CA1127563A - Multiple truck freight car handbrake arrangement for a railway car assembly composed of a series of articulately interconnected cars - Google Patents

Abstract

MULTIPLE TRUCK FREIGHT CAR HANDBRAKE
ARRANGEMENT FOR A RAILWAY CAR ASSEMBLY
COMPOSED OF A SERIES OF ARTICULATELY
INTERCONNECTED CARS (CASE CWU/15825 Abstract of the Disclosure A handbrake arrangement for railroad freight cars is disclosed that will connect a mechanical hand-brake operating mechanism to the brake equipment (brake beams and brake shoes) on 2, 3, or more trucks on the same freight car. It is especially useful on articu-lated freight cars consisting of multiple units in order to satisfy handbrake power requirements required by industry and Federal regulations, but a similar arrangement may be used on special purpose cars having a multiplicity of trucks. On an articulated car, consisting of a number of units, there is a multiplicity of trucks and because of the size and weight characteris-tics of the car, it is desirable to connect the hand-brake mechanism to a number of the trucks in order to provide adequate handbrake power. A relatively simple mechanical handbrake mechanism for providing adequate braking power to a series of lightweight short articu-lated interconnected cars (of the kind disclosed in Adams et al (U.S. Patent No. 4,233,909 issued November 18, 1980) consists of a series of rods, levers, and slack adjusters interconnecting two or more trucks to the handbrake operating mechanism.

Description

llZ75~,3 The multiple truck freight car handbrake arrangement of the present invention is preferably applied to a series of relatively lightweight, short, articulately interconnected cars for transporting trailers or other cargo containers on a railway. The interior cars of the series include a center sill which constitutes a narrow width underframe and a length substantially equal to the length of a car, a pair of end sills connected perpendicularly to the center sill at opposite ends thereof and having a width extending beyond each side of the center sill, support members interconnecting the ends of the end sills with the center sill, and male and female portions of an articulated connector respectively attached to each end of a car. End cars have one end constructed similarly, but are provided with conventional semi-automatic couplings on the other end in place of a portion of the articulated connector. The articulated connectors are mounted on a single conventional rail-way truck which spans the adjacent ends of interconnected cars and further supports the support members. Special configurations of the cars are provided for use in a trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) and container-on-flatcar ~COFC) environments. Examples of these special con-figurations are disclosed in Adams et al (~.S. Patent No. 4,233,909 issued November 18, 1980).
GENERAL BACKGRO~ND OF THE INVENTION

As described in the Adams et al ~atent referred to ahove, the sharply increased cost of locomotive fuel in the past several years has caused ~ - 2 -'S~3 increased efforts in the railroad industry to reduce tare weight of rolling stock, since fuel consumption is related to the gross weight of the shipment (train plus cargo). While reduced weight is an important consideration in any type of shipment, it is especially important in piggyback (highway trailer or container carried on a flatcar, hereinafter TOFC and COFC, respectively) shipments, where the tare weight of the trailer or container is in addition to the tare weight of the flatcar. This "double tare" weight handicaps the rail mode of transportation in its competitive position vis-a-vis highway transportation for con-tainerized cargo, even though the latter is generally considered to be less efficient in its use of fuel.
Piggyback traffic is generally carried on flatcars of 85 to 89 feet, 4 inches in length. These cars can readily handle two trailers or containers 40 feet long or less; however, in recent years, the 45-foot highway trailer has come into popular use and presently constitutes a large percentage of the total production of highway trailers. Two 45-foot trailers cannot be carried on an 89-foot flatcar, and so it often happens that only one 45-foot trailer is carried on an 89-foot car, thereby further reducing the fuel efficiency of the operation.
The construction of longer cars to accommo-date two 45-foot trailers or containers to remedy this problem is impossible because the railroad industry through its industry association, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), has placed a length limit llZ756i3 of 89 feet, 4 inches on any cars constructed in the future. This length restriction is necessary because of operating problems inherent in long cars having long end overhang (beyond the railway trucks). Typically, the cars tend to pull off curves in conditions of heavy pull and to jack-knife under heavy buff forces.
Additionally, the geometry of long cars causes them to track poorly, and with the long end overhang there is a tendency for the air hose connections between cars to separate in operation and cause an emergency appli-cation of the train air brakes. Still further, long cars must he made quite heavy in order to support the carried weight which is concentrated at the center of the car where the adjacent ends of the two containers or trailers are supported, thereby adding further construction expense and burdens to the pulling equip-ment. The arrangements described and claimed in the aforesaid Adams et al patent go far in overcoming bulk cargo transportation problems of the kind referred to above. However, ordinary car braking arrangements of the kinds heretofore known in the prior art still leave much to be desired as regards safe and effective braking means for the articulately interconnected cars of the kind described in the aforesaid Adams et al patent -- and especially with increasing numbers of cars and therefore longer trains.

