Abstract: A three piece freight railcar truck with a truck bolster having distal ends that extend outward of the truck side frames to beneath the sides of a rail car body and the bolster ends have seats for self leveling bearings which directly support the car body at the side sills.

Abstract: A self leveling bearing for use on a freight railcar truck bolster having a major body with an arcuate undersurface and an upper friction face and a secondary friction body biased outwardly of a cavity within the upper friction face.

Abstract: The present invention provides a single axle railway truck. An axle box with journal bearings is provided at each axle end. Each axle box includes a spring support from which two springs extend upwardly wherein their upper ends are received in spring retainers. The spring retainers extend from a lower surface of suppport beams and, accordingly, the support beams are themselves supported by the springs. A cylindrical dampening device has its lower end connected to the axle box and its upper end to a bracket extending outwardly from the support beam. A traction rod, or alternatively a shock absorber, extends from a side of the axle box to a mounting bracket near an end of the support beam.

Abstract: A railway vehicle truck of the four wheel type is provided having elastomeric devices operative in shear and disposed between the side frame and wheelsets in such a manner as to reduce hunting and to permit turning of wheelsets during curving. Each elastomeric device is threadably fastened to the side frame with a central boss having an internally threaded bore engaged by a bolt and to the bearing adapter with an externally threaded stud in a manner such that the relative movement of mating surfaces is precluded.

Abstract: A railway wheel and axle assembly comprises a journal box with spaced wings extending longitudinally of the railway vehicle away from the axle. Springs supported by said wings accommodate relative lateral, longitudinal, vertical, yaw, pitch and roll movement between the vehicle body and the wheel and axle assembly. The wings comprise brackets longitudinally beyond the springs, and the vehicle body comprises a bracket above and laterally of each wing bracket and aligned therewith for attachment of a single axial displacement damper for damping such movement.

Abstract: A railway vehicle truck including side frames and wheel sets maintained in a substantially rectangular relationship by resilient connection means at each of the axle mounts to the side frames. The resilient means are prestressed and in equilibrium at each mounting location so as to resist yaw and lengthwise movement of the axles relative to the side frames. The resilient means provide resistance to hunting motion and yet yieldingly permit relative turning of the axle and side frame when the truck traverses a curved track.

Abstract: A multi-rate side bearing for a railway truck is provided. The side bearing comprises a base plate and an upper plate, with two resilient devices located between the base plate and the upper plate. The resilient devices usually are elastomeric pads of different compression rates and shear stiffness. Under unloaded car conditions, only one pad is in load supporting contact, but under loaded car conditions, both resilient devices contact the upper and base plates to provide load support and car body-truck motion damping.

Abstract: A truck for a railroad car has a front and rear wheelset with axle ends rotatively carried in a front and rear steering arm, respectively. The steering arms are carried in pedestal jaws of a right and left side frame with resilient pads interfacing between the steering arms and the side frames. The resilient pads allow each wheelset and steering arm to rotate or yaw to an out-of-square condition with respect to the side frame as the railroad car proceeds, for example, around a curve in the track on which the car is traveling. This rotational movement is selectively regulated by a joint connecting the front and rear steering arms.

Abstract: A railroad car truck includes a pair of spaced side frames carrying therebetween a transversely positioned bolster. Ends of the bolster are positioned within a window formed in each side frame. A connection between the side frame and bolster includes an interposed set of springs which cushions vertical movements of the bolster. These movements are dampened by sets of friction shoes which interact with wear surfaces formed as part of the bolster and side frame. The bolster-side frame connection also accommodates pitching and yawing movements of the bolster and pitching movements of the side frames. These rotational movements are not cushioned and can produce substantial stresses when contact occurs between abutting structural members of the bolster and the side frames. To maintain such stresses below the yield point of the structural members, bolster-side frame contact is restricted to areas of the bolster where the stresses may be distributed to members having sufficient strength.

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: A three-piece dampener assembly provides means to depress vertical and horizontal oscillations between ends of a bolster of a railroad car truck and side frames of the truck. This assembly includes a control or friction shoe having an outer vertical engaging surface for contact with a vertical wear plate of a pocket formed in the side frame and an inner projecting triangular-shaped segment. The triangular segment is covered by a relativley low friction adapter and engages a like triangular-shaped wedge slot formed in a control or friction shoe housing. The housing further includes an inclined wear surface for engaging with a complementary inclined friction surface formed in the bolster and a bottom surface for supportive engagement with a coil spring carried in the side frame pocket below the bolster.

Abstract: A braking system for a railroad car truck having its front and rear wheelsets so connected to permit each wheelset to yaw as the truck proceeds about curved trackage includes a front and rear brake beam and brake shoes attached thereto for engagement with the front and rear wheelsets. Each brake beam is pivotally connected to a front and rear brake lever, respectively, which are in turn pivotally connected to a front and rear swingable arm of the truck. During yawing or horizontal rotational movements of the wheelsets and the swingable arms in which the wheelsets are journaled, the brake beams and truck levers move complementary to each other so that when a braking force is applied to the truck levers, the rotational position of the wheelsets is unaffected by the braking force as the brake shoes engage the wheelsets.

Abstract: An improved railroad car truck side bearing assembly comprising two spring means spaced apart in a manner so as to concentrically envelop the side bearing mounting holes of a railroad car truck bolster; a base for mounting to a railroad car truck bolster and having pockets at each of its longitudinal extremities for receiving one end of a spring means so as to retain the spring means in its desired location, the base further having a centrally located upstanding projection partially enveloping the two spring means and also provided with a side wall having angularly and laterally disposed surfaces; a cap having pockets in its longitudinal extremities to receive and retain the other ends of the spring means, the cap having a pair of centrally located depending members which co-operatively interengage the projection of the base, the cap also being provided with a side wall having angularly and laterally disposed surfaces to co-operatively engage the similar surfaces located on the base.