US2819688A

US2819688A - Attachment for railroad flat cars

Info

Publication number: US2819688A
Application number: US451917A
Authority: US
Inventors: James L Hall
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-08-24
Filing date: 1954-08-24
Publication date: 1958-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1975-01-14

Description

Jan.'14,1958 L J. L. HALL 2,819,688

ATTACHMENT FOR RAILROAD FLAT. CARS Filed Aug. 24, i954 2 sh99tS-$h9Qt l a so I fl w L l T J24 Ill-II I. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/' 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II/III IIIIIIlIII/l 93 [27%2250? J27 Ch??? Z y 2% MM MMM 111? Jan. 14, 1958 J, HALL "2,819,688

ATTACHMENT FOR RAILROAD FLAT CARS Filed Aug. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,819,688 ATTACHMENT FOR RAILROAD FLAT CARS James L. Hall, Des Moines, Iowa Application August 24, 1954, Serial No. 451,917 3 Claims. or. 105-374 unloaded from the sides and top thereof, they possess and have possessed for the many years that they have been used, a serious deficiency, or disability. This deficiency is .that during sudden acceleration changes, such as occurs .in starting and stopping, there is a tendency for the load .carried on top of the flat car to shift longitudinally of the llnited States Pater-1H? .flat car, and when the load shifts it may pass over the end .of the flat car and strike a load on an ad acent flat car, or strike the walls of an adjacent box car, thereby causing .damage either to itself, or to the adjacent car or to the.

load carried by the adjacent car.

While this situation has existed for many, many years and while damage to loads and to railroad equipmenthas been, annually, in the amount of many thousands of dole.

lars, no successful economical solution tothis problem has ever been suggested.

One reason that thisproblem has never been successfully solved is that the means for meeting the problem must be simple and economically practical, and must not.

destroy the advantageous features of flat cars heretofore noted. Apparently until now, no invention. has ever been able to meet these requirements.

Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide a novel attachment for use in combination with railroad flat cars which, when positioned upon a railroad flat car, will operate to restrict longitudinal shifting of loads carried thereby and will, thereby, protect the loads and adjacent railroad cars from damage occasioned by shifting loads.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel attachment for railroad. flat cars which is operative to restrict shifting of loads carried by said flat cars and which attachment does not detract, in any substantial manner, from the advantageous features of flat cars, such as free access for loading and unloading of the flat car throughout substantially the entire length of the flat car. A further object of this invention isto provide a novel attachment for railroad flat cars which. is operative to restrict shifting ofloads carried by said flat cars and which is characterized by its simplicity of operation and.

inexpensiveness of constructionand maintenance.

Railroadfla t cars are usually provided with fastening means, often referred to as stake pockets located along the side edges of the floor of the car or in the floor of i the car adjacentthe ends of the floor of the car. These stake pockets are utilized in the practice of this invenfication of the fiat car structure.

According to one feature of this invention, there is provided a removable upright barrier, or end gate, to be placed across the open end of the flat car to help restrict shifting of the loads carried by the fiat cars, and brace means are provided for the upright barrier which are located wholly outside, laterally, of the portion of the floor of the car upon which the load is positioned.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and thefeatures of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a railroad flat car having mounted each of its ends the railroad flat car barrier attachment of this invention. Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation view of the Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-section view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-section view taken on line.44 of Figure 3. j I

Figure 5 is a cross-section view taken on line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a rear elevation view of the barrier and is taken substantially on line 6.6 ofFigure 2. t

:Figure 7 is a cross-section view taken on line 77 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a cross-section view taken on line, 8-8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the connection encircled by circle 9 in Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a railroad flat car generally indicated ,at 10, which car includes a fioor 12 appropriately mounted on the wheel supported trucks 14. The flat car is provided withsicle girders 15 for providing additional strength to.

thecara The railroad flat car. is also provided with side stake pockets 16, made of steel or the like, disposed along the longitudinal edges of the flat car, and end stake pockets 18 formed in the floor 12 of the flat car adjacent; the ends of the fiat car and having tubular inserts 19, of

An attachment generally indicated at 20 is shown provided at each end of the railroad flat car. In the preferred use of the invention, attachments 20 are provided at both ends of a flat car, although an attachment 20 may be used only at one end of the car, asdesired'.

In its broadest terms, the attachment 20 includes an upright barrier 22, a pair of spaced braces 24-, means 26 securing the braces 24 to the side stake pockets 16, an

elongated abutment 28 for engaging the outer. side of the barrier 20, and means 30 securing the abutment 28 to the end stake pockets 18.

