Railroad Car with Reinforced End Doors

Abstract

A railroad freight car adapted for carrying automobiles and having a pair of doors enclosing and end of the car body. The pair of doors is hinged to the sides of the car body and meets each other at a central vertical plane, with each door including latches at top and bottom that engage an end sill and a roof the car body. The doors include panels of composite construction and have stiffening structures along vertically extending closure mating sides of the doors, whose margins confront each other. Door engagement members on each door extend toward and are engaged with the stiffening structures on the margin of the opposite one of the pair of doors.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to railroad freight cars useful for carrying motor vehicles, and particularly to end doors for such cars, for preventing unauthorized access to motor vehicles being carried.[0002]Railroad freight cars have long been used for transporting newly manufactured motor vehicles long distances from the point of manufacture or a port of arrival to cities where dealerships are located or to railroad terminals where the motor vehicles are loaded onto trucks for transport over highways to the locations of dealerships.[0003]In order to avoid pilferage or vandalism of motor vehicles and to protect motor vehicles from airborne hazards, many railroad freight cars designed to carry motor vehicles are enclosed and include roofs and end doors.[0004]Such railroad freight cars include doors at either end of the car to prevent unauthorized access to motor vehicles carried within the car. Some such railroad freight cars include pairs of doors ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a new type of railroad car that has two end doors that are designed to be resistant to being opened by people who do not have permission. This helps to prevent theft or vandalism.

Problems solved by technology

In the past, however, thieves have been known to gain access to motor vehicles carried within such cars by applying significant force to the edges of the end doors of such cars, where the doors meet each other at centerline of an end of the freight car.

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