MXPA97003798A - Railway vagon with lig central weight structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rail freight car, comprising: (a) an elongated body having vertical transverse bulkheads positioned at opposite ends of the body, and including a vertical center beam extending longitudinally to the car between bulkheads, including the central beam; (i) a central spar extending along the length of the body; (ii) an upper rope extending parallel to, and spaced upward from the central spar; ) at each end of the wagon, an elongated diagonal structural member having a first end interconnected with one of the bulkheads at an intermediate height between the central spar and the upper rope, and a second end interconnected with the central spar at a separate location from one of the bulkheads; (b) the central beam has a pair of opposite sides, and the body of the car includes a floor inclined laterally inward of the wall; central beam extending along each of the sides of the

Description

"RAILWAY WAGON WITH LIGHTWEIGHT CENTRAL BEAM STRUCTURE" This application is a continuation in part of the pending U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08 / 655,861, filed May 31, 1996.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to rail freight wagons in particular with wagons of the type incorporating a high central beam structure extending along the length of the wagon body between a pair of bulkheads placed at the ends of the wagon. body of the wagon. The rail cars of the central beam have been used for the last three decades to transport materials such as wood and sheets of construction material, which can be contained in packages of uniform size and shape. These railway wagons have been redesigned repeatedly in an attempt to reduce the tare weight but to nevertheless provide ample resistance to withstand the deadweight landing forces of the load, as well as the dynamic forces produced by the movement of this wagon as a part of the load. of a train. The lighter weight in these wagons advantageously allows the transport of additional revenue load while the loaded wagon remains within the limits of the maximum load that can be imposed on the rails. In addition, a lighter car requires less fuel when it is moving without a load. Several stages of development of these central beam wagons are represented in the prior art patents such as the Agner North American Patent Number 3,734,031, Baker's North American Patent Number 4,543,887, the Harris American Patent et al., No. 4,681,041 and the Patent. North American of Butcher and others Number 4,802,420. The wagons disclosed in these patents all include bulkheads at opposite ends of a wagon body and a longitudinally oriented, vertical center beam including the central stringer of the car body, an upper rope interconnecting the tops of the bulkheads , and a vertical structure that interconnects the central spar with the upper rope along the length of the body of the car. In these previously known central beam wagons, a rigid vertical plate is attached to the bulkhead at each end of the wagon body and extends longitudinally towards the opposite end as part of the central beam. This vertical plate extends across the entire length of the car in the previous central beam car designs, but in the latest central beam designs, portions of the vertical plate are omitted as shown in Baker, Harris Patents and others, and Butcher and others mentioned above. It was still believed that it was necessary to provide at least one short vertical plate, immediately adjacent to the bulkhead, as shown in the Butcher Patent et al., To interconnect the bulkhead with the central beam rigidly and with sufficient strength to transfer the loads from the upper portions of the central beam through the bulkhead towards the center rail of the car, even though the weight of this vertical plate was recognized as imposing a penalty on the load capacity of the car. In the transversely oriented front beam wagons, tapered ascending columns have been placed on top of the transverse structural members of a horizontal deck to hold the charges inclined inward against the structure of the tapered central beam. Sleepers, in the form of individual small pieces of wood called spacer strips, have been placed on top of these risers during the process of loading these wagons, requiring workers to be very close to the bundles or bundles that are being loaded on these wagons, with some risk of damage. further, the loss or lack of an appropriate piece of wood in this tapered ascending column can result in damage to the load. The horizontal floor sheets have been provided between the ascending columns only to hold people. What is desired, then, is an improved central beam car of lighter weight than previously believed to be practical, but which nevertheless has ample resistance to withstand the forces imposed by higher load weights then could be transported safely by previously known wagons. Preferably, this wagon must be capable of accepting loads of irregular length without special measures, and must provide greater safety during loading than the previously known central beam wagons.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The present invention improves the prior art by providing a central beam car built to have ample strength with a lighter weight than previously thought possible. A central beam car according to the present invention includes a central spar extending across the length of the body an upper cord extending parallel and upwardly spaced from the central spar, vertical columns interconnecting the central spar and the upper rope, and a reinforcing member of the structural / elongate bulkhead having one end interconnected with one of the bulkheads at an intermediate height between the central lance and the upper rope and another end interconnected with the central spar in a site separate from that bulkhead. According to another aspect of the invention, a central beam car may include a cover, the top sheet of which is inclined inwardly along each side of the car, preferably oriented so that its top surface is perpendicular to a car. imaginary plane including the closest side of each of the vertical tapered columns of the central beam, and wherein the floor sheet is an integral resistance member carrying load of the cover. In one embodiment of the invention, the lower end of the bulkhead reinforcement member / connects to the center rail of the car adjacent to one of the columns extending upwardly above the location of a truck supporting the car body. . In another embodiment of the invention, a pair of diagonal bulkhead reinforcements extending away from the bulkhead at respective intermediate heights between the upper rope and the central spar extend with one of these diagonal bulkhead reinforcing members extending diagonally upward to the upper rope. and the other extending diagonally down to the center rail of the car body. In one embodiment of the invention, the ends of each reinforcing member of the diagonal bulkhead are fixed to the bulkhead, the upper rope or the central beam, being welded in place between a respective pair of fixing plates. The use of the diagonal structural members as bulkhead reinforcements that interconnect the bulkhead with the center spar or upper rope creates a structural interconnection of the bulkhead with the central spar and the upper beam of the central beam, which provides the necessary strength and rigidity in the body of the wagon in the inclusion of the vertical plate whose weight reduces the potential load carrying capacity of the central beam wagons of the prior art. In one embodiment of the invention, the lower frame on each side of the central beam includes an outwardly facing channel member positioned along the laterally outboard side of the tire and acting as a wagon side rail. The floor sheets are fastened securely on the central spar, and the side spars and transverse structural members of the roof in this embodiment of the invention. One or more channel members of the spacer strips oriented upwards extend longitudinally of the car and are placed between the center spar and the side stringers of the car. These channels of spacer strips are held in the floor sheet that closes each channel to form box beams, and the channels therefore help to support the floor and create an integral roof structure. The objects, features and advantages above and others of the invention will be more easily understood by taking into account the following detailed description of the invention taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a rail car including a lightweight central beam structure and encompassing the present invention.