In particular, the barrier 22 includes a wooden abutment wall 32, of plywood or the like, having secured thereto, on the outer or rear side thereof, a plurality of structural steel members including channels 34 and angles 36. The abutment wall 32 may be formed in a plurality of upright panel sections, and each panel has secured to it a channel 34 at its upright edges and an angle. 36 between the channels 34. The use of panel sections permits removal of damaged sections and substitution of new sections without having to replace the entire barrier. In the present design the barrier is formed of three panel sections. The channels 34 and angles 36 aresecured to the wooden panel 32 by any appropriate means, such as by means of carriage bolts 38 which may be spaced, for example, 12 inches on centers.

The barrier 22 carries an elongated beam means generally indicated at 40 mounted on the rear side of the barrier 22, in the upper half region of the barrier, or closer to the upper edge of the barrier than to the lower edge of the barrier. Thesebeam means 40 include a pair,

of channels 42 spaced by means of spacer bars 44. The means for securing beam means 40 to the panel sections of the barrier includes a mounting, means generally indicated at 46. This mounting means includes a threaded bolt 48, that is bent near the headend thereof, as shown. The threaded bolt 48 operates through a nut 50 to cause a clamping plate 52 to engage the channels 42 so as to clamp the channels 42 of the beam means 40 against the

structural members

34 and 36 of each. panel section,

as by welding. A spring 56 is provided between the head.

of bolt 48 and plate 54 to provide a resilient mounting between the bolt 48 and the plate 54. The ends of f the elongated beam means 40 extend beyond the side edges of the barrier 22 for a reason that will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The barrier 22 above described is adapted to be mounted in an upright manner adjacent one end of the flat car 10, with thewooden panel 32' facing the opposite end of the car and with the structural members 34 and 3610- cated' outwardly, or on the rear side, of the wooden panel 32. An abutment 28 is provided for engaging the outer side of the upright barrier 22. This abutment 28 consists of a structural angle section having an upright leg 60 and a horizontal leg 62. The upright leg 60 engages the

structural members

34 and 36 of the barrier 22 and the horizontal leg 62 is adapted to engage the floor 12 of the flat car. A bent plate 64 engages the upper side of the horizontal leg 62 and has a hook portion 66 which overlies the upper edge of the upright leg 60. Each said plate 64 has attached thereto by any appropriate means, such as by welding, a pair of vertical plates 68 which are adapted to enter the end stake pocket 18 andflengage the upper edge of the insert 19 as indicated at 28. Thus, the engagement of the structural member 34 with the upright leg 60 of. the abutment, 28 limits the movement of barrier 22 outwardly of the fiat car while the engagement of the heads 83 of pins 82 with the latches 84 carried by the abutment 28 limits movement of the barrier 22 inwardly with respect to the flat car.

The braces 24- above referred to are telescopic and each includes an upper pipe member 86 telescopically mounted within a lower pipe member 88. The braces 24 are adjustable as. the pipe members 86 and-88 have registerable apertures 99 into which. bolts 92-may beinserte-d to lock the braces at various selected lengths. The pipe member 86 carries a hifiurcated member .94 at its upperend. The

bifurcated member 94 is pivotally secured to a mounting flange 96 by means of bolt 98. The mounting flange 96 is, in turn, secured to a threaded bar 100 which is adapted to extend between the channels 42 of the beam means 40. The threaded bar 180 carries spaced abutment plates 102 and 104 which are adapted to engage the beam means 40 mounting member 112 is, in turn, secured by means 26 to the: side stake pockets 16 The means" 26 above referred to includes a plate 114' to I which the bifurcated mounting member 112 is appropri- The plate 64 has a threaded bore therethrou'gh to re 1' ceive a threaded rod 72. The rod 72 is shaped at its upper end to form a hand crank 74. A hook 76 is formed at the lower end of the threaded rod 72, and there is mounted on said hook 76 a plate 78. The plate 78 is smaller in one dimension than the inner dimension of the insert 19 and is larger in its other dimension than all inner dimensions of insert 19. This permits mounting of plate 78 on hook 76 and insertion of plate 78 down through and below tubular insert 19, whereupon the plate 78 is pivoted on hook 76 to a horizontal position. The plate 78 is rotated with rod 72 as said rod 72 is caused'to be advanced by means of. the threaded connection to the plate 64. Thus, plate 78 is adapted to move up into engagement with the lower edge of the insert 19 in stake pocket 18 and thus there is provided said means 30 for securing the abutment 28 to the end stake pockets 18,

