Abstract: The hatch of a cargo vessel, such as the hopper of a covered hopper car, is sealed by a hatch cover having a locking arrangement which prevents the hatch cover from being blown open by pressure within the hopper upon unlocking the lock. An over center locking arm has two locking detents on it which coact with two locking detents on a locking bar to selectively provide a sealed, pressure blow off and hatch open position. A rotative adjustment is provided to enable the sealing pressure of the hatch cover on the hatch to be selectively adjustable.

Abstract: A driverless tugger vehicle is adapted to shuttle back and forth and push or pull another driverless vehicle each time it moves in a forward direction. The tugger vehicle is propelled by frictional contact between a drive wheel and a drive shaft with the drive wheel being mounted for pivotable movement through an arc of approximately 90 degrees so that the vehicle may reciprocate in opposite directions without changing the direction of rotation of the drive shaft.

Abstract: A railroad hopper car particularly adapted for shipment of dry, granular-like commodities may have its inner space divided into compartments which in turn are formed with chambers. Each chamber bottom includes a discharge system comprising a pair of aligned fluidizing conveyors which converge downward. Lower ends of the conveyors are spaced apart to define a chute outlet which includes a passageway through a chute portion of a slide gate discharge assembly. The passageway may be closed or opened by selective movement of a door plate connecting with a drive mechanism in a drive portion of the assembly. Commodity in the railroad car is maintained contamination free in part by isolating the chute and drive portion with seals that engage the door plate and a sanitary plate which pivots to close the passageway lower end. During commodity unloading the sanitary plate and door plate are located to clear the passageway through the chute outlet.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for laying a railroad track includes laying, in tandem, a series of pre-cast concrete slabs on a prepared track bed, the slabs being isolated from the bed, and from each other, by rubber isolation pads, and the slabs having cavities formed on the top faces. The rails are held above the slabs, in their proper location, by removable gauge beams having adjustment means to exactly locate the rails. Before filling the cavities with concrete the shoulder-pins, used to secure the rails, are located with their pin portions in the cavities by being removably secured to templates. The templates are held suspended above the slabs by being removably attached to a rail. The rails are used as guides after setting their exact gauge (separation), elevation and cant (angle of inclination) on the gauge beams, to determine the positions of the templates and shoulder-pins.

Abstract: A rail-support insulating device for electrically insulating a rapid transit rail and rail fastener from the rail support structure is described. The device includes an electrically non-conductive member that surrounds and extends outwardly from the rail fastener and over its support structure. Also a pair of planar disc members of similar material extend around and outwardly from the heads of the mounting bolts for the rail fastener, thereby forming long surface electrical creepage paths between the rail and the rail support that provide electrical isolation even when the entire assembly of rail fastener and rail support is wet with electrolyte.

Abstract: A driverless tugger vehicle adapted to contact another driverless vehicle and push or pull the latter to a source of power includes a body having support wheels for riding on tracks. The body has a drive wheel adapted for frictional contact with a drive shaft. A contact member on the body is provided for pushing or pulling the other driverless vehicle. A switch actuator is provided on the body for initiating reversal of direction of movement of the body when the contact member is coupled to said other driverless vehicle.

Abstract: A container chassis bundling system uses permanently affixed clamps 14, 14a, 40, 42, 42a, or 42b, for example, placed on a container chassis 10 to interconnect container chassis into an integral stack of chassis. Usually, chassis are interconnected with corresponding twist-lock bayonets 18 and twist-lock receivers 12 between corresponding top surfaces of the chassis and either rail 42, 42a, or 42b or landing gear interconnections 14 or 14a between the rails on the bottom flanges of the other chassis. An axle clamp 40 may connect the axle of one chassis to the kingpin of another chassis. Rail clamps 42, 42a, or 42b may also be used to connect corresponding top surfaces.

Abstract: A superconducting magnetic separator wherein the magnet coil or coils are in the shape of a vertically oriented oval. The coils are mounted in an evacuated cryostat housing which provides a flat vertical magnetic separating zone on one or both vertical faces.

Abstract: A self-latching tie-down or bolt-down anchor for use in securing loads to open truck beds. The anchor is intended for installation in the cavity commonly provided in the bed or side wall of a pickup truck to receive the lower end of the support post of a rack.

Abstract: A train system includes(a) a train car,(b) a support for the car adapted to be guided along a rail having variable angular tilt along its length and relative to horizontal, whereby the support assumes the tilt of the rail, and(c) a gimbal coupled between the car and support to accommodate rotation of the support relative to the car as the car travels lengthwise of and along the rail, whereby the car remains upright despite variable tilting of the rail along which the car travels.

