US3191549A - Door assembly for open side railway cars - Google Patents

Description

F. P. ADLER DOOR-ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 28. 1961 June 29, 1965 w m 3% 4 a x wm N-w 11b w w nu mmrm y wN? @WM/ WV \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\V\ W .r///// v8 nmmf m w mm, INN... QV I W June 29, 1965 p, ADLER 3,191,549

DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 28. 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIEL4- June 29, 1965 F. P. ADLER 3,191,549

DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 28, 1961 e Sheets-Sheet s June 29, 1965 F. P. ADLER DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 28, 1961 l 50 II] A h; I

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June 29, 1965 F. P. ADLER noon ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 28. 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIE-3. 15

June 29, 1965 F. P. ADLER DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY .CARS

6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 28, 1961 FIEJE! r m e w 15% i 7 5 United States Patent "ice 3,191,549 DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN SIDE RAELWAY CARS Franklin P. Adier, Michigan City, Ind, assignor to Puilman incorporated, Chicago, iii, a corporation of Delaware Fiied Aug. 28,1261, Ser. No. 134,259 7 Claims. (Cl. 105-378) This invention relates to an improved roll up door assembly for open side railway cars, and is a continuation-in-part of copending application, Serial No. 129,937 filed on or about August 2, 1961, by Franklin P. Adler, the administrator of the estate of James E. Candlin, Jr., and William Van Der Sluys.

The advantage of an open side railway car is that it permits direct loading for the reason that thereare no vertical structural members along the side of the car which interfere with the loading operation.

The aforementioned copending application is directed, inter alia, to the provision of vertically sliding door means for such a car. It frequently happens, however, that in the course of normal transit, the lading will be shifted in a transverse direction so that it abuts the door in such a manner that it will interfere with the sliding movement of the door incident to opening the same.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vertically sliding door assembly in the form of a roll up door and cooperating door posts, which assembly can be swung outwardly as a unit so as to clear any lading which may have shifted into door abutting position. Then after the door assembly has been swung outwardly, the roll up door itself may be elevated into its open position.

A further object of my invention is to provide a roll up door assembly which is pivotally supported at its upper end so that the assembly may be swung outwardly as a unit prior to the opening of the roll up door itself.

A further object is to provide for a roll up door assembly of the type indicated, an improved mounting means for the door posts which is capable of supporting the weight of the entire roll up door assembly incident to the opening and closing operations, but which nevertheless embodies an arrangement by which the door post mounting means are relieved of the weight of the roll up doors themselves during transit, that is, when the car is m use.

3,191,549 Patented June 29, 1965 Another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for mounting an intermediate door post externally of the side plate of the car.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for locking a sliding door post both at its upper and its lower ends so that it is capable of withstanding the transverse forces arising from the shifting of the load within the car, which forces are transmitted to the door post by the roll up door.

A still further object is to provide an improved design for a door post which permits me to fabricate the post from an extruded shape.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

With reference now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an open side railway car which embodies my invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are horizontal sections taken along lines 2-2 and 3-3 respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section showing the mounting means for the end door post, being taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. dis a vertical transverse section taken along line 66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the mounting for the upper track section, taken along line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevation showing the intermediatepost mounting means in the loading position;

FIG. 9 is a vertical section similar to FIG. 6 but showing interlocking means for the upper end of the intermediate door post in enlarged detail, the upper track section being omitted for the purpose of clarity;

FIG. l0 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

For reasons of strength, it is preferable to make the roll up door means for an open side car in several sections, which arrangement requires the use of an intermediate door post between each two adjacent sections, the intermediate door post being removable during loading. One such arrangement includes the use of means for slidably mounting the intermediate door post for movement between its operative position and a loading position in which the post is disposed adjacent a car end.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a roll up door assembly which includes two more separate roll up doors together with one or more of such intermediate door posts, together with improved means for mounting said intermediate door posts at their upper ends so that they are capable both of the outwardly swinging movement previously referred to, as well as of a sliding movement between an operative position and a loading position.