Figure 2 is a simplified top plan view of a portion of the rail car shown in Figure 1, on an amplified scale. Figure 3 is a somewhat simplified end elevation view of the rail car shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2, showing the configuration of a support of the body, a central column, a transverse carrier of the railway car shown in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a sectional view of a portion of the rail car shown in Figure 1 taken on the line 5-5 . Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a portion of the rail car shown in Figure 1. Figure 7 is a sectional view of a detail of the rail car shown in Figure 1, taken along the line 7. -7 of Figure 6. Figure 8 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the rail car shown in Figure 1 taken along line 8-8 in Figure 7. Figure 9 is a view of section taken on line 9-9 of Figure 2 on an amplified scale.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Figure 5, on an amplified scale. Figure 11 is a detailed view on an enlarged scale, showing a pair of cross diagonal members of the central beam structure of the wagon shown in Figure 1. Figure 12 is a side elevational view of a portion including an end of a railway car which is an alternative embodiment of the present invention. Figure 13 is a side elevation view of a portion including an end of a rail car which is an alternative embodiment of the present invention, shown without a wheeled truck, but with the location of the wheels shown in the broken line . Figure 14 is a top plan view of the portion of a wagon shown in Figure 13. Figure 15 is a bottom plan view of the portion of a wagon shown in Figures 13 and 14, from which the wagon has been omitted. truck with wheels. Figure 16 is a view taken along line 16-16 in Figure 14, showing the structure of the lower car frame shown in Figures 13, 14 and 15.