Accordingly, the present invention improves the efficiency and safety of the braking means for such piggyback equipment by providing a unique multiple truck handbrake equipment r .

llZ7563 for a railway car assembly for transporting a number of trailers or containers. The invention also provides an effective handhrake means for a railway car assembly of the piggyback variety for carrying variously sized trailers or containers and a railway car assembly of the piggyback variety having improved handbrake operating characteristlcs.
Still further and other advantages of the in-vention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
.
The foregoing and other objects of the invention are achieved by applying to a railway car assembly, especially of the kind described in the aforesaid Adams et al U.S. Patent No. 4,233,909, a novel handbrake arrangement of the kind more fully described in detail hereinafter. Before proceeding to that detail, however, the railway car assembly itself will first be described as background for showing how the novel handbrake arrange-ment is to be applied.
The railway car assembly comprises a series of specially designed short skeleton cars semi-permanently connected with an articulated connector. The articulated connector has a male portion attached to one end of the individual car units, which mates with a female portion attached to the end of an adjacent ';''`: '`'~

llZ7Sf~;~

car unit. The female portion of the connector also has a male center plate cast integrally therewith which mates into the center bowl of a conventional freight car truck bolster, through which the car weight is carried into the car truck. The car truck is located so as to span adjacent ends of the inter-connected cars, i.e., is common to two adjacent cars.
; The outer end of the outer car units in the series is carried by a single axle or conventional twin axle truck in a manner similar to conventional rail freight equipment. A conventional freight car semi-automatic coupler is used at the outer end of the end car units for interconnecting the series of cars with conventional railway equipment, and conventional or end-of-car cushioning devices may be used in combination therewith.
Any number of individual car units may be semi-permanently connected together, although a practi-cal limit for reasons of maintenance, truck capacity, etc., is of the order of six to twelve individual car units per semi-permanently connected section of cars.
Individual car units are constructed with a center sill extending substantially the entire length of a car. Opposite ends of the center sill are attached to respective end sills perpendicularly disposed to the center sill, the end sills having a width extend-ing symmetrically beyond either side of the center sill. Support elements such as arms or gussets inter-connect the ends of the end sills with the center sill. The support elements are designed to rest on 11275~,3 support bearings affixed to the specially modified bolster of a common truck interconnecting two adjacent car units or to support bearings affixed to the end truck in the case of an end car unit.
The length of the individual articulated car units is just over that of a typical carried trailer or container, e.g., 40 feet or 45 feet. As a result, the weight of the piggyback shipment is concentrated over the railway trucks at the ends of the cars, thus obviating the need for a heavy underframe to support the vertical load and eonsiderably reducing ear weight.
Cars of differing length, e.g., 40 feet or 45 feet, ean be mixed together in the railway ear assembly.
Further, by doing away with the eonventional ear deek and merely supplying a short platform at one end of the ear units to earry the trailer bogie in a trailer-on-flatear (TOFC) use or by affixing transverse bolsters to support the eontainer ends in a eontainer-on-flatear (COFC) use, additional weight is eliminated.
An adjustable saddle type platform for earrying a trailer bogie may also be substituted for a fixed platform to aeeommodate trailers of varying lengths.
Conventional eushioning deviees sueh as pneumatie eushions or draft gears are eliminated at the artieulated eonneetions, and the so-ealled low-deek (28" diameter wheel) freight-ear truek is used to further reduee ear height and weight.
~hen the cars are adapted to handle trailer shipments, i.e., TOFC environment, the conventional trailer hitch is placed as near to the end of the car ~lZ75~;3 units as possible, which permits the end of the trailer to overhang the next car unit (the trailer king pin being normally located 36 inches back from the front of the trailer). sy so doing, the rear platfor~ for carrying the trailer bogie is located ahead of the railway truck at the end of a car. At this location, the trailer bogie platform may be placed at a height below that of the railway truck wheels. In one embodi-ment of the car, the platform is located 26 inches above a rail, which is approximately 16 inches below the deck height of a conventional flatcar. This construction permits a lowered profile for the carried trailers and reduces the air resistance of the car and lading thereby further reducing the consumption of fuel. The lowered height of the trailer also results in a lower overall center of gravity, with resulting improvement in dynamic operating characteristics.
