GB2262924A

GB2262924A - Upper deck in a car-carrying railway wagon.

Info

Publication number: GB2262924A
Application number: GB9200063A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Olavi Maenpaa; Juhani Raty; Voitto Riihiaho
Original assignee: TRANSTECH Ltd Oy
Current assignee: TRANSTECH Ltd Oy
Priority date: 1992-01-03
Filing date: 1992-01-03
Publication date: 1993-07-07
Also published as: GB9200063D0

Abstract

The upper deck has an upwardly offset central section which fits within the wheel gauge 8 of cars so as to provide extra vertical loading capacity for cars having roof racks, or vehicles somewhat higher than a saloon car. The central section is connected to edge sections by transverse ramps to form a continuous load bearing structure. The edge sections are located under the car wheels with the central section being offset sufficient to exploit the ground clearance of cars to increase the permissible height of cars on a lower deck. <IMAGE>

Description

AN UPPER DECK IN A CAR-CARRYING WAGON The present invention relates to an upwardly convex upper deck in a car-carrying railway wagon.

In covered car-carrying railway wagons, it is preferable to load the cars in two layers by using an upper deck having the length and the width of the entire wagon. In order to increase the useful height, the upper deck is constructed as thin as possible along its centre. In addition, the upper deck is usually somewhat upwardly curved or bent along the centre relative to the longitudinal axis of the wagon, i.e. into the shape of a wide letter A. A fixed upper deck is made to bear rigidly on the wall structures of the wagon, the vertical columns of the wall bearing not only vertical loads but also the bending moments which load the upper deck. It is even conceivable that the upper deck rests on cantilever beams projecting from the wall. Such rigid linking of the upper deck to the frame of the wall structure is described in, for example, patent publications DE-1218491 and FR-1503791.In order to enable the same wagon to be used for carrying vans which are higher than saloon cars, the upper deck can be constructed so as to be capable of being lowered, and the vans are loaded on a lowered upper deck.

There has arisen a need to construct wagons which can carry both saloon cars and estate cars and vans equipped with a fixed roof rack or roof rails. Saloon cars can with facility be placed on two decks, leavlnc, about 50 mm of empty space between the car roof and the upper deck, whereas an estate car equipped with roof rails or a roof rack will not fit in the same space. Vans are loaded in a railway wagon in one layer, on a lowered upper deck. Estate cars could be loaded in the same manner, but in that case half of the carrying capacity would be wasted. The situation is especially annoying when a railway wagon load includes both estate wagons and saloon cars. It is not possible to increase the height of the entire railway wagon, since the maximum dimensions of the wagon are limited.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide for a railway wagon an upper deck which enables vehicles somewhat higher than a saloon car, such as estate cars, to be carried on two decks of a car-carrying wagon, or at least on one deck while the other deck carries conventional saloon cars.

The object of the invention is thus to provide an upper deck which increases the vertical dimension of at least one of the vertically successive transport spaces by the vertical dimension of a roof rack, roof rail, or a roof box. It is also an object of the invention to provide this type of upper deck on which driving during loading and unloading is problem-free. It is a further object of the invention to provide this type of upper deck which can be lowered for the transport of high vehicles.

According to the invention, there is provided an upwardly convex upper deck in a car-carrying railway wagon in which upper and lower surfaces of a central section of the upper deck, which section is of narrower width than the wheel gauge of the cars, is vertically offset from its adjacent edge sections by an amount smaller than the ground clearance of the cars; and the edge sections of the upper deck which are mainly under the car wheels and the central section comprise a continuous load bearing structure which increases the vertical loading capacity of the railway wagon.

preferably, the central section is connected to the edge sections by transverse ramps which widen outwardly and downwardly at an angle to the horizontal of between 15 and 60 degrees, for example within the range 250 to 450 The central section may be straight or upwardly convex and the transverse ramps may be joined to the central section and to the edge sections by rounded joints.

The central section and transverse ramps at least are preferably of a single sheet. Alternatively, they may be of a sheet corrugated in a direction transverse to the length of the wagon.

In another preferred embodiment, the central section and transverse ramps at least are reinforced by transverse ribs.

Alternatively, they may be sandwich-structured. These configurations may also include the edge sections.

Preferably, each transverse ramp has holes forming a line in the longitudinal direction of the wagon for the fastening of wheel chocks.

