Abstract: A hatch assembly for use with a railway hopper car. The railway hopper car includes sidewalls, end walls, and bottom walls for defining an interior volume. The bottom walls define a cargo well that has an opening for discharging materials transported by the hopper car. The hatch assembly includes a support frame that is coupled proximate to a bottom of the cargo well. A hatch is slideably coupled to the support frame. The hatch is moveable between a closed position and an open position for selectively covering the cargo well opening. A hatch positioning system including a drive shaft that is coupled to the support frame, a locking assembly that is coupled to the drive shaft and is configured to selectively engage a locking bar, a positioning assembly that is coupled to the drive shaft, and a drive assembly that is coupled to the drive shaft.

Abstract: The present invention is a control device that allows an operator to partially open a gate valve found at the bottom of a railway freight car hopper in order to obtain a sample of a flowable particulate or granular product contained within the hopper but preventing the gate valve from fully opening so as to partially unload the hopper. The device is provided with a rotatable operating shaft having attaching to it a structure for opening and closing the gate valve in response to rotation of the operating shaft. The operating shaft is provided with two ends that extend through end panels of the hopper. One of the two ends is provided with a lockable sample control handle and the second of the two ends is provided with an angled slot by which a lockable control handle movably attaches. The angled slot allows the operating shaft to be rotated when the control handle is locked closed by unlocking and turning the sample control handle.

Abstract: A low profile pneumatic outlet for a covered hopper railway car is disclosed which allows the bottom slope sheets of the hopper car to be moved downwardly closer to the rail thereby increasing the cubic capacity of the car while maintaining the car within AAR clearances. The low profile aspects of the pneumatic outlet result from the provision of an outlet opening in the bottom of the outlet which is opened and closed by a slidable, translatable gate operated by gate opening and closing cam mechanisms positioned generally horizontally with respect to the gate. The preferred gate operating mechanism is a cam operated mechanism which generates a high mechanical advantage initially upon effecting opening movement of the gate thereby to overcome lading and static friction loads, and then, after movement of the gate has been initiated, a lower mechanical advantage is provided so as to more rapidly move the gate toward its open position.

Abstract: In a railway hopper car with several bottom dump doors, the doors are operated by a main door operating member in the form of a thrust bar running the length of the car. The bar, when moved, rotates levers which rotate actuator shafts which move door operating linkage arrangements, opening and closing the dump doors. An adjustable positioning structure is provided on each lever to cause adjustment of the individual dump door positions. The adjustment is accomplished by tightening or loosening bolts in the adjustor, which is fixed on an actuator shaft running to the linkage arrangement. The adjustor and actuator shaft rotate on a bearing with respect to the lever, but are held in locked adjusted position by the adjustor bolts abutting on flanges welded to the lever.

Abstract: Both an operating link and a locking hook member are secured on a shaft rotatably mounted on a hopper door. The hook member cooperates with a locking lug fixed relative to the hopper for securing the door closed. The operating link is both pivoted and pushed or pulled by a crank actuated by retainable handles for operating the hook member and opening and closing the door.