FIG. 11 is a horizontal section taken along line 11- 11 of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 12 and 13 are side elevations showing the locking means for the lower ends of the intermediate and end door posts, respectively; 7

FIG. 14 is a vertical section taken substantially along lines 14-14 of FIGS. 12 and 15;

FIG. 15 is a plan section taken along line 1515 of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a vertical longitudinal section showing the lower end of a door post, this being taken along a line corresponding to section line 1616 of FIG. 14, but showing the end door post rather than the intermediate door post. i a

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 6, the reference numeral 20 designates a car body which is supported on wheels 21 by a suitable underframe structure which includes side sills 22. The car body includes two car end structures each including two end piers 23 which may be structurally connected to each other by a transverse anchor member (not shown) and by an end sill (not shown). The car body also includes a roof structure 24 and a suit able floor structure 25 which latter is supported by the side sills 22 and other parts of the underframe.

The car structure is preferably of the unit frame type shown in the aforementioned copending application, in which the load carrying capacity of the car is developed by two transversely spaced unit frames which require no vertical structural members at points between the car ends, as contrasted with the usual side wall construction. Suitable means, such as welding or rivets, provide a rigid lower corner connection between each end pier 23 and a side sill 22. A top beam 26 connects the upper ends of the end piers 23, either directly or through a transverse anchor member as described in the aforesaid application. The top beam serves as a compression member which cooperates with the rigid corner connection to reduce deflection of the'side sill 22, and to maintain the end piers in substantial parallelism with each other. In other words, the top beam 26, the two end piers 23 and the side sill 22 provide a unit frame which is much stronger than the side sill alone.

The end pier is an L-shaped piece as shown in FIG. 2, and in the present arrangement, it includes an extended lower portion 33 which is butt-welded at 34 (FIGS. 1 and 4) to the web 27 of the fabricated side sill 22, so that the parts 23 and 27 are aligned with each other as indicated by a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3.

The car end structure also includes a car end 28, a portion of which is shown in FIG. 2, and an end transom 29, a portion of-which is shown in FIG. 4.

The roof structure 24 includes a shaped side plate 341? and roof sheets '31 which are welded thereto.

The roof structure 24 is supported at its ends by the end transoms 24 of the car end structure, and at two intermediate points by intermediate transoms 32. The latter are shown in FIG. 6, and the shape of the end transoms 29 is substantially the same as the shape of the intermediate transoms 32.

The arrangement thus far described provides an open side car structure which is characterized bythe lack of vertical structural members at points intermediate of the car ends.

The door assembly, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, comprises three roll up doors 40 together with four door posts, two of which are end posts 41 and two of which are intermediate posts 42. Thus, one of the roll up doors 40 is located between the two intermediate posts 42, and the other two roll up doors 40 are located between an end post 41 and an intermediate post 42;

The roll up doors 4% are of a sectional type similar to those used in garages and the like, and each section 43 is provided with two rollers 44, one projecting from each end of the door section 43.

Each of the door posts 41, 42, is in the form of an extrusion such as an aluminum alloy extruded shape, which is shaped in such a manner as to provide a slot 45 for receiving the ends of the door sections 43, and also a track portion 46 for cooperation with the rollers 44. The track portion 46 includes a groove 47 in which the rollers 44 ride, the slot 45 serving to confine the door so that the roller 44 will be confined within its groove 47.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the intermediate transom 32 is provided with a track section 45* which is aligned with the track portion 46 of the intermediate door post 42 so that the two elements 46 and 48' constitute separate sections of a continuous track. Thus, the roll up door 40 may be elevated from its down position shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 to an elevated position in which it is received wholly within the upper track section 48.

As shown in FIG. 6, the intermediate transom 42 is in the form of a fabricated T section which comprises a web plate 50 and a lower flange 511. The web plate 50 is cut away to receive the two top beams 26, of which one is shown in FIG. 6. The opening may be filled with patch plates 52, and the various parts welded so as to provide a structural connection between the top beams 26 and the transoms 32. Thus, the transoms 32 are supported by the top beams 26, and the side plate 30 is in turn supported at intermediate points by the intermediate transoms 32. The transoms 32 also provide cross bracing for the two top beams 26.

The track section 48 is mounted on the transom 32 by means of suitable brackets 53. As shown in FIG. 7, the brackets 53 are secured to the web plate 50 by means of bolts 54. Spacer washers 55 permit adjustment of the distance between the track sections 48 and the web plate 54 so that the lower edge of the track section 48 will be in alignment with the upper edge of the track portion 46 of the intermediate door post 4-2.

