Abstract: A rapid discharge railcar door comprised of a main body composed of a polymer reinforced by an aluminum frame, the railcar door being designed to provide sufficient strength against load-bearing forces and withstand changes in temperature. The main body of the door is made from a polymer using a thermoplastic or thermoset molding process, such as injection molding, casting, resin transfer molding, reaction injection molding (RIM), and reinforced reaction injection molding (RRIM). The door reduces the overall weight of the railway car, thereby allowing more coal to be shipped per car.

Abstract: A rotary railroad car F. coupler assembly which employs a rotary connector between the yoke and car coupler, is described as having a yoke with a larger diameter opening in which a bigger rotary connector is mounted. The rotary connector in turn, is designed to receive an AAR standard F coupler head with a heavier shank that has sidewalls, bordering the pinhole in the shank, which are thicker and have greater cross-sectional areas than similar sidewalls of shanks of AAR standard non-rotary type F car couplers.

Abstract: Disclosed is an intermodal railway car 100 capable of carrying a number of different designs of highway vehicle trailers or cargo containers used to ship goods over such distances as will make railway transportation of such trailers or containers economically advantageous over other forms of transporting such goods to the marketplace. The intermodal railway car 100 is designed with a reduced profile vertically and laterally to allow clearance of Association of American Railroads clearance diagram-plae "B". Furthermore, the car is designed to minimize cost in terms of the use of standard railway trucks 108 to support more than one intermodal railway car 100 thereby reducing the number of trucks 108 and the expense thereof for the construction of such intermodal railway cars 100 by the factor of the number of intermodal railway cars 100 minus one.

Abstract: A composite cushion pad for railroad cars or off-the-road vehicles is disclosed. The composite cushion pad can be circular or rectangular, depending on its use. The circular composite cushion pad is composed of a rigid circular plate having a centrally disposed opening which is surrounded by two juxtaposed, resilient elastomeric annular cushions that form a composite cushion which is bonded to at least one side of the plate. The two annular cushions each have a generally frusto-conically shaped cross-section and are dissimilarly sized so that the composite cushion has a pair of opposing stepped sidewalls. The rectangular composite cushion pad is composed of a rigid rectangular plate.

Abstract: A railroad car coupler having a chambered head on which is mounted a knuckle that is rotatable between a closed position and an open position. A lock is provided within a chamber of the head to maintain the knuckle in a closed position. The lock is movable to a lockset position where the knuckle is free to rotate to an open position. A lever having projecting trunion for engaging the lock and around which the lock rotates, is also movable within the chamber for rotating the lock to the lockset position. The lever is provided with a projecting lug adjacent the trunion. The lug is designed to cooperate with a ledge, formed within the head, to limit axial movement of the trunion to prevent the trunion from becoming disengaged from the lock.