Abstract: Yaw stabilization device provides a light-weight mechanism for increasing the linear yaw stiffness levels between the side frame and bolster to provide the proper inter-axle shear stiffness without affecting the compliancy required of the vertical suspension system. This invention, which fails to increase the unsprung weight of a railroad car truck assembly noticeably, may be retrofitted to existing freight car trucks in service or incorporated into newly manufactured trucks. Moreover, it does so without the need for damping wedges to increase interaxle shear stiffness and allow the wedges to function optimally for control of vertical vibrations.

Abstract: An interface between the end of a bolster and a side frame column for a three-piece railcar truck assembly is disclosed. The bolster and side frame have several pairs of facing stop surfaces at the interface. Each pair of facing stop surfaces are at two different spacings: one spacing is close, with a small gap between the stop surfaces; another spacing is greater than the first. The second spacing allows the side frame to pitch with respect to the bolster transverse axis. The bolster stop surfaces may be the lands inboard and outboard of the friction shoe pockets. The lands may be shaped so that there is a raised warp control portion or surface and one or more relief portions or surfaces, the warp control portion extending farther laterally than the relief portions. The warp control portion is used to maintain the truck in a square relationship, and the more loosely spaced relief portions allow for side frame articulation as the truck traverses track at different elevations.

Abstract: A railway truck assembly has an arrangement for constraining the free travel clearance between the mated bolster and side frame at the side frame window, and more particularly for reducing or eliminating the clearance or separation gap between the bolster lands and the side frame column wall at the outer edges of the bolster lands and the column wall for reduction of truck warping during service.

Abstract: Sole-bars (1) bear on axles by elastic suspensions (12) with frictional damping. The bolster (18) bears by elastic blocks (32) on the lower side of a window (24) through each sole-bar. Each elastic block (32) bears on a face (31) of the sole-bar which has, in relation to the longitudinal direction (L) of the bolster (18), an inclination (A) such that the compressive force (F) of the elastic block has a horizontal component (F.sub.HT) which pushes the sole-bar so as to bear by its reference face (26) against a parallel reference face (28) belonging to the bolster. Thus, the sole-bars (1) are constantly returned to a favored configuration of perpendicularity in relation to the bolster. Use for effectively combatting parasitic deformations and sideways movements of deformable-frame bogies.

Abstract: A bogie or truck for high-speed rail vehicles or railway cars includes an H-shaped bogie or truck frame, primary springs cushioning the bogie frame, and a lateral bolster being movable relative to the bogie frame, receiving a coach or car body and being cushioned relative to the bogie or truck frame by air springs. The object is to provide a bogie with a low number of contact points with the coach body, which allows a configuration for rotational retardation, which has a minimum structural width and low weight, which permits small air spring bellows, which allows the installation of additional air reservoirs for the air springs below the lateral bolster and which has additional assemblies disposed at locations which keep the bearing components free from bending or torsional stresses. According to the invention, each air spring is supported directly on the side wall of the bogie frame.

Abstract: A vehicle driven on rails includes a vehicle frame, a wheel set, a pivotable truck and at least one drive unit being disposed in the pivotable truck for acting upon the wheel set. An intermediate support is connected to the pivotable truck and to the drive unit. The intermediate support is also connected to the vehicle frame, such as by a threaded spindle connecting the vehicle frame to the intermediate support during assembly.

Abstract: Friction shoes are immobilized within the pockets of a railcar truck bolster by threaded pins that are inserted through apertures in the pocket walls and friction shoes and guided into the inboard pocket wall apertures by a concentric tapered surface within the pockets on the inboard pocket walls.

Abstract: A friction wedge for use in a railroad car truck bolster pocket which has a slanted rear wall and adjoining side walls perpendicular thereto, one surface thereof adapted to bear against a portion of a car truck side frame and a slanted surface and adjoining sides adapted to bear against the slanted rear wall and adjoining side walls of the bolster pocket. The friction wedge includes a metal body and a polymer cover providing the slanted surface and adjoining sides, with the polymer cover being formed in a plurality of sections movable relative to each other and the metal body such that, during use, the polymer sections may move into contact with the pocket rear wall and adjoining side walls.

Abstract: Friction shoes are preassembled in each end of a railcar truck bolster by providing openings in the bolster and in the shoes and passing a restraining member through the openings at each bolster end and tensioning and securing the restraining members so as to hold the shoes within respective pockets in the bolster. The shoes and pockets are further provided with cooperating anti-ejection features to prevent ejection of shoes after installation.

Abstract: A railway vehicle truck friction shoe pocket including a sloped wedge wall and longitudinally spaced depending walls of which at least one of the inner planar faces is provided with one or more relieved sections.

Abstract: A damping mechanism for a truck assembly employing a resiliently mounted wedge to cooperate with a bolster in a manner to prevent wear. The damping assembly is biased outwardly and a friction plate employed between the wedge and bolster, further reducing frictional contact with the side frame.

Abstract: A snubbed railway car truck including a side frame having a bolster opening defined by a pair of columns. A bolster end is disposed in the bolster opening. Resiliently biased friction shoes are provided with friction faces which engage friction faces of wear plates mounted on the columns. Lands are provided on the bolster and the side frame columns along the opposite upstanding edges of the friction plate. The lands are provided with planar stops which engage during permisible relative turning between the side frame and bolster. The lands are inclined relative to the plane of the wear plate friction surface to prevent gouging during relative turning movement of the bolster and side frame.

Abstract: A wear member for a railway vehicle is provided, the wear member having a U-shaped support that is provided with a bight and a pair of parallel legs and carrying on the bight thereof anti-friction polymeric material. The support is made of structural material of substantially uniform thickness throughout, the structural material having a plurality of corrugations defining the bight of the support with each corrugation having the uniform thickness throughout substantially its entire configuration and having an end surface spaced from and coplanar with the end surfaces of the corrugations adjacent thereto whereby the corrugations provide structural strength for the bight of the support, the polymeric material being supported by certain of the corrugations at just the adjacent and coplanar end surfaces thereof.