At certain points, the track sections may extend above the upper edge of the web plate 54 and here, brackets 56 are provided which are connected to each other by suitable spacer means 57, which also correspond to the spacing between the track portions 46. In fabricating a steel structure, such as a freight car, fairly large tolerances must be permitted for the structural members, such as the transorns 32. The track mounting arrangement shown herein permits alignment of the track sections 48 with the door posts 42 in spite of the considerable tolerance which may be permitted for the location of the transoms 32.

It will be noted from a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 that the extrusions 41 and 42 are identical to each other, except that the intermediate post is a double post. Therefore, the same reference numerals have been applied to the corresponding parts of each of the posts. Similarly, the upper track section for the end post 41 is substantially identical to the upper track section 48, and is mounted on the end transom 29 in substantially the same manner as described in connection with the upper track section 48,

As previously indicated the door posts 41 and 42 are both mounted for outwardly swinging movement. The end posts 41 are hung from pivot pins 61, but a different arrangement is provided for the intermediate posts 42 so as to permit sliding removal thereof for loading purposes.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a hanger strip 66 is secured to the upper end of the end post 41, and is provided with an opening through which the pivot pin 61 extends. The pivot pin 61 is carried by the outer end of the end transom 29. Thus, the end post 41 can be swung outwardly. In its normal position, the inner surface of the end post 41 rests against the outer surface of the end pier 23. A suitable weather seal may be provided if desired, as ind1cated by the angle 62 shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, or it may be in the form of a gusset strip 63, as shown in FIG. 2 which serves the additional function of reinforcing the end pier 23 at certain points.

The intermediate post 42 is mounted for pivoted movement about a post track 64 which, as shown in FIGS. 4, 8 and 9 is in the form of a rail mounted externally of the side plate 30 by means of spacers 65. Each rail 64 extends between an intermediate post 42 and the adjacent car end, and provides a track for longitudinally sliding movement of the intermediate post 42 as will be pointed out below.

The intermediate post 42 is mounted on the rail 64 by means of a trolley 66 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The trolley comprises a vertical plate 67 on which are mounted two rollers 68. A stop piece 69 projects inwardly from the plate 67 and underlies the rail 64 to prevent disengagement of the rollers 68 from the rail 64 when the intermediate post 42 is swung outwardly. The post 42 is secured to the trolley 66 by means of a suitable bracket '70. Thus, the lower end of the intermediate post 42 may be swung outwardly in the same manner as the end post 411, except that here the center of pivoted movement is the point of engagement between the rollers 63 and the rail 64.

Means are provided to lock the upper end of the intermediate post 42 in its operative position, both longitudinally and transversely. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a locking plate 71 is suitably secured to the inner surface of the intermediate post 42 and is provided with a slot '72 which straddles the lower edge of the web plate 50, thus locking the post against sliding movement in a longitudinal direction.

Suitably secured to the web plate 50 and the flange plate 51, are two socket blocks 73, one on each side-of the web plate 50. The socket blocks 73 are provided with grooves 74 which receive the taperedupper edge of the locking plate 71. End strips 75 are provided as shown in FIG. in order to provide means for guiding the locking plate 71 into the socket blocks 73. The arrangement is such that swinging movement of the door post causes disengagement of the locking plate 71 from the socket blocks 73, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 9. However, when the lower end of the intermediate post 42 is pushed into its home position, the upper end of the post is securely interlocked with the transom 32 so as to provide a rigid side wall construction when the doors 40 are closed.

, In operation, the door assembly can be considered as being supported by the two pivot pins 61 and the two rails 64 so that the door assembly can be swung outwardly as a unit. However, the angular extent of movement is sutficiently small so that the alignment between the lower and upper track sections 46, 48, is not destroyed, thus permitting the doors 40 to be raised after the door assembly has been swung outwardly into the dotted line position shown in FIG. 6. After the doors 40 have been received within the upper track Sections 48, each intermediate post 42 may be slid toward its adjacent end of the car, in which it abuts the end post 41, this being the loading position shown in FIG. 8. An additional feature of this arrangement is that the intermediate door post 42 when in its loading position blocks downward movement of each of the end doors 40. A separate latch may be provided to perform the corresponding function with respect to the middle one of the doors 40. A suitable stop lug 77 may be welded to the rail 64 as shown in FIG. 8 to prevent the trolley 66 frorn running off of the post track.