Figure 17 is a sectional view taken along line 17-17 in Figure 14, showing a transversely extending transverse tie that forms part of the structure of the lower car frame shown in Figures 13 to 16. Figure 18 is a section taken on line 18-18 of Figure 15, at an amplified scale. Figure 19 is a sectional view taken on line 19-19 of Figure 15, on an amplified scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings forming part of the present disclosure in Figure 1, there is a central beam rail freight car 16 which includes a car body 18 having a pair of opposite ends 19. The body 18 of the car is constructed largely of structural steel pipe and rolled steel and is carried on a pair of trucks 20 with conventional wheels, and includes a conventional coupler 22 at each end 19. Customary accessories such as ladders, brake wheels and such as are usually present in a railway car are not shown in Figure 1, for reasons of clarity and simplification. The rail car 16 includes a longitudinally extending longitudinal stringer 24 and a pair of longitudinal side rails 26 extending from the car body 18 to either side of the central stringer 24. A central beam structure 28 extends upwardly above the central beam 24 and extends longitudinally of the car body 18 between a pair of transversely extending, vertical bulkheads 30 placed on the opposite ends 19. Also referring to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5, the transverse bearers 32 extend laterally from the central beam 28 towards the side beams 26 on either side of the central beam 24, at regular intervals along the length of the body 18 of the car, with the exception on the site of each of the trucks 20, wherein a support of the body 34 of more considerable structure extends transversely to either side of the central beam 24 to the respective side beam 26. At the top of the transverse bearers 32 and the supports 34 of the body, there is a floor sheet 36 extending across the length of the car on each side of the central beam 28, closing the spaces between the central spar side beams and interconnecting transverse carriers 32 and supports 34 of the body. The risers 37, which are channels of steel sheet formed with tapered tabs, are placed on top of the sheet 36 of the floor above and aligned with the transverse carriers 32 and the supports 34 of the body. The further risers 37 are positioned at intervals along the length of the car body 18 at locations where there are no transverse carriers 32 or supports 34. These additional riser columns 37 are supported by flat bar reinforcement members (not illutrated) attached to sheet 36 of the floor. The riser columns 37 each provide an upper load bearing surface inclined slightly towards the central beam 28. The bulkheads 30 at the ends 19 of the body 18 of the car are both of similar construction, including a pair of corner post members 38 configured in "Z" that extend vertically from formed plate, each corner post 38 having its end bottom fixed to a respective lateral stringer 26. A formed transverse horizontal steel upper channel member 40 extends between and interconnects the top portions of the corner posts 38. The corner pieces 42 provide reinforcement. A front strip 44 is placed on the inner side of the bulkhead 30, facing the opposite end 19 of the car body 18. A central vertical stiffener 46 is of "T" shape in section, extending from the central beam to a flange of the horizontal channel member 40, with a plate 48 forming the "T" rod welded in and extending vertically to along the outer side of the front sheet 44. A separate rope plate 50 is welded to the plate 48, forming the lid of the "T". The front sheet 44 is reinforced by horizontal stiffener members 52 such as formed channels placed with the legs of the channels abutting against the front sheet 44. The horizontal channel reinforcement members 52 extend over the full width of the bulkhead 30, between the corner posts 38 and are vertically spaced from one another along the front sheet 44 in which they are welded. The recesses for the horizontal stiffeners 52 are provided in the plate 48 of the vertical central stiffener 46 in a "T" shape and the small fill diaphragms 53 of the same thickness as the plate 48 are welded into some of the channels 52, aligned with plate 48, as shown. A vertical triangular corner 54 is placed on the center line of the body of the car, aligned with the stem 48 of the vertical stiffener 46 and extending longitudinally towards the opposite end of the car from an interior portion of each bulkhead 30. The corner 54 is fixed to the upper part of the central stringer 24 to carry the stresses between the base of the bulkhead 30 and the central spar. At the top of each bulkhead 30 an upper cord 56 forming part of the central beam 28 is fixed to a laterally central portion 58 of the upper part of the bulkhead 30. The upper cord 56 has a width 60 of 86.36 centimeters, for example, and extends through the entire length of the car body 18 to the bulkhead 30 at the opposite end 19. The upper cord 56 includes the central member 62, which may be a rectangular steel tube and a pair of longitudinally extending tubular steel side members 64, interconnected with the central member 62 by inclined sheets 66. The transverse members 67, spaced along the length of the upper rope 56 that form laminated steel and include a horizontal transverse portion 68 welded to each of the side members 64, and a vertical transverse portion 70 welded to each of the side members 64 and the inclined sheets 66 of the central member 62.

