Railcar brake structure

Abstract

An articulated railcar has several well car units for carrying shipping containers, highways trailers, or a combination of the two. The well car units permit the nose of a highway trailer to overhang the articulated connection between two adjacent cars. A brake valve is located in a relief formed in the main bolster of one of the articulated units, out of the way of the overhanging trailer. Each well car unit has a side beam having a roll formed top chord reinforced by a top chord plate, a downwardly extending web, and a lower sill formed of a thick angle. The service, or auxiliary, and emergency brake reservoirs are mounted in a saddle bag configuration to the outside face of the webs of the opposite side beams of the articulated unit, tucked underneath the reinforced roll formed top chord.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A main bolster for an articulation connection end of a railcar unit of an articulated railcar, wherein said bolster is positionable to extend laterally to both sides of a central sill for mounting to an articulation connector, and said bolster has a relief formed therein for accommodating a brake valve.  
     
     
         2 . The main bolster of  claim 1  wherein said bolster has a distal end for location most distant from the central sill, and said relief is located adjacent said distal end.  
     
     
         3 . The main bolster of  claim 1  wherein said bolster has a foremost side for placement generally facing a main bolster of an adjacent railcar unit, and said relief is formed in said foremost side.  
     
     
         4 . The main bolster of  claim 3  wherein said bolster has a distal end most distant from the central sill, and a foremost side for placement generally facing a main bolster of an adjacent railcar unit, and said relief is formed in said foremost side adjacent said distal end.  
     
     
         5 . The main bolster of  claim 4  wherein said foremost side has a root and a tip and has a tapered portion between the root and the tip.  
     
     
         6 . The main bolster of  claim 5  wherein said tapered portion is adjacent said tip.  
     
     
         7 . A railcar unit of an articulated railcar, said railcar unit having at least one articulation connection end, wherein said railcar unit comprises a sill for mounting an articulated connector, and a main bolster having arms extending laterally from said sill, at least one of said arms having a relief formed therein for accommodating a brake valve.  
     
     
         8 . An articulated railcar unit as claimed in  claim 7  wherein at least one of said bolster arms has a root and a tip, and said relief is adjacent said tip.  
     
     
         9 . The articulated railcar unit of  claim 8  wherein said articulated end includes a shear plate mounted above said bolster, a lateral reinforcement mounted to said shear plate, and a pair of protruding load bearing arms extending longitudinally therefrom on either side of said sill, said relief being located outboard of one of said load bearing arms.  
     
     
         10 . The articulated railcar unit of  claim 9  wherein said reinforcement is mounted above said bolster and said reinforcement has another relief corresponding to said relief of said bolster.  
     
     
         11 . The articulated railcar unit of  claim 7  wherein said railcar unit is a well car unit having a well in which the wheels of a highway trailer can be placed with the nose of the highway trailer overhanging said articulation connection end in a space defined as a clearance envelope, and a brake valve mounted to said unit at least partially within said relief, all of said brake valve lying outside said envelope.  
     
     
         12 . The articulated well car of  claim 7  further comprising a brake valve mounted at least partially within said relief, said brake valve having an uppermost portion and said uppermost portion lies below the lowest extent of said envelope.  
     
     
         13 . The railcar unit of  claim 7  further comprising a brake valve mounted at least partially within said relief, and separate service and emergency brake reservoirs connected to said brake valve.  
     
     
         14 . The railcar unit of  claim 13  wherein said service and emergency brake reservoirs are mounted on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of said railcar unit.  
     
     
         15 . The railcar unit of  claim 13  wherein said railcar unit further comprises a pair of longitudinal side walls, and at least one of said service and emergency reservoirs is mounted to one of said side walls.  
     
     
         16 . The railcar unit of  claim 15  wherein said service reservoir is mounted to one of said side walls and said emergency reservoir is mounted to the other said side wall.  
     
     
         17 . An articulated railcar having at least two articulated railcar units, each of said units having an articulation connection end, each of said ends having a central sill and an articulated connector mounted therein, said railcar units sharing a railcar truck to which said articulated connectors are mounted, each of said units having a main bolster extending laterally of their respective said central sills, at least one of said bolsters having a relief formed therein to accommodate a brake valve between said bolsters.  
     
     
         18 . The railcar of  claim 17  wherein said bolster has a distal end for location most distant from the central sill, and said relief is located adjacent said distal end.  
     
     
         19 . The railcar of  claim 17  wherein said bolster each have a foremost side for placement generally facing each other, and said relief is formed in at least one of said foremost sides.  
     
     
         20 . The railcar of  claim 17  wherein one of said bolsters has a brake valve mounting bracket attached thereto in a position to permit a brake valve mounted to said bracket to nest within said relief.  
     
     
         21 . The railcar of  claim 19  wherein at least one of said foremost sides has a root and a tip, and has a tapered portion between the root and the tip.  
     
     
         22 . The railcar of  claim 21  wherein said tapered portion is adjacent said tip.