Abstract: A transporter car for carrying a metal coil comprises a wheeled trolley with first and second supports for engaging the periphery of a coil to provide supports for the coil. The supports are arranged in side-by-side relation in the direction of movement of the trolley and one of the supports is retractable so that it can be used in combination with the other support for long coils and the other support is used on its own for short coils.

Abstract: A deck component for use in a highway railroad crossing. The component comprises a flat pad of molded, comminuted rubber dimensioned to lie with companion pads inside and outside the rails and spiked to the ties. Pad bearing is provided against the webs of the rails, as well as against the tie plates and the ties. The result is a stabilized crossing easily installed and of long life.

Abstract: A device for automatically stabilizing and holding steel coils to a truck bed. The device can be used for securing differently-sized loads because of its adjustability, and the device does not extend beyond the existing width dimension of the truck bed to any substantial degree. In a first embodiment, a pair of curved members are secured to the load by means of a curved intermediate connecting member. In another embodiment, a pair of pivotal arm members are secured in opposing relation on each side of the truck bed via bracket arrangements. The load-contacting members are adjustable cushioning pads and they have a curved configuration. The devices may be operated manually, hydraulically or pneumatically.

Abstract: A vibration damping device for a body resonant at two frequencies, is formed by a plate which can be connected to the body transversely with respect to its vibration direction. A post extends from the plate and mounts one end of an elastically flexible tongue which extends from the post substantially parallel to the plate so as to form a space between the tongue and plate. A weight is fixed to the other end of the tongue and vibration damping material is positioned in the space. The tongue and weight form a system resonant at both of the bodies' resonant frequencies, the tongue's energy being absorbed by the damping material.

Abstract: A convertible rail-highway vehicle having a semi-trailer with a truck provided adjacent the rear of the trailer with connecting structure for pivotally connecting the truck to a central beam for movement about a vertical axis. The truck has at least a pair of spaced and parallel axles for carrying at opposite ends thereof a pair of flanged wheels and a pair of highway wheels. The axes of rotation of the highway wheels are radially offset from the axes of rotation of flanged wheels. The axles are each rotatably supported in a pair of elongated and parallel bars which are, in turn, pivotally supported from a laterally extending support member on the truck. A releasable connection is provided adjacent the front end of the trailer for facilitating a selective connection to a highway tractor and to a further truck.

Abstract: A safety device for a banking vehicle includes a pair of cylinders which extend to hold the superstructure in an upright position. The cylinders are hydraulically connected to an accumulator which provides a pressurized fluid reservoir. A valve controls flow from the accumulator to the cylinders. Upon detection of a failure in one of the vehicle systems the valve moves to a position in which fluid flows from the accumulator to extend the cylinders. A pilot operated check valve is positioned between the accumulator and the cylinders to hold the cylinders in the extended position until the failure is rectified.

Abstract: In a railroad car truck an elastomeric device is used to operatively connect each axle end of the wheelsets to a respective pedestal jaw of the side frames. The elastomeric device may comprise an elastic pad affixed between two metal plates. By choosing an elastic material having a relative high stiffness in shear, movements between the wheelsets and side frames are cushioned while at the same time the wheelsets and side frames are held in a substantially squared relationship. The squared relationship improves the dynamic stability of the truck by increasing its critical speed to allow higher speed travel.

Abstract: The cross-coupling connects the two trucks of the vehicle together and employs a torsion shaft which is mounted on the vehicle body with torsionally stiff levers. The cross-coupling also has a shaft mounted on each truck with a pair of torsionally stiff arms. The innermost arms of the shafts are articulated via a hinged rod to an associated lever of the torsion shaft while the outermost arms are articulated through a rod to the vehicle body. In addition, piston cylinder units are provided for damping the rotational movements of the trucks relative to the body as well as independent damping means for damping the transverse movements of the vehicle body relative to the trucks.

Abstract: A railway-vehicle truck has a support structure in the form of a horizontal rectangular plate the opposite ends of which carry respective transverse tubular supports. Each tubular support mounts a shaft the two ends of which carry respective arms. Each arm rotatably mounts a railway wheel. Between each shaft and its corresponding tubular support are provided bushes of elastomeric material which permit misalignment of the shaft and support as the vehicle traverses a bend. The horizontal plate of the support structure is formed with a rectangular aperture mounting a sliding block for sliding movement transversely of the truck, though limited play is also provided for longitudinally of the truck. A truck pivot pin extends vertically down from the vehicle body through a central hole in the sliding block. Upper and lower plate elements are carried by the pivot pin and serve to sandwich upper and lower annular elements of elastomeric material between themselves and the facing surfaces of the support structure.

Abstract: Seals to prevent seepage of a fine granular commodity between the hopper doors and the adjacent hopper sheets of a railroad hopper car of the type having opposed pairs of hopper doors swingable between a closed position and a downwardly depending open position. The seals comprise elongated strips of flexible material with their upper longitudinal edge portions mounted along the inside lower edges of the inner and outer hopper sheets and being of a width such that their free lower longitudinal edge portions extend downwardly beyond the lower edges of the hopper sheets. The free edge portions of the seals being bent inwardly by and lying in sealing engagement against the hopper doors when the hopper doors are in their closed position. Similar strips of flexible material may be so located as to form a seal between the upper portion of each hopper door and its adjacent slope sheet.