The central member 62 abuts and remains welded in a flange of the horizontal upper channel 40. Each of the side members 64 extends above the upper channel 40 and is welded to the mounting plate 65 welded, in turn, to the upper channel 40. The inclined sheets 66 are cut out as best shown at 69 in Figure 2, and a pair of triangular corners 63 interconnect the upper part of the central member 62 with the upper part of the horizontal upper channel 40 of the bulkhead 30. Another pair of corner pieces 71 and corners 73 benders connect the two side members 64 to the spacers 65. Interconnecting the central beam 24 with the upper flap 56 there are several vertical center columns including a column formed from sheet 72, which is closer to the bulkhead 30 at each end 19 of the wagon. A somewhat larger column 74 is placed above each body support 34 and can be constructed as a weld of a transverse plate and a pair of longitudinally extending plates, placed in the form of a capital "H" as seen in FIG. section (Figure 5). The various additional small columns 76 are of plate construction formed similar to that of columns 72, and several additional large columns 78 are similar to columns 74. All columns 72, 74, 76 and 78 are tapered from a width 80 plus large to the lower end of each, which is welded to the central freighter 24 to a minimum width at the upper end of each, as will be seen in Figure 4. The upper end of each of the columns 72, 74, 76 and 78 is fixed to the central member 62 of the upper rope 56, preferably by welding a pair of flanges included from each column on the respective sides of the central member 62. The locations of the transverse bearers 32 and supports 34 of the body coincide with the locations of the respective columns 74 and 78, longitudinally spaced from the car body 18 at center-to-center distances, for example, 243.84 centimeters, while the columns 72 and 76 are separated from the nearest column 74 or 78 by a center-to-center distance, for example, of 121.92 centimeters, and are aligned with some respective of the ascending columns 37. Each of the columns 72, 74, 76 and 78 centrals may have a height 82 of 345.44 centimeters, for example, to the bottom of the central member 62 of the upper rope 56. Separated longitudinally along the central beam 28 are the diagonal structural members 84 and 86 each having an inner end secured to a respective column of the central columns 74 and to the central beam 24 by respective pairs of plates 88, 90 of fixing and each having an upper end fixed to a respective column of the central columns and the central member 62 of the upper rope 56 by means of a respective pair of fixing plates 92, 94. The lower end of each of the diagonal members 84 and 86 is closer to the nearer end 19 of the car body than the upper end. The diagonal members 84 and 86 may be of rectangular tubular steel construction, and the diagonal members 84 are larger than the diagonal members 86, in order to carry the larger forces found in their locations. Two of the diagonal members 86 intersect each other in the middle part of the length of the body 18 of the car, where one of the diagonal members 86 interrupts and the two are interconnected by a pair of connection plates 96 shown in greater detail in Figure 11. A central portion of each of the diagonal members 84 and 86 passes through an aperture defined in a respective column of the columns 76, and a strip 97 in the shape of a "V" (or a strip 97). 'as shown in Figure 13) has one leg welded on the respective diagonal member 84 or 86 and another leg welded on the respective column 76, to provide a support measure for the intermediate part of the diagonal member 86 or 84 and yet, to allow for some movement relative to the column 76. At each end of the body 18 of the car, extending between the respective bulkhead 30 and the column 74 positioned above the body support 34, positioned closer to the respective end 19, there is a short diagonal bulkhead reinforcing member 98 best shown in Figure 6. A suitable diagonal bulkhead reinforcement member 98 can be of a rectangular tubular steel material, for example, of 10.16 centimeters by 7.62 centimeters in size, with a wall thickness of 7.94 millimeters. As best seen in Figure 10, the lower end of the diagonal bulkhead reinforcing member 98 is fixed to the upper part of the central beam 24 of the column 74, "in a lower inner corner positioned at the intersection of the column 74 with the central beam 24, by means of a pair of fixing plates 100, one of which is welded to each lateral side of the bulkhead reinforcing member 98. The diagonal bulkhead reinforcing member 98 extends diagonally upwards as part of the beam 28 central, through an aperture defined in the central column 72, the column closest to the bulkhead 30 and its upper end fixed to the bulkhead 30 by welding between a pair of fixing plates 102 extending vertically and longitudinally.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the fixing plates 102 are welded to the front sheet 44 of the bulkhead 30, extending through the slots 103 slightly wider than the thickness of each fixing plate 102, which is defined in FIG. the front sheet 44 A pair of parallel flat back bars 104 are welded along the fixing plates 102 on the opposite outer side of the front sheet 44, where they extend vertically and transversely of the body 18 of the car between the closest channels of the vehicle. the horizontal channels 52 positioned upwards and downwards adjacent to the location of the fixing plates 102. Once the backing bars 104 are in place, the excessive width of the slots 103 is welded flush with the front sheet 44. The additional reinforcing plates 106 are oriented horizontally and extend transversely behind the horizontal channels 52. The reinforcing plates 106 are fixed to the continuous ribbon plate 48 and to the rope plate 50 of the vertical stiffener 46 in a "T" shape by securely interconnecting the upper and lower margins of the vertical reinforcing plates 102 with the vertical stiffener 46. An external vertical margin 108 of each vertical reinforcing plate 102 is also welded on the rope member 50 of the vertical stiffener 46.

