Abstract: A guide bearing for mounting unit brake beams, for application to railroad car truck side frame unit brake beam guide brackets, in place of the conventional spring steel wear plate now generally used, comprising a one piece body formed from an ultra high molecular weight polymer or other plastic grades of dry self lubricating characteristics that is of elongate trough configuration defining a web portion and spaced apart side walls shaped and proportioned for force fit seating in the guide bracket, with the inner surfacings of the body side walls being formed to closely receive the brake beam guide lug to be mounted in same, to dispose the brake beam guide lug in substantial coplanar alignment with the desired brake beam movement path radially of the axle wheel to be braked, on actuation of the brakes. The inner surfacings of the body walls have a coefficient of friction with respect to steel of about 0.

Abstract: A snap-on slide bearing for application to U-section formed sheet metal type guide lugs of unit brake beams for mounting the unit brake beams equipped with such guide lugs in the railroad car truck side frame unit brake beam guide brackets, preferably in place of the conventional spring steel wear plate now generally in use, comprising a one piece U-shaped clip member formed from spring steel and defining spaced apart superposed congruently related parallel arms integrally joined at like ends by abridging web, with the arms at their other ends being angled toward each other to define for each such arm a locating stop spaced from the clip member web approximately the length of the the guide lugs, and with the clip member arms each having affixed to the outer surfacing of same a strip that is preferably formed from a polymeric material, such as UHMW polyethylene, which strip is rectilinear and planar in outline, which strips are shaped and proportioned for substantially complemental but slidable seating in the

Abstract: A slide bearing for attachment to U-section formed sheet metal type guide lugs of unit brake beams for mounting the unit brake beams equipped with such guide lugs in the railroad car truck side frame unit brake beam guide brackets, preferably in place of the conventional spring steel wear plate now generally in use comprising a one piece box like body, preferably formed from a polymeric material, such as UHMW polyethylene, of dry self lubricating characteristics that is rectilinear and planar in outline and of U-shaped transverse cross-sectional configuration defining a web portion and spaced apart side walls shaped and proportioned for substantially complemental but slidable seating in the side frame guide bracket in which the guide lug is to be mounted, with the side walls being closed at their end edges by integral end walls and with the inner surfacing of the side walls and the bearing body being formed to closely receive the brake beam guide lug, and with the respective body side walls each recessing in

Abstract: A composite coupler carrier assembly for railroad cars comprising a lower metallic attachment plate shaped and arranged to be mounted on the car structure supporting the coupler shank, and an upper planar polymeric bearing body of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene that defines an upwardly facing planar bearing surface on which the coupler shank rides. The metallic attachment plate and the polymeric bearing body are fixed to each other by the practice of a spin welding technique involving the forming of a plurality of apertures of frusto-conical edging in the attachment plate, in which the small sides of the apertures are on the same side of the plate, and placing the underside of the polymeric bearing body against said side of the mounting plate, and spin welding in each aperture, to the bearing body, a polymeric disc that is of the same material as the bearing body, and that is proportioned to thereby anchor the attachment plate to the bearing body.