-bearers, but
are therefore
roughly 2 ¨ 2 1/2 times as deep as the cross-member and center sill. The cross-
bearers are
about 12" wide, and are spaced on roughly 92 ¨ 93" centers, with 80" long x
50" wide tubs
160 seated between the adjacent cross-bearers. The internal volume of the car
may be
greater than 7500 cu. ft., and, in one embodiment, may be roughly 8700 cu. ft.
By most
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standards, this would be considered a high volumetric capacity gondola car.
The volume of
the ice-cube trays (i.e., the volume of the arrays of tubs 162, 164 shy of the
level of the
center sill top cover plate 100, may be over 500 cu. ft., may be over 750 cu.
ft, and may be
roughly 900 cu.ft for the array of 12 trays shown. Expressed differently, the
depressed
portion of the lading carrying volume may be more than 5 % of the volume of
the car, may
be more than 1/12 of the total volume of the car, and, in one embodiment, may
account for
more than 10 % of the volume of the car. The ratio of the depth H160 of the
tubs 160 below
the center sill top cover plate 100 to the height of the side walls H28
measured upwardly from
the top cover plate may be more than 1:10, and may lie in the range of 1:13 to
roughly 1:4,
and, in one embodiment is about 1:5 (in one embodiment it is, roughly
33":156"). The car
may also relatively long as compared to the width of the car, and tall
compared to its length.
That is, in one embodiment the length of the car, inside the end walls L28,
may be more than
five times the inside width of the car, and the wall may be taller than the
inside width. In
another embodiment, the car is between 6 and 8 times as long as it is wide. It
may also have
a side wall height that is greater than 1/8 of the inside length, and may be
in the range of 1/6
to 1/4 of that length.
Car 20 may thus have the combination of (a) side sill torque tubes; (b) side
wall
stiffeners that are mounted to the cross-bearers at structural knees; and (c)
a lading
containment envelope that extends below the level of the top flange of the
center sill. The
lading containment envelope may be defined, at least in part, by a lower
portion of the car
between the trucks that defines a bathtub. That lower portion may be either a
single tub, or a
double tub, and may be an "ice-cube tray" array of tubs. Car 20 may have
predominantly
upwardly extending side wall stiffeners having an outboard flange member, a co-
operating
inboard flange member spaced from the outboard flange member. Over at least a
non-trivial
proportion of the length of the stiffeners, the side wall sheet is carried in
an intermediate
position between the inboard and outboard flange members.
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 of the invention, the invention is not to be limited to those
details.
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