Means are also provided for locking the lower ends of the door posts 41 and 42 in their operative positions. It will be observed from FIGS. 2 and 3 that the extrusions 41 and 42 are each formed with a cavity 80 which is located outwardly adjacent the track portions 46. As shown in FIGS. 12, 14 and 15, the post 42 is provided with slots 81 which communicate with each of the cavities 80. A locking bolt 82 is slidably mounted in each cavity and each locking bolt is provided with an operating handle 83 which extends through the slot 81. When the doors 40 are in their closed position, they seat against a threshold plate 84 which is mounted on the side sill 22, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16. The threshold plate 84 is interrupted at the post point, and at these points there are provided keeper plates 85 and brackets 86 therefor which are securely fastened to the side sill 22. The keeper plate 85 is of a width corresponding to the width of the door post 42 and is provided with two openings 87, one for each bolt 82. A lug 88 closes. the lower end of each slot 81 and serves as a stop for the handle 83 and also as a reinforcement for the lower end of the post In operation, it will be seen that the lower end of the door post 42 is securely locked in .position by means of the locking bolts 82; the handles 83, in addition to serving as bolt operating means, also provide means by which the posts may be swung outwardly.

Bolt latching means and a car seal are provided for each one of the posts 42. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, a latchplate 90 is pivotally mounted on the door post 42 by means of a shaft 91 which is received in bearing lugs 92. The lower end of the latch plate is provided with two openings 93 which fit over two latch lugs 94, one latch lug being provided for each locking bolt 82 at a point immediately above the handle 83. The latch lug 84 is provided with a hole 85 through which a car seal 86 may be threaded. Thus, it is not possible to unlatch either one of the locking bolts 82 without first breaking the car seal 86.

The latch plate 90 is preferably located and shaped, as

shown at 94 in FIG. 14, so that when it is elevated into its unlatched dotted line position it will swing into an over-center position and remain clear of the operating handles 83. The use of two separate locking bolts 82 for the intermediate post 42 permits the operator to use both hands when he tugs outwardly on the door post after the locking bolt has been elevated.

It will be noted that a clearance 98 (FIGS. 14 and 16) is provided between the lower end of the door post 42 and the keeper plate so as to prevent any binding between the parts. Also, a suitable closure plate 99 is provided for the bottom end of the post 42 to prevent the door 49 from dropping out of the door post when the latter is swung outwardly. The lowermost door section 43 is pro vided with an angle 100 at its lower edge as indicated in FIGS. 16 and 6 so as to permit the weight of the door 40 as a whole to be taken up by the threshold plate 84, but still to provide the desired engagement between the closure plate 99 and the lowermost door section 43 when the door assembly is swung outwardly.

To summarize the operation which has been detailed in connection with the description of the various parts and subass'emblies, it will first be assumed that the door posts 41 and 42 are in their operative positions as shown in FIG. 1, and the doors 40 are closed. When it is desired to open the doors, the car seals 96 are first cut, the latch plates are elevated, and then the operating handles 83 are grasped to'unlock the lower ends of the door posts, and to swing them outwardly. The sectional doors are not sufliciently rigid as to prevent this from being done one at a time. After each post is swung outwardly, the locking bolt can be returned to its projected position so that it rests on the outer edge of the keeper plate 85. Thus, the lower edge of the door assembly as a whole may have been displaced outwardly by a distance of one or two inches, which is suflicient to cause the roll up door to be entirely clear of any lading which may have been shifted against it intr-ansit. Then the doors 40, which are counterweighted by a spring mechanism, may be elevated either individually or as a unit. In the latter event, suitable common door operating means can be provided, as indicated by the chains 101 shown in FIG. 1, which may be actuated by a suitable shaft (not shown) located in the space between the shaped side plate 30 and a cover 102 (FIG. 6).

After the doors have been elevated so that they are located within the horizontally extending track sections .48, the intermediate door posts 42 are slid to one side or the other". During the sliding operation, the lower end of the locking bolt 82 will ride along the outer edge of the threshold plate 84 When the door post 42 is in its loading position, as shown in FIG. 8, it blocks downward movement of its associated roll up door 40, and, where common door operating means are provided, the blocking of one door blocks all three doors.