The car units may be of a length which permits only a small gap (approximately 10") to exist between the piggyback shipments thereby further re-ducing air resistance and resulting in a further fuel savings. This reduced gap between adjacent trailers and containers also tends to reduce pilferage while the shipment is en route, since it is impossible to open the end door and remove lading in such a narrow space.
The length of the overhang beyond a railway ; truck center at the outer ends of the end car units is minimal and is generally less than half that of the conventional 89-foot flatcar. There is no overhang at llZ7563 the semi-permanent articulated intermediate connections, i.e., the end of the car unit and the center of the articulated connector are at a coincident location.
The improved riding qualities of the articu-lated equipment and the absence of severe lateral truck movement eliminates air hose separations occasional-ly experienced at high speeds in the operation of conventional piggyback flatcar equipment.
In a train of ten 10-articulated-car units, there will be only eleven air hose connections between the locomotive, car sections and caboose car. This compares to fifty-one air hose connections in a train of conventional 89-foot piggyback equipment having the ability to also carry one hundred trailers (the latter in 40' lengths on conventional equipment).
The foregoing description of the articulately interconnected car construction and arrangement is taken largely from the aforesaid Adams et al . . _ . . ..
patent. The novel handbrake arrangement of the present invention as applied to such an articulately interconnected car construction and arrangement will now be first broadly and later more particularly descrihed.
The handbrake arran~ement of the present invention connects a mechanical handbrake operating mechanism to the brake equipment (brake beams and brake shoes) on 2, 3, or more trucks on the same freight car. It is intended primarily for use on articulated interconnected freight cars consisting of ~ _ 9 _ llZ7563 multiple units in order to satisfy handbrake power requirements required by industry and Federal regula-tions, but a similar arrangement may be used on other special purpose cars having a multiplicity of trucks.
On a conventional freight car that has only two trucks, the handbrake operating mechanism may be connected to one or both of the trucks to provide the required braking power. On an articulated interconnect-ed freight car consisting of a number of units, there is a multiplicity of trucks and because of the size and weight characteristics of the car, it is necessary to connect the handbrake mechanism to a number of the trucks in order to provide adequate handbrake power from the point of view of safety and effectiveness.
The present relatively simple mechanical handbrake for providing adequate braking power to a series of lightweight relatively short articulated interconnected cars consists of a series of rods, levers, and slack adjusters interconnecting two or more trucks to the handbrake operating mechanism. The handbrake operating mechanism is connected to the brakes on the second, third and fourth trucks from the handbrake end (B-end) of the articulated car. It is not intended to limit to three the number of trucks whose brakes are connected to the handbrake operating mechanism, since the arrangement may readily be extend-ed to a greater number of trucks if greater braking power is required. In the case of the particular ar-ticulated car shown and described herein (and in the aforesaid Adams et al patent) by way of example, 1127S6~

braking power meeting all normal safety requirements is derived by connecting the handbrake operating mechanism to three trucks.
Additional advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF_ THE DRAWINGS
Figure lA illustrates in top plan view the end (the "B-end") of one of the end cars of the articu-lately interconnected cars to which the handbrake arrangement of the present invention is applied.
Figure lB illustrates in top plan view a railway truck which bridges and supports adjacent ends of two cars connected with an articulated connector, and showing the handbrake arrangement.
Figure lC illustrates in top plan view, partly in section, a center sill showing a conventional automatic slack adjuster to compensate for brake shoe wear and to maintain proper brake shoe clearance.
Figure lD illustrates in top plan view the final pair of interconnected cars with their brake rod connections, which in this particular instance for purposes of illustration is the fourth truck from the B-end.
Figure 2A illustrates in side elevational view the B-end car illustrated in Figure lA.
Figure 2B is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Figure lB.

