Abstract: Railroad tank cars are provided with spirally wound cylindrical tanks spanning and supported on wheeled trucks with a continuous weld extending the full length of the tank. A steel plate ribbon or strip is spirally wound in the form of a right circular cylinder with a continuous weld bonding the edges of the strip in abutted relation to provide the tank side wall. The open ends of the resulting cylinder tube are closed by welded-on end caps and suitable openings are provided in the tube for manways, vents, valves and the like. A heating coil may be provided on the inside or outside of the tank in intimate contact with the spirally wound ribbon and conventional insulation and jacketing may be provided around the tank. Drop center and center sump tank are provided by cutting the spirally wound tube along a diagonal plane, rotating adjoining sections 180.degree.

Abstract: A hopper vehicle has a hopper door movable between open and closed positions and carrying a door latch movable between latching and unlatching configurations with respect to a keeper on the hopper vehicle. A secondary latch on the door is pivotally movable between a latched condition engageable with a keeper on the door latch for holding it in its unlatching configuration and an unlatched condition accommodating movement of the door latch between its latching and unlatching configurations. A spring urges the secondary latch toward its latched condition and an actuator plate on the hopper vehicle drives the secondary latch to its unlatched condition in response to movement of the door to its closed position. Thus, the door latch is held in its unlatching configuration except when the door is closed.

Abstract: The tank of a railway tank car has two top-mounted lading conduits coupled thereto in fluid communication therewith. One of the lading conduits has the inner end thereof disposed at the minimum fill level of the tank. A vapor vent fitting is also formed in the tank, to which any one of a plurality of different-length vent pipes can selectively removably be mounted with the inner ends thereof disposed at different levels between the maximum and minimum fill levels of the tank. The vent pipe communicates with the one lading conduit above the maximum fill level of the tank. An access opening is provided so that the vent pipe can be reached and changed from outside the tank.In one embodiment the vent pipe communicates with the one lading conduit inside the tank and access thereto is had through the one lading conduit. In another embodiment the vent pipe communicates with the one lading conduit inside the tank, but access thereto is had through a separate access opening in the tank.

Abstract: A railway car for transporting pulverulent lading includes a fluid-tight container, slope sheets mounted within the container defining two troughs leading to a sump in the lower portion of the container, two aligned permeable conveyors in the bottom of each trough, an apparatus for alternately aerating each permeable conveyor in each trough for fluidizing the lading to facilitate movement thereof into the sump. Discharge valve structure is provided below the sump for pneumatically unloading the container pipe for pressurizing the space between the slope sheets and the container, and a pipe interconnecting the top of the container and the discharge valve structure for conveying air from within the container to the discharge valve structure during unloading of the container, are also provided.

Abstract: A product and method for making a patterned area in a pile rug in which pile yarn is carved out and removed to form a trough-like area, and one or more fabric pattern pieces having a total area and shape coinciding with the carved out trough-like area is inserted into the trough-like area and adhesively bonded in place. The top surface of the fabric pattern piece is distinct in either color, texture, material, or pattern from the main pile surface to produce contrasting patterns in the surface of the rug. The fabric pattern piece may be a separate pile strip including its own base fabric and pile yarn of different color, texture, material, height, or other distinguishing characteristics from the pile yarn of the main body of the rug. The method is particularly adapted for forming linear patterned insert pieces along the borders of an area pile rug.