Now the car can be unloaded or loaded by direct loading methods. That is, the lading is moved transversely from theloading dock into the car body 20 or vice versa. Direct loading permits more etlicient stovving and very materially cuts down the loading time since longitudinal movement of fork lift trucks within the car is not necessary.

. After a car has been loaded, posts 42 are returned to their operative or FIG. 1 positions, the lower ends locked and the doors closed.

Suitable door locks and car seals may also be provided.

In the' operative position, the top ends of the intermediate door posts 42 are firmly interlocked with the car structure by means of the locking plates 71 and the socket blocks 73. The upper ends of the end door posts 41 are interlocked with the car structure against outward movement by means of the pivot pins 61 which are of large enough cross section as to withstand the load shifting forces encountered during transit. Thus, may door as sembly when closed and locked as described, provides a rigid side wall construction which is reinforced by whatever number of door posts are considered necessary when the car is designed. I have found that the four-post arrangement shown is quite satisfactory for a fifty foot car.

By providing a door post in which the door is guided not by the track and roller, but by a slot 45 which cooperates with the door sections themselves, I am enabled to provide a track portion which is more in the nature of a half a track. This arrangement, in turn, permits me to provide a door post of rectangular outline in cross section which is characterized by a low ratio of material area to cavity area. This low area ratio makes it economical to provide a rectangular door post in the form of an extruded shape which is much preferable from a manufacturing point of view. I

The disclosure of the aforementioned copending application, Serial No. 129,937 of Adler, Candlins administrator, and Van Der Sluys is incorporated herein by reference insofar as consistent with this application.

Although only a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the construction shown without departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out by the appended claims.

I claim:

i. In an open side railway car having two car end structures, a longitudinally extending top beam supported only by said car end structures and located toward one side of the car, a transom located at an intermediate point along the length of said car and overlying and being supported by said top beam, and a roof structure supported at its ends by said car end structures and at an intermedi ate point by said transom so as to provide an open car side which is free from intermediate structural members, the combination of an outwardly swinging roll up door assembly comprising two end door posts, an intermediate door post, door track means carried by said door posts, said transom, and said car ends, and a plurality of roll up doors cooperating with said door track means, means for pivotally connecting said end door posts at their upper ends to said car end structures, a post track mounted on said roof structure, means for slidably mounting said intermediate door post on said post track for sliding movement between an operative position and a loading position in which it is disposed adjacent one of said end door posts, said slidable mounting means also permitting outwardly swinging movement of said intermediate door post with respect to said post track whereby said roll up door assembly may be swung outwardly as a unit while said roll up doors are in the down position to permit disengagement of said doors from the lading within the car preparatory to subsequent movement of said roll up doors upwardly into their open position, said outwardly swinging movement being of small angular extent so that the alignment between said transom carried door track means and said post carried door track means is maintained, means mounted on said intermediate door post and interlocking with said transom to lock the upper end of said door post in operative position with respect to said roof structure, and means for locking the lower end of said intermediate door post with respect to the car structure to prevent outwardly swinging movement of said intermediate door post about said post track, said upper end interlocking means being arranged so that outwardly swinging movement of said door post will cause disengagement thereof.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said lower end locking means comprises, a keeper plate mounted on the car structure beneath one of said door posts, a locking bolt slidably mounted in the lower end of said door post and adapted to be projected into the opening of said keeper plate to maintain the lower end of said door post in its vertical operative position, said door post having a slot and said locking bolt having an operating handle projecting throtmh said slot so that said operating handle can also be used as a handle for swinging the lower end of said door assembly outwardly after said locking bolt has been disengaged from said keeper plate.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2, a latch plate pivotally mounted on said door post above said operating handle and having a portion interlocking with a portion of said operating handle so as to maintain said locking bolt in its locked position.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the pivoted mounting of said latch plate is located above said operating handle and is spaced outwardly from the vertical surface of said door post so that said latch plate, when elevated, will rest in an over center position to permit unimpeded manipulation of said operating handle.