Abstract: A railway gondola car suitable for rotary unloading. The floor of the car comprises a pair of concave troughs which extend between the center sill and the sides of the car having their axes parallel to the axis of the center sill along that portion of the car between the trucks. The car has an increased lading capacity and lower center of gravity than conventional gondola cars.

Abstract: Cargo carried on freight cars such as flat bed railway cars is secured in place by lading strapping that is tensioned around the cargo so as to compress a snubber unit of a self-resetting lading tie anchor and snubbing device that includes a snubber mechanism and a lading tie anchor assembly slidably mounted in a housing secured directly to the side sill of the freight car, which anchor assembly is locked in an automatically retracted position to automatically reset the device when it drops into the housing due to the force of gravity, at which position lading strapping is passed through a lading tie anchor that moves generally upwardly as tension is applied to the lading strapping in opposition to bias provided by the snubber mechanism. Unlocking of the anchor assembly quickly releases the device to substantially reduce tension within the lading strapping before it is removed from the cargo.

Abstract: Cargo carried on freight cars such as flat bed railway cars is secured in place by lading strapping that is tensioned around the cargo so as to compress a snubber unit on a self-resetting lading tie anchor and snubbing device that includes a snubber mechanism and a lading tie anchor assembly slidably mounted in a housing secured directly to the side sill of the freight car, which anchor assembly is locked in an automatically retracted position to automatically reset the device when it drops into the housing due to the force of gravity to bring a latch into operative interengagement with the snubbing device. At this position, lading strapping is passed through a lading tie anchor that moves generally upwardly as tension is applied to the lading strapping in opposition to bias provided by the snubber mechanism.

Abstract: Track rail joint assemblies with nut and bolt fasteners are disclosed in which a nut restraining plate is interposed on the bolt between the nut and the joint bar. The plate is provided with one or more bendable tabs adjacent the bolt of hole which are bent away from the joint bar against the nut after the nut has been tightened down to effectively lock the nut into position and prevent loosening rotation tended to be caused by vibrational forces of railroad equipment passing over the joint. The plate is formed with the tabs slightly bent to permit bending tools to be slipped over the tabs when the plate is in position under the tightened down nut.

Abstract: A sheet supporting rack has (1) a base including a pair of spaced elongated runners detachably secured on flatbed of a trailer; (2) a back support including a strut mounted on each of the runners; and (3) a front restraint including an upright slidably mounted on each of the runners. The sheets are mounted in a generally vertical position with an edge of the sheet supported on the base, and a major surface of the sheets supported by the back support. The uprights of the front restraint are slid and angled with respect to the runners to urge the sheets against the back support and to secure the uprights in position on the runners to prevent movement of the sheets during shipment thereof.

Abstract: The subject invention relates to the corner construction of a railway car, wherein the end wall, vertical reinforcing plate, side wall corner post and side plate are arranged with associated parts in a manner permitting an assembly without rotation of the car during manufacture. The structure provided includes a rigid connector plate which is attached to the end wall and forms a sandwich type transition member for attaching a flanged end of the side wall sheet.

Abstract: A modular center filler for railway vehicles comprising an inverted U-shaped core member fitted between front and rear cover plates and securely attached to a bottom cover plate to which a center plate is attached. Downwardly extending legs of the core are aligned with corresponding inner, beveled edges of the center plate which receive high forces during transit as a car rocks back and forth. The core member is positioned to receive these forces and transmit them into the center filler structure, car bolster and car body framing for even distribution throughout the vehicle.

Abstract: A railroad freight car truck designed for the installation of steering arms for radial tracking in curves and high speed stability, and truck mounted air brake rigging of the standard type utilizing dual push-rods through the bolster to eliminate the truck biasing forces developed by conventional brake rigging with holes for accommodating the push-rods through the bolster and lugs for allowing the steering arms to engage and guide the brake beams in the lateral direction.

Abstract: A load distribution system for railway cars, in which the load is applied to the supporting structure by fixed bearing arrangements, at one pair of longitudinally spaced points, at one side of the center line of the structure and is applied to the supporting structure at another pair of correspondingly longitudinally spaced points at the other side of the center line of the structure, and aligned with the first pair of points by a pair of hydraulic cylinders which are connected to each other in a closed hydraulic system. In effect my arrangement converts a statistically indeterminate four point suspension to a statistically determinant three point suspension.

Abstract: A vibration damping assembly for a wheel or the like that undergoes rotation is achieved by providing an annular groove in a surface of the wheel coaxial with the wheel axis. An annular metal ring formed from a channel member generally U-shaped in cross-section is positioned with one of its legs within the annular groove substantially encased therein by a vibration damping material. The remainder of the channel member extends close to areas of the wheel that are adjacent to the groove, and vibration damping material is sandwiched between the wheel and the channel member. Vibration damping material subject to shear deformation during rotation of the wheel is used, along with vibration damping material subject to deformation in tension and compression.