7S~3 Figure 2C iS a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Figure lC.
Figure 2D is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Figure lD.
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the "s" car shown in Figures lA and 2A.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4...4 of Figure lB.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5... 5 of Figure lB.
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6...6 of Figure lC.
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7...7 of Figure lC.
Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the air brake compressive force isolating link, along the ; line 8... 8 of Figure lC.
Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 9...9 of Figure lD.
Figure 10 is a schematic drawing showing the various connections and mode of operation of the entire "train" of rods, levers, etc., by which the actuation of the brakes is effected.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The handbrake end (the "s-end") of the end car of a typical railway car assembly to which the present invention is preferably applied is illustrated in Figure lA. This end car is provided with a con-ventional semi-automatic coupler 10 and a truck 12 carrying a body bolster 14 between frames 16 and 18 llZ~S~

for supportlng the center sill 20. A safety platform 22 is supported by a suitable frame 24. A body bolster 26 spans the width of the truck 12 just inboard of the safety platform 22.
The end of the car is provided with a con-ventional handbrake, including wheel 30, which is mounted to one side of the center sill 20 and just above the safety platform 22 (see Figures 2A and 3).
The handbrake is mounted in a vertical bracket 32 and is provided with an enlarged portion or hub (not -shown) around which the handbrake chain 34 is wrapped and securely fastened in conventional manner, so that upon rotation of the handbrake wheel 30 in a clockwise direction (as shown in Figure 3) tension forces are applied to the chain 34. The chain 34 passes around a sheave wheel 36 and connects to a horizontal brake rod 38 through a conventional clevis 40. The brake rod 38 passes through and is supported by a series of brackets 42 located at suitably spaced points along the center sill and welded or otherwise secured to the center sill 20. These brackets 42 permit the brake rod 38 to move freely in a horizontal direction when the hand-brake wheel 30 is actuated.
Turning now to Figure lB, 50 denotes a railway truck that bridges and supports adjacent ends of two cars connected with an articulated connector, and shows the handbrake arrangement by which the braking force is applied to the wheels 52 of truck 50.
The intermediate cars are provided on opposite ends with a male portion 54b and a female portion 54a llZ751~3 of an articulated car coupling 54. The center sills 20 are provided with support gussets 56 which in turn are supported on side support bearings (not shown) which are mounted on the truck 50.
The articulated connector 54 is of con-ventional design and arrangement and is illustrated in detail in U. S. Patent No. 3,646,604 to which reference may be made. Pin 60 locks the male and female portions of the connector together. Trailer loading platforms or bogie supports 64 are attached to the end of the center sill 20 via cross bearing members 66.
Figure lC illustrates in top plan view the center sill 20 and a conventional automatic slack adjuster to compensate for brake shoe and wheel wear and to maintain proper brake shoe clearance. The automatic slack adjuster is operationally disposed between sections of the brake rod 38 as shown in this figure. The automatic slack adjuster takes up the slack in the brake gear between the actuating end and the brake shoe resulting from wear of the brake shoe and other cooperating parts so that maximum effective-ness of braking can be achieved at all times despite such wear. Conventional devices of this kind are well known and are illustrated in, e.g., the "Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice", 2nd Edition, 1970, published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, New York City, at pages 696 et seq.
The horizontal handbrake rod 38 is connected by a suitable pin 72 to a transverse horizontal lever 74 that is positioned in openings 76 and 78 provided l~Z751Ei3 in the center sill 20. The other end of the lever 74 is connected hy a pin 80 to a brake rod 38 on the other side of the center sill 20 which actuates the brakes on the truck to the right of the position shown in Figure lC. As shown in Figure 8, the connection between the upper end (as shown in Figure lC) of the horizontal lever 74 and the brake rod 38 is via a compressive force isolating link 81 which is loosely linked between the clevises 81a and 81b so that the actuation of the handbrake arrangement of the present invention is made independent of the actuation of the conventional train airbrakes. It will be evident that by virtue of the interposition of the loose link 81 only tension forces can be transmitted through the elements 81, 81a and 81b. One end (a control rod or sensing element) of the automatic slack adjuster 70 is attached by a pin 82 to approximately the center of a companion lever 83 (see Figure 6) of the lever 74, the other end of the slack adjuster 70 being attached via pin 84 at approximately the center of another transverse horizontal lever 86 extending through openings 88 and 90 in the center sill 20. The upper end of the lever 86 (as viewed in Figure lC) is fixed by pin 92 which is attached to the supporting frame 94 secured to the center sill 20 such as by welding, whereby the lever 86 has a fixed fulcrum point at the center of the pin 92. The automatic slack adjuster proper is also attached to approximately the center of lever 74 via pin 85.

