CA2047324A1 - Railway truck side bearing - Google Patents

Abstract

A side bearing for a railway truck and car body assembly includes a compliant bearing disposed within a cavity defined by a housing of the assembly. The compliant bearing includes a pair of elastomeric bearing elements each having a generally upwardly facing surface portion. The compliant bearing also includes a unitary rigid friction element engageable with the bearing element surface portions and extending upwardly therefrom. The friction element has a bearing surface disposed vertically above the housing walls for frictional engagement with a wear plate.
A rigid elongated spacer is disposed within the cavity and has an upwardly facing surface as well as an upstanding abutment which is cooperable with at least some of the cavity walls to confine the elastomeric bearings within the cavity. A rigid bearing supported on the upwardly facing surface of the spacer is movable thereon in opposed directions within predetermined limits. The rigid bearing is of an overall vertical height that, when supported on the spacer surface with the spacer disposed within the cavity the rigid bearing has an uppermost extent above the upper edges of the housing. The elastomeric elements are vertically deformable in compression and have an overall vertical height at the bearing surface of the rigid friction element is disposed vertically above the uppermost extent of the rigid bearing so as to maintain a vertical spacing between the rigid bearing and the wear plate throughout a range of vertically downwardly directed loadings applied to the compliant bearing, and to permit the wear plate to engage the rigid bearing when the vertically downwardly directed loading equals a given load.