The upper deck may be moved in the vertical direction at least, in order to adjust its vertical position according to the height of the cars being transported on a lower and on the upper decks.

The most important advantage of the invention is that it enables saloon cars or estate cars somewhat higher than conventional to be transported either on the lower or the higher deck of a car-carrying wagon, or on both, in such a manner that both the lower deck and the upper deck are in use simultaneously. It is a second advantage of the invention that the above object is accomplished while maintaining the exterior dimensions of the railway wagon sufficiently small considering all gauges for freight rolling stock. It is a further advantage of the invention that, owing to the capability of the upper deck of being moved, both the lower and the upper transport space can be adjusted to meet the needs in each given case.

The invention is described below in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1A and 1B depict side elevations of a car-carrying wagon according to the invention, with the exterior wall removed and with the upper deck up, and respectively in the lowered position.

Figures 2a and 2B depict cross-sectional elevations of the carcarrying wagon according to Figures IA and 1B through A-A, and respectively through B-B.

Figure 3 depicts a car-carrying wagon according to the invention without cars, in the same representation as Figures 2.

Figure 4 depicts one embodiment of the upper deck according to the invention, in a longitudinal section C-C of the car-carrying wagon.

Figures 1A and 1B, as well as 2A and 2B, depict a car-carrying railway wagon according to the invention. In Figures 1A and 2A, estate cars 5, which have roof rails 4 or respectively a roof rack or a roof box, have been driven onto the lower deck 3, and normal saloon cars 6 have been driven onto the upper one, i.e.

the upper deck 2 according to the invention. In Figures 1B and 2B, the upper deck 2 has been lowered to its lower position, whereupon high vans 7 can be loaded into the wagon. The upper deck 2 according to the invention is made up of a central section 9, of edge sections 10 on the sides of the upper deck, and of transverse ramps 11 combining the central section and the edge sections. According to the invention, the central section 9 of the upper deck is in the transverse direction of the wagon narrower than the wheel gauge 8 of the cars and is raised relative to the edge sections 10 by the extent of distance 12. In other words, both the upper surface 13a and the lower surface 13b of the central section 9 are in their entirety upwardly offset. The edge sections 10, for their part, are at least approximately horizontal and are located under the car wheels.In general it is advisable to arrange not only the mere central section 9 but also the combined width dimension of the central section and the transverse ramps 11 in the transverse direction of the railway wagon to be somewhat smaller than the wheel gauge 8 of the cars, the wheel gauge of the cars meaning the distance between the inner sides of the wheels, as indicated in Figure 2A. The central section 9, the transverse ramps 11, and the edge sections 10 make up a continuous loadbearing structure which carries the weight of the cars. Briefly, the ground clearance of the cars on the upper deck 2 is thus exploited in order to increase the permissible height of the cars on the lower deck 3. This can be done successfully for the reason that the roof racks, roof rails or roof boxes of cars are typically clearly narrower than the wheel gauges of cars.

The dimension 12 of the upwardly offset of the central section is less than the ground clearance of the cars, but can be relatively close to it; however, allowance must be made for the emptying of the tyres or a ground clearance for some other reason smaller than normal. In practice the central section 9 of the upper deck may be at a level approximately 50-80 mm higher than the rest of the driving deck 10, which suffices well at least for enabling cars higher than normal by the height of roof racks and roof rails to be transported.The upwardly offset central section 9 is thus connected to the edge sections 10 of the upper deck by transverse ramps 11, which widen at least slightly outwards and downwards, the angle 19 of the transverse ramps to the horizontal plane being within the range 15 -60 , preferably within the range 25"-45". This design of the ramp is preferable for the reason that it directs the wheels of a car driving on the upper deck 2, in which case the car cannot veer to one side and collide with the ceiling or wall structures of the railway wagon. It is also preferable to make the central section 9 straight or slightly upwardly convex in the transverse direction, in order that any mud and water carried along by the cars can flow off.For the strength of the structure it is also advisable to connect the central section to the transverse ramps and the transverse ramps to the edge sections in such a manner that the joints are rounded.