~lZ~75~3 At -the bottom of levex ~6 (as viewed in Figure lC), i.e., the other end of lever 86, a relative~
ly short horizontal rod 98 connects the transverse horizontal levers 86 and 74 via pivot pins 100 and 102, respectively. The rod 98 is supported in bracket 104 attached to the center sill 20 in such fashion that the rod 98 can readily move horizontally and thereby assist in the control function of the automatic slack adjuster. Also pinned via pin 100 to the horizontal lever 86 is the horizontal rod 38 which continues on - along the side of the center sill 20 to the left as shown in Figure lC. The function of the conventional automatic slack adjuster 70, which is disposed between the two actuating levers 86 and 74, is to automatically compensate for wear between the brake shoe and the car wheels thereby insuring even application of braking throughout the entire series of cars, despite wear with time.
Figure lD is a top plan view similar to that of Figure lB except that in Figure lD the last pair of interconnected cars to which the handbrake attachment of the present invention is employed is illustrated.
As shown in Figure lD (and also in Figure 2D
which is a side elevational view of Figure lD) the brake rod 38 is attached by a pin and clevis arrange-ment 110 to the top of the brake beam or truck vertical lever 112 for actuating the brake beam and applying the brake shoes against the wheels of the car. The lower end of the brake beam or truck vertical lever 112 is attached via pin 114 to a short rod 116 which ~lZ'^~56~

in turn is attached via pin 118 to the lower end of a cooperating brake beam or truck vertical lever 120 on the next following car. Attached to the truck vertical lever 112 near its lower end by a pin 122 is a con-ventional connection to the brake beam-brake shoe combination 124, a similar pin 126 serving to connect a similar brake heam-brake shoe combination 128 near the lower end of the opposing truck vertical lever 120. The upper end of the truck vertical lever 120 is connected by a pin and clevis arrangement 129 to a relatively short rod 130 which by a suitable pin and clevis arrangement 132 is attached to a fixed bracket 134 securely affixed to the center sill 20 to provide a fixed dead lever point to enable actuation of the brake 124 and 128 to be effected.
Thus referring to Figure 2D it will be apparent that upon movement of the brake rod 38 to the right (as shown in that figure) the brake beam-brake shoe combination 124 will be forced against the car wheel 52 and the lower part of the vertical lever 114 will transmit a force to the left (as shown in Figure 2D) which actuates the truck vertical lever 120 to move the brake beam-brake shoe combination 128 against its wheel 52, the truck vertical lever 120 moving in a clockwise direction about its upper end as a fulcrum point under the constraint of the rod 130, pin 132, and fixed dead lever point 134.
Figure 2s is a view similar to Figure 2D
except that in Figure 2B the brake beam-brake shoe actuation is shown on the far side of the center sill, 11~75~j3 the main brake rod 38 being connected across the gap between the two adjacent cars by a shorter rod 140 and clevises 142 and 144. It will be noted in Figure 2B
(and Figure lB) elements 130a, 132a and 134a are similar to and perform the same function as elements 130, 132 and 134 in Figure 2D.
A force diagram of the brake arrangement on the presen-t invention is shown in Figure 10. In that figure the various letters have the following meanings:
A - Fixed dead lever point;
B - Fixed fulcrum point;
C - Brake beam or truck vertical lever;
D - Horizontal lever through center sil l;
E - Connecting rod--slack adjuster may be used in place of an ordinary rod;
F - Brake shoe on brake beam;
G - Longitudinal (horizontal) handbrake rods;
HB - Handhrake operating mechanism.
As shown by this drawing, the handbrake operating mechanism HB is connected to the brakes on the second, third and fourth trucks from the handbrake end (the B
end) of the articulated car. The handbrake take-up chain connects to the horizontal rod through the clevis connection described earlier, the horizontal handbrake rods Gl, G2 and G3 running parallel to the center sill on the end unit of the articulated car, passing over the truck No. 2 bolster and connecting to llZ~