Abstract: A coupler for rotary dump cars having a coupler head cast integral with a rotating spindle. The coupler includes a widened shank-spindle housing to accommodate the enlarged end of the spindle for better load characteristics.

Abstract: An apparatus for the measurement of the quality parameters of granular materials includes a loader assembly which delivers precise volume samples of granular material to a meter assembly which measures the moisture content. The apparatus also includes a sieve assembly which separates the samples into fractions according to kernel size. A scale assembly weighs the fractions and feeds this information to a computer which controls the apparatus and calculates the moisture content, density and percentage of foreign material contained in the granular material.

Abstract: An expansible honeycomb-type void filler formed of stacked strips secured together at spaced and staggered positions to define cell walls which vary in length to provide vertically aligned shortened stretch-limiting walls which reduce hourglass-type distortion, has suspension means consisting of a supporting top strip of the stack and a suspension structural element, said suspension means also including parts movable in a direction lengthwise of the strips to provide openable cells between the suspension structural element and the supporting top strip of the stack. The void filler is also disclosed as having widened adhesive connections in an upper region, and as being formed of corrugated paperboard which is partially crushed.

Abstract: A rail anchoring clip and sleeper assembly comprising a sleeper and at least one rail anchoring clip arranged in use to longitudinally anchor a rail across the sleeper, the sleeper having means to locate the rail in a direction longitudinal of the sleeper and means to locate the clip in a direction lateral of the sleeper, the clip being constructed of resilient material and being shaped when resiliently deformed in use to define a first portion that bears tightly against the upper surface of one side of the rail foot, a second portion that bears tightly against the underside of the sleeper to compressibly anchor the rail onto the sleeper and a third portion in cooperative engagement with said means to locate said clip laterally of the sleeper, the positions of contact of the first, second and third portions with the rail and sleeper respectively being spaced apart in a direction longitudinal of the sleeper.

Abstract: Tie down system for a three wheeled motorcycle which uses a pair of securing plates in conjunction with tie down straps to be located about the axle which supports the rear wheels of the motorcycle and a spaced apart locking plate which utilizes a movable clamping bar to be tightly connected over a bracing bar mounted on the frame of the motorcycle.

Abstract: An inter-carriage communication passage between the bodies of two carriages of a rail or tramway vehicle of the kind having respective articulation ends articulated to a single bogie. The passage includes two end plates resting in a swivellable manner on the articulation ends of the bodies and articulated to the structure of the bogie and a central plate formed by two independent triangular half-plates hinged to the two end plates, so that the passage can adapt to the different configurations which the bogie may assume as it passes over track irregularities.

Abstract: A resilient tie-down device interposed between a hook connected to a vehicle frame and a chain connected to a transporter and characterized in that the resilient tie-down device includes a strap which is pretensioned and encapsulated in a rubber jacket.

Abstract: A composite constant contact side bearing for railroad cars that comprises a body, that may be either cage mounted or free mounted, having a top wall that supports the car body bolster, a bottom wall structure that is to be supported by the truck bolster, oppositely facing side walls that extend the length of the body, and oppositely facing end walls that extend normally of the body side walls, with the body comprising a rigid filler block enclosed within a polyurethane casing that defines the body top wall, end walls, and side walls, with the filler block being of generally quadrilateral parallelepiped configuration, but defining a depending stud from its underside that protrudes from the polyurethane casing below the filler block.

Abstract: An exhaust-gas offtake for a track-guided vehicle propelled by combustion-energy, the exhaust gas being led into a force-ventilated waste gas duct located above the vehicle, which is anchored to the roof of a tunnel along the route followed. The exhaust pipe of the vehicle extends vertically through the vehicle interior, up to a point above the roof, and is surrounded by a protective tube. A collecting funnel is located on the vehicle roof, which funnel overlaps the end of the exhaust pipe, possesses a transfer pipe with a boat-shaped cross-section and, pivotably mounted on suspension elements, is resiliently directed into an upwards-pointed position. This arrangement enables small horizontal and vertical movements of the vehicle body to be compensated in relation to the tunnel waste gas duct.

Abstract: In a system for conveying objects bearing indicia of destination addresses to associated receptacles, the indicium on each object is converted to an address code identifying a particular receptacle, and the code is fed to a control device for storage. The objects are then moved sequentially past a meter which reads and feeds their indicia to the control device and counts the objects as they pass on to a succession of uniformly spaced containers traveling in a continuous, closed path near the receptacles. All objects passing the meter thus become associated with respective containers, and their number equals the number of containers sequentially passing an arbitrary metering point along the closed path. Any container carrying an object reaches a point over its target receptacle when the meter count for that object corresponds to the indicium/address code which associates that object with that receptacle.