Railroad coil car structure

Abstract

A transverse trough coil car has a straight-through center sill. It has a pair of truck centers. It has a set of trough slope sheet assemblies mounted to the center sill between a pair of side sills. The slope sheet assemblies include intermediate slope sheet assemblies that are pin-jointed connected to the center sill. The pin joint connection has a tongue and clevis form that is aligned with the webs of the center sill. The car may have stub bolsters that are surmounted by pre-fabricated trough assemblies that mate with the stub bolsters and extend to the side sills.

1 - 36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . A transverse trough coil car having a stub bolster and a first transverse trough mounted across said coil car, a portion of said first transverse trough being located above said stub bolster, said transverse trough defining a bolster extension extending laterally across said car outboard of said stub bolster. 
     
     
         38 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  wherein said stub bolster has a side bearing mount, and said stub bolster is truncated outboard of the side bearing mount. 
     
     
         39 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  wherein said first transverse trough is centered on said stub bolster. 
     
     
         40 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  wherein said stub bolster includes a bottom flange and a web upstanding from said bottom flange; said transverse trough has a trough bottom and first and second slope sheets; said first and second slope sheets being inclined and extending upwardly away from said trough bottom; and said trough bottom being mounted to said web of said stub bolster to define a top flange of said stub bolster. 
     
     
         41 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 40  wherein said coil car has first and second spaced apart side sills; and said trough bottom and said first and second slope sheets of said first trough continue outboard beyond said stub bolster to mate with said side sills. 
     
     
         42 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  wherein said coil car has a straight-through center sill, said center sill having a first truck center and a second truck center distant therefrom; said center sill has a broadened top cover plate at said first truck center; said stub bolster extends laterally away from said center sill at said first truck center; said stub bolster includes a bottom flange and a pair of first and second spaced apart webs upstanding from said bottom flange; said transverse trough has a trough bottom and first and second slope sheets; said first and second slope sheets being inclined and extending upwardly away from said trough bottom; and trough bottom being mounted to said pair of first and second webs of said stub bolster to define a top flange of said stub bolster; and said trough bottom being welded to said widened portion of said top cover plate of said center sill at said truck center. 
     
     
         43 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  including said first transverse trough, said first transverse trough having a pair of first and second opposed slope sheets that, in use, co-operate to define a cradle in which to receive lading; and first and second trough peaks mounted to either side of said first transverse trough, said trough peaks having respective skirts oriented to face toward said first trough; and said slope sheets being free of a shear connection to said respective skirts. 
     
     
         44 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 43  wherein said skirts of said trough peaks are more steeply inclined than said slope sheets. 
     
     
         45 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  wherein said coil car has a straight-through center sill. 
     
     
         46 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 45  wherein said center sill has a planar top cover plate. 
     
     
         47 . The railroad coil car of  claim 37  wherein said transverse trough coil car has a fish belly center sill. 
     
     
         48 . The transverse trough coil car of  claim 37  wherein said transverse trough coil car has:
 a pair of truck centers and a straight-through center sill; 
 a set of transverse troughs that includes at least said first transverse trough and a second transverse trough; 
 an intermediate slope sheet assembly defining a first slope sheet of said first transverse trough and a first slope sheet of said second transverse trough; and 
 said intermediate slope sheet assembly being pin-joint connected to said straight-through center sill. 
 
     
     
         49 . The railroad coil car of  claim 48  wherein said center sill has a top cover plate and said pin-joint connection has a root having web continuity through said center sill top cover plate. 
     
     
         50 . The railroad coil car of  claim 48  wherein said first slope sheet of said first trough is pin-jointed to both said center sill and pin-joint connected to a first trough peak. 
     
     
         51 . The railroad coil car of  claim 48  wherein said center sill has one of (a) a clevis;
 and (b) a tongue; and said first slope sheet has the other of (a) a tongue and (b) a clevis, and the respective tongue and clevis are connected by a pin to define said pin joint. 
 
     
     
         52 . The railroad car of  claim 48  wherein said intermediate slope sheet assembly includes at least one A-frame structure having a pair of first and second legs, each of said first and second legs having a foot that is pin-joint connected to said straight-through center sill. 
     
     
         53 . The railroad coil car of  claim 52  wherein said intermediate slope sheet assembly has two of said A-frame structures, a first of said A-frame structures being aligned with a first web of said center sill, and a second of said A-Frame structures being aligned with a second web of said center sill spaced apart from said first web. 
     
     
         54 . The railroad coil car of  claim 52  wherein said intermediate slope sheet assembly includes a head frame member, and said first and second legs of said at least one A-frame have uppermost ends connected to said head frame. 
     
     
         55 . The railroad coil car of  claim 37  wherein said first slope sheet has at least a first lateral reinforcement, said first lateral reinforcement having a termination at a side sill of said coil car; and said reinforcement having a cuff rigidly connected to said side sill, said cuff being adjustable on fit-up during assembly, and said cuff being rigidly fixed to said reinforcement on assembly. 
     
     
         56 . The railroad coil car of  claim 48  wherein said first slope sheet has at least a first lateral reinforcement and a second lateral reinforcement extending cross-wise behind said slope sheet; said first lateral reinforcement being a lower reinforcement and said second lateral reinforcement being an upper reinforcement; and said upper reinforcement has a different cross-section from said lower reinforcement. 
     
     
         57 . The railroad coil car of  claim 56  wherein said upper reinforcement has at least one of: (a) a greater second moment of area in bending perpendicular to said first slope sheet than has said lower reinforcement; (b) a greater sectional thickness than said lower reinforcement; and (c) a greater weight of metal per lineal unit of run than said lower reinforcement. 
     
     
         58 . The railroad coil car of  claim 56  wherein said upper reinforcement is a channel section having parallel legs; said lower reinforcement is a channel section having splayed legs; and said upper reinforcement has a greater flexural modulus, EI, than has said lower reinforcement. 
     
     
         59 . The railroad coil car of  claim 48  wherein said intermediate slope sheet assembly has end cap plates, and said end cap plates are welded to side sills of said coil car.