Auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system

Abstract

An auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system which reduces or eliminates damage to the front and rear ends of the vehicles which can occur while the vehicles are being loaded in an auto-rack car. In one embodiment, the auto-rack car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system includes a plurality of vehicle positioning devices mountable in the auto-rack car to enable a loader to determine the distance between the vehicle the loader is driving and the vehicle positioned in front of the vehicle the loader is driving, and to enable the loader to see the position of the tires relative to a grating in the auto-rack car on which the tire is positioned.

1 . An auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system for an auto-rack railroad car, said auto-rack railroad car having a frame supporting a right side wall, a left side wall, and a roof, each of said side walls including a series of posts which support side wall panels, said auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage system comprising:
 a plurality of right side vehicle positioning devices, each right side vehicle positioning device including:
 a mounting member attachable to the right side wall, 
 a tire viewing member connected to and extending from the mounting member, and 
 a bumper viewing member connected to and extending from the tire viewing member; and 
   a plurality of left side vehicle positioning devices, each left side vehicle positioning device including:
 a mounting member attachable to the left side wall, 
 a tire viewing member connected to and extending from the mounting member, and 
 a bumper viewing member connected to and extending from the tire viewing member. 
   
   
   
       2 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting members of the right side vehicle positioning devices and the mounting members of the left side vehicle positioning devices are each elongated. 
   
   
       3 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the tire viewing members of the right side vehicle positioning devices and the tire viewing members of the left side vehicle positioning devices are each elongated. 
   
   
       4 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , where the bumper viewing members of the right side vehicle positioning devices and the bumper viewing members of the left side vehicle positioning devices are each elongated. 
   
   
       5 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting members of the right side vehicle positioning devices, the mounting members of the left side vehicle positioning devices, the tire viewing members of the right side vehicle positioning devices, the tire viewing members of the left side vehicle positioning devices, the bumper viewing members of the right side vehicle positioning devices, and the bumper viewing members of the left side vehicle positioning devices are each elongated. 
   
   
       6 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the right side vehicle positioning devices and the left side vehicle positioning devices are each elongated. 
   
   
       7 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the tire viewing members of the right side vehicle positioning devices and the tire viewing members of the left side vehicle positioning devices are each convex. 
   
   
       8 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the bumper viewing members of the right side vehicle positioning devices and the bumper viewing members of the left side vehicle positioning devices are each convex. 
   
   
       9 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein at least two of the right side vehicle positioning devices are different, and wherein at least two of the left side vehicle positioning devices are different. 
   
   
       10 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting base of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is semicircular, and wherein the mounting base of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is semicircular. 
   
   
       11 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 10 , wherein the tire viewing member of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is curved, and wherein the tire viewing member of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is curved. 
   
   
       13 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 10 , wherein the bumper viewing member of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is curved, and wherein the bumper viewing member of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is curved. 
   
   
       14 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting base of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is semicircular, the mounting base of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is semicircular, the tire viewing member of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is curved, the tire viewing member of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is curved, the bumper viewing member of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is curved, and the bumper viewing member of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is curved. 
   
   
       15 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein the tire viewing member of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is convex, the tire viewing member of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is convex, the bumper viewing member of each of the right side vehicle positioning devices is convex, the bumper viewing member of each of the left side vehicle positioning devices is convex, and wherein each right side vehicle positioning device includes a closure member connected to the mounting member and bumper viewing member of said right side vehicle positioning device, and each left side vehicle positioning device includes a closure member connected to the mounting member and bumper viewing member of said left side vehicle positioning device. 
   
   
       16 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning and damage prevention system of  claim 1 , wherein each right side vehicle positioning device includes a closure member connected to the mounting member and bumper viewing member of said right side vehicle positioning device, and each left side vehicle positioning device includes a closure member connected to the mounting member and bumper viewing member of said left side vehicle positioning device. 
   
   
       17 . An auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning device for a vehicle positioning and damage prevention system for an auto-rack railroad car, said vehicle positioning device comprising:
 a mounting member attachable to a side wall of the auto-rack railroad car;   a tire viewing member connected to and extending from the mounting member;   a bumper viewing member connected to and extending from the tire viewing member; and   a closure member connected to the mounting member and bumper viewing member.   
   
   
       18 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning device of  claim 17 , wherein the mounting member, the tire viewing member, the bumper viewing member, and the closure member are integrally formed. 
   
   
       19 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning device of  claim 18 , which is formed from a clear plastic material. 
   
   
       20 . The auto-rack railroad car vehicle positioning device of  claim 19 , wherein a back surface of the tire viewing member and a back surface of the bumper viewing member have a mirrored coating.