28 carries thereon a plurality of pivotally mounted latches- 84 which may be swung across the recesses 80 and be positioned between the upright leg 60 and the heads 83 of pins 82 to thereby lock the barrier 22 to the abutment ately' secured, such as by Welding. The plate 114, in turn, carries a downwardly depending flange 116 bent there from, and another flange 117, weldedto plate 114, and spaced in parallel relation to flange 116 to define a recess therebetween for receiving, in said recess, the upper edge of a side stake pocket 16. The plate 114 also has a threaded bore therethrough into which isthreaded a headed bolt 118 which is disposed substantially parallel to the downwardly depending flange 116-. The headed bolt 118 carries a clamping plate 120 which is rotatably mounted on the bolt and which has an upwardly opening hook 122. The bolt 118 carries a lock-nut 124, and the bolt 118 is bored at 126 for entrance therein of a cotter pin .127, This arrangement constitutes the means 26 for securing the braces 24 to the side stake pockets 16 by clamping engagement with the upper and lower edges of the stake pockets 16.

From the above it will be seen that there has been pro.- vided an end gate, or upright barrier; adapted for attachment to pro-existing flatcars which are providedwith stake pockets at the side and end edges of the flat car. There are in use a great number of such flat cars to which the construction above described may be attached. It will be seen that the telescopic brace means are located wholly outside of the side edges of the fl'at'car and thus do not interfere with any load which will be mounted within the lateral confines of the flat car, thus preserving the capacity of the flat car. In addition, it will be seen that by detaching the lower edge of the upright barrier from the abutment 28, the upright barrier 22 may be pivoted about the axes of mounting bolts 98 until the barrier 22- lies substantially in the same plane as the braces 24 and the. braces 24 and'barrier 22 may be pivoted about the axes of the mounting bolts so that the barrier 22 and brace means 24 maybe collapsed for lying substantially flat on the floor of the car when not in use. If the beam means 40 should fall within the confines of the flat car 10, when it is desired that the attachment be collapsed to" the non-use position above described, it will be seen that the brace means 24 may be telescopically expanded until the beam means 40 are located beyond the edge'of the flat car 10, and in that way the barrier 22. and'the brace means 24 can be caused to lie closely adjacent the floor of the flat car when collapsed, to the HOB? use position.

In an actual design of this invetnion, the structural members that have been hereinabove described are of the following dimensions, although it is pointed out that design is merely typical and the invention being claimed herein is not restricted to such limitations of design.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A removable attachment for use on an elongated railroad flat car that is provided with stake pockets on the floor thereof including stake pockets along the longitudinal edges of the flat car; said removable attachment being mountable on and de-mountable from a flat car without adding any structure to, or requiring modifications of, the existing structure of the flat car, said attachment comprising, in combination, upright barrier means of substantially the same width as the flat car and positioned transversely of the flat car, said barrier means presenting a front side, against which a load may abut, and a rear side; an elongated abutment engaging the rear side of said barrier means adjacent the lower end thereof and removably positioned upon the floor of the flat car, and a first connecting means securing said elongated abutment to stake pockets on said flat car; an elongated beam means of greater length than the width of said barrier means spaced above said elongated abutment and secured to the rear side of said barrier means and having the ends thereof extending laterally of said barrier means, a pair of elongated braces each connected at one end thereof to an end of said elongated beam means, said braces extending forwardly of the front side of said barrier means and being spaced laterally outwardly of the longitudinal edges of the flat car, and second connecting means connecting the other ends of said braces to side stake pockets on said flat car.

2. A fiat car barrier attachment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said upright barrier means comprises a plurality of individually replaceable upright panel sections connected to said beam means, and cooperating latch members carried by said panel sections and by said elongated abutment member respectively for releasably connecting the panel sections to said elongated abutment member.

3. A removable attachment for use on an elongated railroad flat car that is provided with stake pockets on the floor thereof including side stake pockets along the longitudinal edges of the flat car; said removable attachment being mountable on and die-mountable from a flat car Without adding any structure to, or requiring modification of, the existing structure of the flat car, said attachment comprising, in combination, upright barrier means of substantially the same width as the flat car and positioned transversely of the flat car, said barrier means presenting a front side, against which a load may abut, and a rear side; an elongated abutment engaging the rear side of said barrier means adjacent the lower end thereof and removably positioned upon the floor of the flat car, and first connecting means securing said elongated abutment to stake pockets. on said flat car; elongated inclined braces spaced laterally outwardly of the longitudinal edges of a flat car and extending forwardly of the front side of said barrier means and being connected at their upper ends to said barrier means at points spaced above said elongated abutment, and second connecting means connecting the lower ends of said braces to side stake pockets on said flat car.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 301,855 Bueno July 15, 1884 1,499,229 Laifey June 24, 1924 2,388,304 Ackerman et a1. Nov. 6, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Loading Rules. Published by American Railway Association. 1930 (page 314), (Copy in Div. 34.)