The short diagonal bulkhead reinforcement member 98 described above interconnects the bulkhead 30 with the central beam 24 and the column 74 of the central beam 28, combined with the above-described fastening of the base of the bulkhead 30 with the central beam 24 and the side beams 26, and the interconnection of the upper rope 56 with the central portion 58 of the upper part of the bulkhead 30 result in a central beam 28 which is several hundred kilograms lighter than the central beam structure previously used, as result of having no solid vertical plate that fills the space defined between the bulkhead 30 and the nearest central column 72, and between the central beam 24 and the upper rope 56, as was used in the previous central beam railway wagons. A portion of a car body 110 that is another embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 12 in a side elevational view. The car body 110 includes at each end 19 a bulkhead 112 and is generally similar in structure to that of the bulkhead 30. The body 110 of the car includes a central beam 114 similar in most respects to the central beam 28 above. described. The upper rope 56 of the central beam 114 is fixed to the horizontal upper channel 40 of the bulkhead 112 in the car body 18, and the base of the bulkhead 112 is fixed to the central beam 24 and the side beams 26 in the body 18 of the car. The central beam 114 includes a column 72 'closer to the bulkhead 112, and a column 74 positioned above a body support 74 resting on the top of a truck 20. The main difference of the car body 18 is that a pair of short diagonal bulkhead reinforcement members 116 and 118 extend from the respective intermediate heights along the bulkhead 112, as part of the central beam 114. The lower diagonal bulkhead reinforcement 116 extends from a respective pair of fixing plates 120 in the bulkhead 112, to a pair of fixing plates 122 in the lower inner corner formed by the central beam 24 and the column 74. The member 118 diagonal reinforcement of the top bulkhead extends from a respective pair of fixing plates 124 placed on the bulkhead 112, spaced above the fixing plates 120 through a distance established by the locations of two of the horizontal stiffeners 52 of the bulkhead 112, to a respective pair of fixing plates 126 in the upper inner corner defined by the upper rope 56 and the column 74. The horizontal reinforcing plates 132 and 134 correspond to the reinforcing plates 106 of the bulkhead 30. Each of the diagonal braces 116 and 118 extend through a respective opening defined in column 72 '. In a railway loading wagon 140 which is another alternative embodiment of the present invention, a body 142 of the car is generally similar to the body 18 of the car and includes a pair of opposite ends, of which one end 144 is shown in Figure 13. So many of the components of the structure of the car 140 are essentially equal to the corresponding parts of the rail car 16 described above, the same reference numbers as in Figures 13 to 17 being used to identify those parts of the car 140 and those parts will not be described again in detail with respect to the car 140. Therefore, at each of the opposite ends of the car 140 there is a bulkhead 30, and a central beam 146 extends longitudinally of the car 140 along its vertical central plane between the opposite bulkheads. The upper portions of the central beam 146 are similar to those of the central beam 28 described above. At the base of the central beam 146, however, the structure of the loading car 140 differs from that of the car 16 described above. The car 140 includes a central stringer 148 corresponding to the central stringer 24 and extending longitudinally of the car body 142, along a longitudinal central plane of the car body. Extending in parallel with the central beam 148 on each side of the body 142 of the car, there are a pair of symmetrically opposed side beams 150, laterally spaced from the center beam. As can be seen in Figure 16, each lateral beam 150 is modeled as an open channel outwardly of the bent plate having the upper and lower flanges 152, 154 respectively extending laterally outwardly from the vertical ribbon 156. Separated remotely from each end 144 of the body 142 of the car, there is a body support 158 extending transversely between the side beams 150 and each side of the car and interconnecting them with the central beam 148. The body support 158 is of conventional stiffened box beam configuration, with an upper flange 160 abutting against an upper plate 162 of the central beam 148 and a lower flange 164 abutting against a lower plate 166 of the central beam. A pair of parallel vertical ribbons 167 extend laterally, spaced apart several centimeters apart from one another, along the length of the car body. A laterally outer end of the upper flange 160 of the body support 158 abuts the side beam 150 and is aligned with the top flange 152 thereof. The upper flange 160 is inclined downwardly at a small angle 172 below the horizontally extending inwardly from the upper flange 152 towards the upper flange 162 of the central spar 148, so that the upper flange 152 and the flange 160 of the body support 158 are essentially perpendicular to the plane 169 of the external face 168 inclined up and down the corresponding column 74 of