a horizontal lever Dl that passes through the center sill in the second unit from the car end.
The horizontal rod on the opposite side connects to the conventional vertica] truck brake vertical lever C already described. This in turn connects to its opposite vertical brake beam C via the lower (horizon-tal) rod between the vertical brake beams, thus allowing the handbrake to apply braking force to the second truck. When the handbrake is applied the rod Gl is moved (to the right in Figure 10) and therefore through the linkages shown forces the brake shoes F against the car wheels, the fixed dead lever point A providing the necessary anchorage to the car itself via the center sill.
The linkage at El (which may include the conventional automatic slack adjuster) connects to a second horizontal lever D2 that passes through the car center sill and is attached to a pinned fulcrum point B. Lever D2 transfers the handbrake operating force via the horizontal operating rod G2 that runs parallel to the center sill of the second unit from the end, and which passes over the No. 3 truck bolster and connects to the horizontal lever D3, which in turn passes through the center sill of the third unit.
Similar connections as mentioned above for the truck No. 2 bolster provide the braking power for truck No.
3.
As before, the force from the handbrake operating mechanism continues through the arrangement and passes through the rod E2 to the horizontal lever 5~13 D4 which places the horizontal rod G3 in tension and applies braking power to the truck No. 4.
Similar arrangements could be provided for connecting to truck No. 5 and later trucks if a still greater amoun-t of braking power were required.
As earlier indicated, the rods El and E2 are preferably replaced by a conventional brake slack adjusting device to prevent an excess amount of handbrake operating chain take-up when wear is ex-perienced on the brake shoes and the car wheels.
It will be understood that the individualelements are per se old and well known, as shown for example in the 1970 "Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia"
cited above. The present invention therefore consists essentially in the novel combination and arrangement of individually old elements in the novel environment described above. It provides an effective handbrake linkage for the purpose indicated that will not be adversely affected by reason of the train negotiating track curves and will remain fully operational when and as needed despite track curvature.

Claims (12)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. In a railway car assembly comprising at least two railway cars provided with a common railway truck assembly between them and connected together by an articulated connector mounted on said truck assembly, each said car comprising a center sill extending substantially the entire length of said car and having a width substantially less than that of said truck assembly, a portion of said articulated connector provided on one end of said car, an end sill perpen-dicularly disposed relative to said center sill on said one end and extending symmetrically beyond the width of said center sill, a pair of side bearing support members extending from respective sides of said center sill at a point removed from said one end to respective ends of said end sill, and a railway truck coupled to the other end of said center sill, said common railway truck assembly comprising a pair of side frames holding a pair of axles having wheels mounted thereon, and a truck bolster provided between and extending longitudinally substantially parallel to said axles for supporting said articulated connector, the improvement comprising a handbrake arrangement for applying via a handbrake wheel located at one end of the end car and a series of brake rods and linkages attached to and carried by the center sill the necessary braking force to the car wheels.

2. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein the brake rods and linkages each includes a transverse horizontal lever extending through and on either side of openings in the center sill, one end of which is connected to the brake rod extending from and connecting to a hand wheel brake chain on the end of the end car, and the other end of which is connected to a series of interconnected levers by which the brake shoes are brought into contact with the car wheels.

3. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein the last mentioned linkage includes a pair of vertical levers near the center of which is attached the brake beam-brake shoe combination for contacting the car wheels, the other end of the vertical lever being connected to a dead lever point fixed to the center sill.

4. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 3, wherein the horizontal lever extending through the center sill is attached by means of another short connecting rod to a similar horizontal lever extending through the center sill, one end of which is attached to a fulcrum point fixed to the center sill, and the other end of which is connected to a horizontal brake rod for transmitting braking force to succeeding car trucks.

5. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein the linkages defined in claim 4 are duplicated and applied to successive car trucks on other cars of the railway car assembly.

6. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 5, wherein the short horizontal connecting rod is connected at approximately the center of each of the horizontal levers that extend through the center sill.

7. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein the short horizontal connecting rod defined in claim 6 includes a conventional automatic slack adjuster.

8. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein the connection between one of the transverse horizontal levers and an associated hori-zontal brake rod is through a compression force iso-lating link that permits the transmission of tension forces only, thereby effecting separation of the conventional train air brake function and the handbrake function.

9. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 1 and having a pair of vertical levers having a brake beam-brake shoe combination for contacting the car wheels, one of said vertical levers being connected at an end thereof to a dead lever point fixed to the center sill, and a motion-transmitting connection between said brake rods and the other of said vertical levers including a compression force isolating link that permits the trans-mission of tension forces from the brake rods to the vertical lever but precludes the transmission of force from the vertical lever to the brake rods.

10. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein there are at least two of said common railway truck assemblies each having brake structure for applying braking force to the car wheels, said series of brake rods being of a length to span said two railway truck assemblies, and said brake rods and linkages being simultaneously operable by operation of the handbrake wheel to activate the brake structure at both of said truck assemblies.

11. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 1 having a plurality of truck assemblies positioned one between adjacent car inner ends and with one of said articulated connectors mounted on each of said truck assemblies;
brake structure associated with a plurality of the truck assemblies including a pair of brake beams and first and second truck vertical levers associated one with each brake beam, said truck vertical levers being pivotally connected at one of their ends to a connecting rod extending therebetween; brake operating structure responsive to actuation of the handbrake wheel for operating said brake beams at first and second truck assemblies through operation of said truck vertical levers with the structure at each of the first and second truck assemblies including a transverse horizontal lever extending to opposite sides of a car center sill, a linkage including a compression force isolating link extended between one end of the horizontal lever and the other end of the first of said truck vertical levers, the other end of the second truck vertical lever being pivotally connected to a fulcrum point fixed relative to the center sill of a car, a second lever pivoted about a fulcrum point fixed relative to a car center sill, and a slack adjuster mechanism operatively connected between said transverse horizontal lever and said second lever; said brake rods including a first brake rod extending along the center sill with a pivoted section spanning the space between inner ends of adjacent cars, said first brake rod being connected to the other end of the horizontal lever associated with the first truck assembly; and motion-transmitting connections from said first brake rod to a second truck assembly including a second brake rod extended from said second lever of the first truck assembly to the transverse horizontal lever at the second truck assembly whereby a force is applied through said brake rods and the transverse horizontal levers to the truck vertical levers of the first and second truck assemblies at a side of the car center sills opposite the side along which the brake rods extend.

12. A railway car assembly as defined in claim 1 and having three truck assemblies; brake structure associated with each truck assembly including a pair of brake beams and first and second truck vertical levers associated one with each brake beam, said truck vertical levers being located at the same side of two of said truck assemblies and on the opposite side of a third truck assembly; said handbrake arrangement operating said brake beams at two of the three truck assemblies through operation of said truck vertical levers which are at the same side of said truck assemblies with the structure at said two truck assemblies including a transverse horizontal lever extending to opposite sides of a car center sill, a linkage including a compression force isolating link extended between one end of the horizontal lever and an end of the first of said truck vertical levers, an end of the second truck vertical lever being pivotally connected to a fulcrum point fixed relative to the center sill of a car, a connecting rod pivotally connected to the other ends of said truck vertical levers, a second lever pivoted about a fulcrum point fixed relative to a car center sill and extending to opposite sides of the center sill, con-necting means between said transverse horizontal lever and said second lever; means for transmitting force in tension from the handbrake wheel to the transverse horizon-tal lever of one of the two trucks including a first of the brake rods extending along the center sill with a pivoted section spanning the space between inner ends of adjacent cars, said first brake rod being connected to the other end of the horizontal lever associated with the first of said two truck assemblies; motion-transmitting con-nections from said first brake rod to the second of said two truck assemblies including a second brake rod extended from said second lever of the first truck assembly to the transverse horizontal lever at the second truck assembly whereby a force is applied through said brake rods to the truck vertical levers of the first and second truck assemblies at a side of the car center sills opposite the side along which the brake rods extend; and a further motion-transmitting connection for operating the truck vertical levers at the third truck assembly which are at the same side of a car center sill as the brake rods including an additional brake rod in line with the aforementioned brake rods with a compression force isolating link connecting the second lever of the second truck assembly to a first truck vertical lever at the third truck assembly at the same side of the center sill as the last-mentioned brake rod and the second truck vertical lever at the third truck assembly being pivotally connected to a fulcrum point fixed relative to the adjacent center sill.