Abstract: A railroad freight car adapted for carrying automobiles and having a pair of doors enclosing and end of the car body. The pair of doors is hinged to the sides of the car body and meets each other at a central vertical plane, with each door including latches at top and bottom that engage an end sill and a roof the car body. The doors include panels of composite construction and have stiffening structures along vertically extending closure mating sides of the doors, whose margins confront each other. Door engagement members on each door extend toward and are engaged with the stiffening structures on the margin of the opposite one of the pair of doors.

Abstract: An energy-absorbing device for use with a counterbalance mechanism to relatively harmlessly absorb energy potentially released should a component of the counterbalance mechanism fail. A frame is attached to a portion of the counterbalance mechanism and supports an impact receiving member, and a plurality of deformable support members. In the event of a failure in the counterbalance mechanism, a part of the counterbalance mechanism strikes a face of the impact receiving member. Deformable support members are attached to the opposing face of the impact receiving member and are deformed by the impact and thus absorb the energy that is transferred by the impact. The deformable support members and the impact receiving member are readily replaceable.