Abstract: A railroad car having a flat bed at the lowest possible level and a roof and side panels supported by stanchions at an extraordinary height is provided with cantilevered wheel seats for support of the front wheels of semistacked trucks with each truck backed into position by a forklift with the front end of the truck raised and its rear frame tucked in under the front end of a preceding truck. Side rails secured to the stanchions about one foot from the bed and about six inches in front of the stanchions help guide the trucks into proper position. Each wheel seat is comprised of two cantilevered box beams inserted into box receptacles supported by horizontal side box beams secured to the stanchions. A cross beam secured to the free end of the cantilevered box beams enhance the ability of the cantilevered box beams to support the weight of the truck and provide a place to secure an eye that receives a hook of a tie-down chain in a position directly below the front wheel axle of the truck.

Abstract: A hammer-type device is driven by a cam and spring arrangement in reciprocating motion to strike a moving train wheel for producing vibrations therein which are used to detect defects in the wheel.

Abstract: A method for electroslag welding of railroad rails under field conditions employs a special mold bottom member and a special guide tube structure. The mold bottom member includes a metallic insert which is supported by heat-insulating means, e.g. ceramic material in a cavity in a bottom copper block. The ceramic effectively heat insulates the insert from the copper block so when arcing takes place at the start of the welding, the heat is retained by the insert, which forms part of the weld. The guide tube structure is flared toward the bottom and guides two continuously fed electrodes. The structure includes wing-like members near its bottom end. The bottom of the structure is designed wth sharp corners, so that when arcing takes place some of the guide structure metal melts to form a uniform layer of molten metal, which aids in the melting of flux into a slug bath of uniformly distributed temperature.

Abstract: A solid state flasher relay of the type for switching an AC or a DC voltage across first and second loads interconnected at a common junction. More specifically, a solid state flasher relay is disclosed wherein shunting transistors are selectively controlled so that an AC or a DC voltage applied across two input lines connected to the first and second loads can be either shunted from the first input line to the common junction thereby providing the voltage across the second load, or shunted from the second input line to the common junction thereby applying the voltage across a first load.

Abstract: Automobiles are lifted from alongside a fully enclosed multi-level deck rail car and loaded onto the decks through a side opening of the rail car. The automobiles are pushed forwardly from the rear towards an end of the rail car. Detachable securement means on the decks and the frames of the cars cooperate automatically in response to forward movement of the automobiles to compress the spring suspension systems of the automobiles and lock the automobiles to the decks to prevent longitudinal or sideward movement of the automobiles on the decks during transport.

Abstract: A door designed for use in conjunction with a gate that covers the end of an enclosed rail car whose sides are sloped at the top, to cover the portion of the car end which lies between the top of the gate and the roof of the car. The top door is supported by members fastened to the roof, which permit the door to be stowed by tipping the bottom of the door outwardly and then sliding it onto the roof. The gate structure has upper ends that lie outside the lower end of the door when the gate is closed, to prevent outward tipping of the door.

Abstract: A railroad car with multiple decks for carrying automobiles, including gates at the end of the rail car which can be easily moved between their open and closed positions. Each gate includes a plurality of vertical frame members and screen sections connecting the vertical members, the screens being foldable to permit collapsing of the gates at the sides of the rail car and permitting locking and unlocking of the gates by a person who need lift only one vertical frame member at a time over a catch.

Abstract: A lift truck with two sets of elongated parallel tines. One set straddles the front wheels of an automobile and the other set straddles the rear wheels. The tines of each set are brought together to engage and cradle the front and rear of the bottom of each tire and the automobile is picked up by upward movement of the tines.

Abstract: Automobiles are lifted from alongside a fully enclosed multi-level deck rail car and loaded onto the decks through a side opening of the rail car. The automobiles are pushed forwardly from the rear towards an end of the rail car. Detachable securement means on the decks and the frames of the cars cooperate automatically in response to forward movement of the automobiles to compress the spring suspension systems of the automobiles and lock the automobiles to the decks to prevent longitudinal or sideward movement of the automobiles on the decks during transport.

Abstract: Each car on a freight train is equipped with what is called a brake control valve. This valve is in the automatic air brake system and causes the air brake on the individual car to be applied when the pressure in the main brake pipe which runs throughout the train is reduced by the engineer or by any other cause. Sometimes, the brake control valve will malfunction, thereby causing it to go into the emergency brake position, either during normal service braking or at other times. When it goes into the emergency position, the brake pipe opens to the atmosphere and the resulting sudden reduction in pressure at that point causes all of the brake control valves on the train to go into emergency position causing a full emergency brake application throughout the train. With long trains, quickly finding the malfunctioning brake control valve is quite a chore.

Abstract: A train tunnel is ventilated by closing an exit end of the tunnel as a train approaches the entrance end, so that during passage through the tunnel the train acts as a loose piston moving through a long closed cylinder, to cause a rapid airflow rearwardly around the train.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining whether or not a freight car in a classification yard can be adequately retarded, prior to it being moved to make up a freight train, by measuring whether the wheels of the freight car are too slippery for the car to be properly retarded to a safe speed while being moved toward the freight train.