5. In an open side railway car having two car end structures, a longitudinally extending top beam supported only by said car end structures and located toward one side of the car, a transom located at an intermediate point along the length of said car and overlying and being supported by said top beam, and a roof structure supported at its ends by said car end structures and at an intermediate point by said transom so as to provide an open car side which is free from intermediate structural members, the combination of an outwardly swinging roll up door assembly comprising two end door posts, an intermediate door post, and a plurality of roll up doors cooperating with said door posts, each of said door posts having door track means on a side surface for cooperation with a roll up door, a section of door track mounted on said transom above said top beam for cooperation with a roll up door and having a lower end curved downwardly and abutting the upper end of said intermediate door post and being aligned with the door track means of said intermediate door post when in its operative position, and similarly located door track sections mounted on said car ends in alignment with the track means of said end door posts, means for pivotally connecting said end door posts at their upper ends to said car end structures, a post track mounted on said roof structure, means for slidably mounting said intermediate door post on said post track for sliding movement between an operative position and a loading position in which it is disposed adjacent one of said end door posts, said slidable mounting means also permitting outwardly swinging movement of said intermediate post with respect to said post track whereby said roll up door assembly may be swung outwardly as a unit while said roll up doors are in the down position to permit disengagement of said doors from the lading within the car preparatory to subsequent movement of said roll up doors upwardly into their open position, said outwardly swinging movement being of small angular extent so that the alignment between said door track sections and said post carried door track means is maintained.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 5 in which said roof structure includes a side plate, and in which said post track comprises a rail, spacer means for mounting said rail on said side plate in spaced relationship to said side plate, and in which said intermediate door post mounting means comprises a trolley riding on said rail, and said intermediate door post being secured to said trolley, said trolley having a laterally extending member located beneath said rail so as to prevent such upward movement of said intermediate door post and trolley as would cause disengagement of said trolley and said post track.

'7. The combination claimed in claim 5 in which said door post comprises an integral extruded shape having therein a slot for receiving the edge of a roll up door section, a first cavity communicating with said slot and providing a grooved surface which is parallel to and offset from the side walls of and toward the center of said slot so that the roller of a door section will ride in the groove of said offset and parallel surface, and having a second cavity communicating with said first cavity for reception of a vertically sliding locking bolt.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Moler 160-113 Black 160-201 Keating et a1. 105-369 Stough 105-369 Dunlap 105-369 Fairweather 105-378 LEO QUACKENBUSH, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN AN OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CAR HAVING TWO CAR END STRUCTURES, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING TOP BEAM SUPPORTED ONLY BY SAID CAR END STRUCTURES AND LOCATED TOWARD ONE SIDE OF THE CAR, A TRANSOM LOCATED AT AN INTERMEDIATE POINT ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID CAR AND OVERLYING AND BEING SUPPORTED BY SAID TOP BEAM, AND A ROOF STRUCTURE SUPPORTED AT ITS ENDS BY SAID CAR END STRUCTURES AND AT AN INTEMEDIATE POINT BY SAID TRANSOM SO AS TO PROVIDE AN OPEN CAR SIDE WHICH IS FREE FROM INTERMEDIATE STRUCTURAL MEMBERS, THE COMBINATION OF AN OUTWARDLY SWINGING ROLL UP DOOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING TWO END DOOR POST, AN INTERMEDIATE DOOR POST, DOOR TRACK MEANS CARRIED BY SAID DOOR POSTS, SAID TRANSOM, AND SAID CAR ENDS, AND A PLURALITY OF ROLL UP DOORS COOPERATING WITH SAID DOOR TRACK MEANS, MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID END DOOR POSTS AT THEIR UPPER ENDS OF SAID CAR END STRUCTURES, A POST TRACK MOUNTED ON SAID ROOF STRUCTURES, MEANS FOR SLIDABLY MOUNTING SAID INTERMEDIATE DOOR POST ON SAID POST TRACK FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN OPERATIVE POSITION AND A LOADING POSITION IN WHICH IT IS DISPOSED ADJACENT ONE OF SAID END DOOR POSTS, SAID SLIDABLE MOUNTING MEANS ALSO PERMITTING OUTWARDLY SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID INTERMEDIATE DOOR POST WITH RESPECT TO SAID POST TRACK WHEREBY SAID ROLL UP DOOR ASSEMBLY MAY BE SWUNG OUTWARDLY AS A UNIT WHILE SAID ROLL UP DOORS ARE IN THE DOWN POSITION TO PERMIT DISENGAGEMENT OF SAID DOORS FROM THE LADING WITHIN THE CAR PREPARATORY TO SUBSEQUENT MOVEMENT OF SAID ROLL UP DOOR UPWARDLY INTO THEIR OPEN POSITION, SAID OUTWARDLY

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