the central beam 146, as indicated at 170. As can be seen in Figure 16, when half of a body support 158 is illustrated, the laterally outboard portions of the body support 158 are of lesser depth than the laterally internal portions to provide a clearance to the wheels of a truck (not shown) to hold the associated end of the car body 142. A steel floor sheet 174 of 3.18 millimeters, for example, rests on the upper part of the upper flange 160 of the body support 158 and is therefore also tilted laterally inward from the side beam 150 towards the spar 148 central, and is oriented perpendicular to the imaginary plane 169 established by the external face 168 inclined upwards and inwards of the column 74 above the body support 158 and the coplanar external faces of the columns 72, 74, 76 and 78 of the central beam 146. Placed at regular intervals along the body length 142 of the carriage indications other than those of the body bearings 158, there are several symmetrically opposed pairs of transverse bearers 176 extending transversely of the body of the car on each side, between the central stringer 148 and the side stringers 150. The cross-cutters 176 are "I" shaped cross-section welds that taper from a greater depth adjacent to the central beam 148 to a lesser depth at the outboard end laterally of each transverse bearer 176, where the depth of the The transverse carrier 176 is somewhat smaller than that of the lateral beam 150. An upper flange 178 of each transverse carrier 176 is aligned with the upper flange 162 of the central spar 148, and the upper flange 152 of the lateral spar so that the location of the upper flange 178 corresponds to the location of the upper flange 160 of each body support. The upper flange 178, therefore, slopes slightly downwardly to the central beam 148, and is perpendicular to the plane of the nearest side of the central beam 146 as indicated at 180. A sheet 174 of the floor also rests on the part upper and is welded to the upper flange 178 of each transverse carrier 176. A lower flange 182 of each transverse carrier 176 extends from the continuous belt 156 of the lateral beam 150 to the central beam 148. An end portion 184 of the lower flange 182 extends inwardly from below and is welded to the lower plate 166 of the central beam 148, so as to integrate the structure of the transverse carrier 176 with the central beam 148 and the side beam 150. A diaphragm 186 is placed inside the central beam 148, aligned with the continuous ribbon 188 of the transverse carrier 176. At the locations between the transverse bearers 176 and the body supports 158, which correspond to the locations of the columns 72 and 76 of the central beam 146, there are transverse couplings 189 which also extend between the central beam 148 and the side beam 150 opposite, as shown in Figure 17. Each of the transverse couplings 189 is in the form of a U-shaped vertical channel of 3.18 millimeter rolled steel for example with the upper margins 190 of the vertical side walls 192. of each transverse coupling 189 being aligned with the upper part of the central beam 148 and the upper part of the side beam 150. The upper margins of the transverse couplings 189 are therefore parallel to the upper flanges 160 and 178 of the body supports 158 and the transverse carriers 176 and similarly are perpendicular to the plane 169 of the closest face of the central beam 146 . The lower part of each transverse coupling 189 is also parallel to the upper flanges 160, 178 of the body supports 158 and the transverse carriers 176. The upper margins 190 are configured at the inward end of each transverse coupling 189 to fit below the upper flange 162 of the central beam 148, and are welded therein. The opposite ends of the transverse couplings 189 are respectively welded to the central stringer 148 and the side stringer 150, while the upper margins 190 of the lateral walls 192 of the transverse couplings 189 are welded to the lower part of the strips 174 of the transverse links 189. floor. To provide additional support and stiffness of the floor sheets 174, the channels 194 extend longitudinally of the body 142 of the car, parallel with the central beam 148 and the side beams 150 and spaced in half between them, except in the area adjacent to the body support 158 at each end 144 of the body 142 of the car. Channels 194 can be rolled steel 3.18 millimeters and each channel 194 preferably has a pair of upwardly extending side walls 196 joined by a horizontal base 198. The upper margins 200 of the side walls are welded along their entire lengths with the lower part of the floor sheets 174, which closes the channels to form box beam structures including portions of the floor sheet 174. Each end of each channel 194 is welded on an end plate 195 adjacent to a respective transverse coupling 189 as shown in Figure 18, or to a slightly different end plate 197 adjacent an end rail 199 at an end 144 of the body 142 of the wagon, as shown in Figure 19. Openings are provided in the upper portions of the side walls 196 of the channels to fit closely around the transverse couplings 189 and the margins of these openings are welded to the side walls 192 and to the base of the transverse coupling 189 at each intersection of a transverse coupling 189 with a channel 194.