Abstract: A pedestal wear liner is described for attachment to a pedestal leg of a truck of a railroad vehicle having a journal box with a journal box wear plate facing the pedestal leg. The novel pedestal wear liner includes a unitary metallic support structure generally U-shaped in cross section with a central web portion and a pair of mounting legs for mounting the pedestal wear liners on a pedestal leg. The central web portion has a pair of flat portions adjacent the mounting legs and a central flat portion outwardly offset from the pair of flat portions. A hard elastomeric urethane polymer is bonded to the outer face of the metallic support structure, the elastomeric layer forming an outer flat wear surface across the entire central web of the metallic support and extending uninterrupted over at least part of the mounting legs.

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: A substantially U-shaped pedestal liner is provided for disposal between an associated pedestal leg and journal box of a railway pedestal truck and the liner is comprised of ultra high molecular weight polymeric material and has a reinforcing structure embedded in the polymeric material which serves as a matrix therefor and substantially completely surrounds the structure and the structure has openings therein for receiving the polymeric material completely therethrough while enabling better embedment of the structure whereby the structure provides reinforcement while preventing cold flow of the polymeric material.

Abstract: A railway car truck having side frames with an opening for receiving the ends of a bolster, and spaced columns with removable wear resistant wear plates, secured thereto and retained by L-shaped retainers at the corners.

Abstract: A wearplate for a column of a railway freight car side frame is attached by fastener means to a column web and additionally is welded to top and bottom lugs of the column web by weld metal in recesses of said lugs and in recesses of the web which communicate with the lug recesses at the side of the plate which seats against the web.

Abstract: This relates to a load spring indicator for a railway car truck for indicating the load condition of springs supporting the bolster on the truck side frame. A reference is carried by the bolster and an indicator is carried by the truck side frame. The bolster reference is preferably the lower edge of the bolster gib or side rib while the indicator is an added plate or casting portion having an upper edge alignable with the lower edge of the bolster gib in the light condition of the car and a lower edge alignable with the bolster gib lower edge in the loaded condition of the car when the spring sets are of the proper strength and the car is not overloaded.

Abstract: A pedestal liner for a pedestal truck of a railway vehicle is provided wherein such pedestal liner is of roughly U-shaped configuration having a bight and a pair of parallel legs. A continuous uninterrupted backing material defining the bight and parallel legs, and a first antifriction material for the bight fixed against the backing material to engage a vertically disposed planar guide surface of an associated journal box. A second antifriction material for the parallel legs fixed against the backing material to engage vertically disposed parallel side surfaces of the journal box which are disposed on opposite sides of the guide surface with the backing material providing optimum structural support for the antifriction materials and the first and second antifriction materials having different wear characteristics determined by the different wear rates to which they are subjected.

Abstract: A pedestal liner for a pedestal truck of a railway vehicle is provided wherein such pedestal liner is of roughly U-shaped configuration having a bight and a pair of parallel legs. A continuous uninterrupted backing material defining the bight and parallel legs, antifriction material for the bight engages a vertically disposed planar guide surface of an associated journal box. Antifriction material for the parallel legs engages vertically disposed parallel side surfaces of the journal box and disposed on opposite sides of the guide surface, and fixes the antifriction material against the backing material with the backing material providing optimum structural support for the antifriction material.

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 replaceable bolster gib comprises a U-shaped holder block fixed to the bolster, a trough-shaped wear shoe block having a pocket complementary to the holder block and mounted in embracing force transmitting relation thereon, and an interlocking means such as a spring steel cotter pin drive in force fit relation through the holder and overlapping portions of the wear shoe to removably retain the blocks.

Abstract: A railroad truck side frame includes spaced tension and compression members connected by vertical columns. The tension and compression members, as well as the vertical columns, define a window and there is a bolster extending through the window. One side of each vertical column has a widened area, with the opposite side of each vertical column being substantially coplanar with the side frame. The bolster has lugs projecting from both sides thereof on opposite sides of each column, with the space between lugs on each side of the bolster being substantially greater than the width of the side frame and slightly greater than the distance between the outside of the widened area and the opposite side of the vertical column.

Abstract: A bolster for use in a stabilized railroad car truck has stabilizer pockets on each side of each end. Portions of the bolster adjacent the pockets extend above the bolster top wall. There are reinforcing means for each bolster pocket positioned generally at the midpoint of each pocket and within the bolster structure.

Abstract: An improved railway truck for providing non-contact active support between the unsprung and the sprung elements as well as lateral stability and banking of vehicles used in surface supported transportation systems having unsprung surface contacting elements, sprung load carrying elements, magnetic force fields, inertial and position sensing elements mounted on the sprung element and a non-linear feedback circuit for actively varying the strength of the force field to maintain a relatively stable air gap between the unsprung and sprung elements while also holding the sprung element to a smooth course notwithstanding irregular surface conditions encountered by the surface contacting elements or variations in loading on the load carrying element.

Abstract: A friction wedge for use in a railroad car truck bolster pocket which has a slanted rear wall and adjoining side walls perpendicular thereto, one surface thereof adapted to bear against a portion of a car truck side frame and a slanted surface and adjoining sides adapted to bear against the slanted rear wall and adjoining side walls of the bolster pocket. The friction wedge includes a metal body and a polymer cover providing the slanted surface and adjoining sides, with the polymer cover being formed in a plurality of sections movable relative to each other and the metal body such that, during use, the polymer sections may move into contact with the pocket rear wall and adjoining side walls.