An upper deck 2 according to the invention can be manufactured either of metal sheet only or of corrugated sheet thinner than this, or as a sandwich structure of a straight plate reinforced with plate profiles and a cellular structure between them. Figure 4 depicts an embodiment in which the upper deck is made up of a thin straight sheet 14 and of plate profiles 15 supporting it, running in the transverse direction to the wagon and being fixed to it, for example, by welding. With structures of this type the thickness of the upper deck in the central section and in the areas of the transverse ramps 11 may be in the order of 10-30 mm, whereby the height of the wagon is exploited very effectively.The thickness of the edge sections 10 must be greater, since the weight of the cars is focussed in their area, but in this area the greater thickness involves no disadvantage, since within it there are no height requirements, as can easily be seen in Figures 2.

In principle the movable upper deck according to the invention could be made to bear rigidly on rigid slide rails embedded in the wall structure, in which case these rails would receive a proportion of the moments bending the upper deck. In this case, however, the upper deck is raised, supported by wire ropes 16, and is locked to the loadbearing structures of the wagon wall 17 in a manner not transferring moments. When this construction is used, the placement height of the upper deck 2 can be adjusted even on an individual basis, taking into consideration the heights of the cars coming onto the lower deck 3 and the upper deck 2. In a train it is possible, for example, to place the upper decks 2 in different wagons at different heights by selecting the cars for different wagons, whereby the maximum value of loading density of a car-carrying wagon is achieved.

The raised central section according to the invention, with its transverse ramps, is advantageous also in the sense that it can also be used for fastening wheel chocks. Figure 3 shows a construction in which one end of each-wheel chock 20 is fastened to a hole in the transverse ramp 11. In the transverse ramp there is a line of holes in the longitudinal direction of the wagon, and there is, of course, a similar line, respectively, in the other transverse ramp.

The upper deck according to the invention enables, for example, cars equipped with roof rails or similar cars to be transported at least on the lower deck. It is even conceivable that wagons already in use be altered by renovating the upper decks so as to be suitable for such transport, and so the invention has a great many applications. The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above but can be varied within the limits defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. An upwardly convex upper deck in a car-carrying railway wagon in which: upper and lower surfaces of a central section of the upper deck, which section is of narrower width than the wheel gauge of the cars, is vertically offset from its adjacent edge sections by an amount smaller than the ground clearance of the cars; and the edge sections of the upper deck which are mainly under the car wheels and the central section comprise a continuous load bearing structure which increases the vertical loading capacity of the railway wagon.

2. An upper deck according to claim 1, in which the central section is connected to the edge sections by transverse ramps which widen outwardly and downwardly at an angle to the horizontal of between 15 and 60 degrees.

3. An upper deck according to claim 2, in which said angle is within the range 25 to 450.

4. An upper deck according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the central section is straight or upwardly convex.

5. An upper deck according to any one of claims 2 to 4, in which the transverse ramps are joined to the central section and to the edge sections by rounded joints.

6. An upper deck according to any one of claims 2 to 5, in which the central section and transverse ramps at least are of a single sheet.

7. An upper deck according to any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the central section and transverse ramps at least are of a sheet corrugated in a direction transverse to the length of the wagon.

in which the central section and transverse ramps at least are reinforced by transverse ribs.

9. An upper deck according to any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the central section and transverse ramps at least are sandwich-structured.

10. An upper deck according to any one of claims 2 to 9, in which each transverse ramp has holes forming a line in the longitudinal direction of the wagon for the fastening of wheel chocks.

11. An upper deck according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which the upper deck can be moved in the vertical direction at least, in order to adjust its vertical position according to the height of the cars being transported on a lower and on the intermediate decks.

12. An upper deck substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to figures 1 to 4 of the drawings. Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS 1. An upwardly convex upper deck in a car-carrying railway wagon in which: upper and lower surfaces of a central section of the upper deck, which section is of slightly narrower width than the wheel gauge of the cars and of thin construction, are vertically offset from adjacent edge sections by an amount smaller than the ground clearance of the cars; and the edge sections of the upper deck which are mainly under the car wheels and the central section comprise a continuous load bearing structure which increases the vertical loading dimension of the railway wagon.

8. An upper deck according to any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the central section and transverse ramps at least are reinforced by transverse ribs.

12. An upper deck according to any one of claims 1 to 11, in which the vertical offset dimension is substantially greater than the total thickness of the central section.

13. An upper deck substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to figures 1 to 4 of the drawings.