In the spaces between each body support 158 and the adjacent transverse coupling 189, a pair of shallow channels 202 of a laminated channel material, such as the channel C4 X 8.04 kilograms / meter, extend parallel to each other, the central stringer 148 and side stringers 150, and shallow channels 202, lateral stringer 150 and central stringer 148 are equidistantly spaced apart from each other. Each of these shallow channels 202 is similar in width but less deep than the channels 194, in order to provide ample space for a wheeled truck that supports the wagon through the respective body support. One end of each shallow channel 202 is welded securely to the side wall 192 of a respective coupling of the transverse couplings 189, while the other end is enmeshed and welded to the underside of the upper flange 160 of the body support 158. The upper margins 204 of the shallow channels 202 are welded along their entire lengths with the lower part of the floor sheet 174, which closes the shallow channels 202 forming box beam structures. The cover structure of the wagon body 142 therefore includes the central stringer 148, the side stringers 150, the body supports 158, the transverse bearers 176, the transverse links 189, the channels 194 and 202, the sheet 174 of the floor, all of them welded completely together to form a rigid attached bottom frame. This structure has ample resistance even when it is constructed of lightweight components to carry the loads imposed on the carriage 140 of the central beam during operation as part of a train. In addition, the inwardly inclined orientation of the floor sheets 174, together with the broad support provided by the transverse bearers 176, the transverse couplings 189 and the channels 194 and 202, makes it unnecessary to use spacer strips below the pre-packaged packages or packages. packed cargo. These have the advantage of allowing approximately an additional 2.54 centimeters of cargo height to be loaded on a car whose central beam 146 has the same height as that of the central beam car 16, without extending beyond the available space. The terms and expressions that have been employed in the foregoing specification are used herein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intent in the use of these terms and expressions to exclude equivalents of the particularities shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims that will be given below.

