Insulated railroad box car

Abstract

A railroad box car has a truck-carrying railroad chassis and walls on the chassis forming a closable longitudinally extending space that is heated or cooled. According to the invention the walls are each formed of an inner skin, an outer skin, and a mass of cellular plastic foam between the skins bonded at least to an outer face of the respective inner skin. Plastic struts holding the inner and outer skins apart. The walls include a horizontal floor, a pair of upright and transverse end walls, a pair of upright and longitudinal side walls each formed by two slidable doors, and a horizontal roof. Each outer wall is spaced from the respective inner wall.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A railroad box car comprising: 
 a truck-carrying railroad chassis;    walls on the chassis forming a closable longitudinally extending space, the walls each being formed of an inner skin, an outer skin, and a mass of cellular plastic foam between the skins bonded at least to an outer face of the respective inner skin; and    means for conditioning air in the space.    
     
     
         2 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 1  wherein the walls include 
 a horizontal floor,  
 a pair of upright and transverse end walls,  
 a pair of upright and longitudinal side walls each formed by two slidable doors, and  
 a horizontal roof.  
 
     
     
         3 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 2  wherein each outer wall is spaced from the respective inner wall.  
     
     
         4 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 2  wherein the doors are slidable longitudinally of the space.  
     
     
         5 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 4  wherein the doors have lower edges provided with rollers and the box car further comprises longitudinally extending tracks on which the rollers ride.  
     
     
         6 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 5  wherein the tracks are carried on the chassis below the floor.  
     
     
         7 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 6  wherein the doors extend downward past the floor.  
     
     
         8 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 4  wherein the doors have upper edges and the roof has tracks in which the upper edges slide.  
     
     
         9 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 8  wherein the door upper edges have inwardly angled extensions sliding on the tracks.  
     
     
         10 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 4 , further comprising 
 latch means for arresting the doors relative to the roof and floor.    
     
     
         11 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 10  wherein the latch means seals with the roof.  
     
     
         12 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 2  wherein the roof is formed by a longitudinally extending roof beam.  
     
     
         13 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 12  wherein the roof beam is cambered.  
     
     
         14 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 13  wherein the roof beam is shaped so as to urge the doors into closed positions.  
     
     
         15 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 12  wherein the roof beam is formed with air-flow passages connected to the conditioning means.  
     
     
         16 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 4  wherein the walls each comprise crosswise plastic struts holding the inner and outer skins apart.  
     
     
         17 . The railroad box car defined in  claim 4 , further comprising 
 seals on the end walls, roof, and floor engaging edges of the doors in closed positions thereof.