Abstract: In accordance with the present invention an air inlet and outlet valve is mounted within an opening in the top of a railway tank car. The valve is operable from the bottom of the car by means of a rotatable operating shaft which extends from the bottom of the car up through the tank to the top of the tank to operate the valve. The operating shaft includes an operator for raising and lowering the valve located at the bottom of the tank, and includes a shaft telescoping arrangement whereby the upper portion of the shaft telescopes relative to the lower portion of the shaft, as the top of the tank moves relative to the bottom of the tank.

Abstract: A lading sampling device for a tank includes two concentric, telescoped tubes extending upwardly within the tank. The tubes are mounted for axial rotation relatively to each other and each tube has a plurality of vertically spaced openings through the wall thereof through which a lading sample may pass from the tank into the innermost tube when the openings in the two tubes are aligned. The relative circumferential spacing of the openings in the two tubes is such that only openings at the same level in each tube are aligned to receive a lading sample in a particular rotated position of the tubes whereby samples of lading may be selectively taken at different levels in the tank by relative rotation of the tubes a seal is placed between the inner and the outer tube between each level of vertically spaced openings. In one embodiment, the tubes are assembled in short pieces to facilitate retrofitting existing tanks with the sampling device where limited clearance exists below the bottom of the tank.