Claims (15)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N E S:

1. A rail freight car comprising: (a) an elongated body having vertical transverse bulkheads positioned at opposite ends of the body and including a longitudinal central beam extending longitudinally of the car between the bulkheads, the central beam includes: ( i) a central spar extending across the length of the body; (ii) a top rope extending parallel and spaced upward from the center beam; and (iii) at each end of the wagon, an elongated diagonal structural member having a first end interconnected with one of the bulkheads at an intermediate height between the central spar and the upper rope, and a second end interconnected with the central spar at a Separate location of one of the bulkheads.

2. The rail freight wagon according to claim 1, wherein the central beam has a pair of opposite sides and the body of the wagon includes a floor inclined laterally inward to the central beam and extending along each side of it.

The railway wagon according to claim 2, wherein the central beam is used from a greater width adjacent to the central beam to a smaller width adjacent to the upper rope and defines a load bearing face inclined inward at each of the opposite sides thereof and wherein the floor extending along each of the opposite sides of the central beam is essentially perpendicular to the load carrying face of a side closest to one of the opposite sides of the central beam.

The railway wagon according to claim 1, which includes a plurality of vertical columns extending from the central spar to the upper rope and spaced one from the other longitudinally of the body, wherein one of the columns together with the The central spar defines an internal base corner and the second end of the diagonal structural member is interconnected with both the central spar and with one of the columns adjacent to the inner base corner.

5. The railway car according to claim 4, wherein the central beam defines a space between the central spar and the upper rope and between one of the bulkheads and a column closer to the vertical columns and is free of any plate longitudinal vertical that essentially fills the space between the central spar and the upper rope, between one of the bulkheads in the column closest to the vertical columns.

The railway wagon according to claim 1, further comprising as part of the central beam, a second elongated diagonal structural member having a first end thereof interconnected with one of the bulkheads, at an intermediate height between the stringer central and the upper rope, and a second end thereof interconnected with the upper rope in a separate location from one of the bulkheads.

7. The railway car according to claim 6, which includes a plurality of vertical columns extending from the central spar to the upper rope and spaced one from the other longitudinally of the body, wherein one of the columns together with the upper cord, defines an upper inner corner and wherein the second elongated diagonal structural member is interconnected with both the upper cord and one of the columns adjacent to the upper inner corner.

8. The railway wagon according to claim 1, including a pair of longitudinal side rails extending longitudinally of the body of the wagon, wherein each of the bulkheads includes a plurality of vertically separated transverse stiffening members and a vertical stiffening member positioned centrally, the elongated diagonal structural member is interconnected with the vertical stiffening member through a connecting plate.

9. The railway car according to claim 1, which includes a pair of trucks longitudinally separated along the body of the car, each truck is separated inward from a respective end of said ends, the central beam includes a vertical column placed above one of the rails and the The second end of the elongated diagonal structural member is interconnected with the central beam and the vertical column above one of the trucks.

10. A rail freight car comprising: (a) an elongate body having a vertical transverse bulkhead positioned on each of a pair of opposite ends of the body; (b) a vertical central beam extending longitudinally of the car between the bulkheads, the central beam has a pair of opposite sides; and (c) a load bearing floor laterally inwardly inclined to the central beam along each of the sides thereof.

The railway wagon according to claim 10, wherein the central beam is tapered from a greater width adjacent the central spar to a smaller width adjacent to the upper rope and defines a load bearing face inclined inward at each one of the opposite sides thereof, and wherein each of the floors is essentially perpendicular to the load carrying face of a side closest to one of the sides of the central beam.

The railway wagon according to claim 10, including the center beam a center spar, and the wagon including a pair of side spars spaced from the center spar, each side spar extends longitudinally of the wagon in a separate location from and in parallel to the respective side of the central spar; a plurality of transverse bearers each extending transversely of the car between the central beam and one of the side beams, each of the transverse bearers has an upper flange inclined towards the central beam; a floor sheet includes part of the load-bearing floor; and a channel fixed to the floor sheet, placed between the central spar and one of the side beams and extending longitudinally of the car between adjacent transverse bearers.

The rail car according to claim 12, wherein the side rail is a channel having an upper flange extending outwardly in a location substantially aligned with the floor sheet.

The railway wagon according to claim 12, wherein the channel is "U" shaped in cross section and has a width and a depth that is greater than the width, the channel includes a pair of side walls each one having a top margin fixed to the floor sheet.

15. The railway wagon according to claim 12, wherein the floor sheet extends from the side rail to the center rail and is welded to the central rail, the channel, one of the respective side beams and the transverse carrier. , whereby the load bearing floor including the floor sheet is unified.