Folding Rail Car Doors

The requirement of the inwardly and upwardly directed portion of the roof structure for adequate car clearance will be readily appreciated upon an understanding of the section entitled "Fundamentals for Design Fabrication and Construction of Freight Cars" in CAR AND LOCOMOTIVE CYCLOPEDIA, id., p. S2-1 to S2-10. For purposes of interchange of rail cars between different rail lines in the United States, the clearance standards explained in the cited material must be uniformly observed as design parameters. Accordingly, in order to maximize the height of an automobile transit rail car to the point where three auto hauling decks may be utilized while still meeting the clearance diagrams promulgated and adopted for interchange cars by the Association of American Railroads, it is necessary to provide an inwardly and upwardly directed roof portion.

A particular design problem has been encountered because of the necessity of an inwardly and upwardly directed roof structure and multi-decked automobile transit rail cars in that the straight vertical multiple panels of folding doors, if upwardly extended sufficiently to substantially close the interior cavity in the region of the upper deck, will not be capable of inward movement to the position of storage along the inside rail car wall upon being pivotally folded back upon each other to the open position. The new multiple panel folding door combinations of the instant invention provides substantially complete closing of the car end opening and yet solve this storage problem.

The novel door combinations of the invention are used in a method of closing the end opening of a closed rail car. The doors are of folded panel type and are provided with top panel portions which extend from the top of the door assemblies angularly inwardly relative to the plane of the end opening and main door panels and in spaced relation with each other and the roof structure. The degree of angularity, the spaces between each of the top panel portions and every other top panel portion and the roof structure are of such magnitude that when the door assemblies are in closed position the end opening portion above the door assemblies is substantially closed. In the preferred embodiment, the angle of the top panel portions with respect to the panels approximates the angle of the clearance diagram dictated by the inwardly and upwardly directed portion of the roof structure. When the panels are pivotally moved from the unfolded closed position to the folded open position and then to storage along the rail car side walls, and back, each of the top panel portions clears every other top panel portion and the roof structure sufficiently for movement relatively thereto. Because of this arrangement, it is possible to close the end opening substantially completely for the prevention of vandalism and pilferage and yet when the multiple panel folding door assemblies are folded into open position they may be moved into storage position along the inside rail car wall. Accordingly, the prior art problem of three deck auto transit rail cars having an opening above the storable multiple panel folding door assemblies through which access could be gained by trespassers and thieves is eliminated.

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a multi-decked automobile transit rail car having folding rail car doors constructed according to the principles of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the door in folded open and stored position in phantom.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary prospective view of the upper portion of the rail car of FIG. 1 illustrating one door combination in folded open storage position and one in unfolded closed position.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of one-half of the rail car of FIG. 1 showing a door combination in unfolded closed position.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing a door combination in folded open and stored position.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 6 showing the door in folded open and unstored position in phantom.

In the embodiment illustrated, the numeral 10 generally designates a rail car.

The rail car 10 has an end opening which has its left-hand half closed by a three-paneled door set 12 and its right-hand half closed by a three-paneled door set 14. Car 10 is of the closed three-tier automobile transport type, including three decks, A, B and C, respectively, on which ladings such as vehicles are stored for transit. As seen in FIG. 2, wherein the door panel set 14 is shown, the doors are capable of assuming two illustrated positions. In the full view position of FIG. 2, the door panel set 14 is in the unfolded closed position. The folded open storage position within the car is shown in phantom.

The hinge arrangement which makes this possible will be seen by referring to door panel set 14 in FIG. 2 wherein panels 18, 20 and 22 are shown in the closed position. The adjacent edges of the three panels 18, 20 and 22 have hinges welded thereto. The panels 18 and 20 have an outwardly disposed hinge 30 with leaves welded to their respective and adjacent edges and the panel 22 and the adjacent edge of panel 20 have an inwardly extending hinge 32 similarly welded to their adjacent edges. Panel 22 has a hinge 34 with a leaf welded to its edge and a leaf welded to a pipe section 40. The hinge or pivot 34 permits swinging of the three panels outwardly or inwardly toward positions parallel to the wall 42 of the car 10. The panels have a plurality of hinges 30, 32 and 34 along their length.

The three-panel door assembly 14 is mounted to the car by means of the panel 22, the hinge 34 and the pipe section 40. A pinion shaft (or pipe) 106 is journaled within the pipe section 40. The upper end of shaft 106 has rigidly attached thereto a pinion 110. Pinion 110 rotates with shaft or pipe 106 and the teeth thereof engage a rack 112.

A lower pinion 120 is mounted rigidly on shaft 106 and cooperates with a rack 122. The rack 122 is coextensive and parallel to rack 112 and because the pinions 110 and 120 are commonly mounted on the opposite ends of shaft 106, the top and bottom portions of door assembly 14 remain in register at all times and, in particular, during movement to and from the stored position at the inner end of racks 112 and 122.

Horizontally mounted below the shaft 106 on deck A is a track 131 which extends from the car opening to the interior of the car along and spaced from wall 42. A roller cage or hanger 133 is mounted by means of welding to the lower end of a pipe 135. The lower end of shaft 106 is journaled in pipe 135. Alternatively, an extension may be welded to the end thereof projecting downwardly for engagement with a thrust bearing (not shown). A roller movably supports the door assembly 14 for movement along track 131 to and from the storage position.

The pinion 110 is engaged by a spring biased pawl 140 which acts to positively lock the pinion in the storage position at its innermost end of travel on the rack 112. The shaft 106 is manually driven by crank means in the form of a housing or power wheel 150. A locking device generally indicated by the numeral 155 cooperates with T-shaped members 157 for selectively locking the door assemblies in their unfolded closed positions.

In order to maximize the interior height of the car while still being within the approved Association of American Railroads' clearance diagrams, the roof structure is made up of a horizontal central portion 160 and inwardly and upwardly directed portions 162 on either side thereof attached to the upper portion of the car side walls 42.

The inwardly and upwardly directed portions 162 of the roof structure are typically angled with respect to the car side walls 42 at an angle of approximately 45 to 75 degrees.

The door panels 18 and 22 are provided with door top panel portions or extension panels 170 and 172 respectively. The top panel portion 170 is attached to the top of the panel 18 and extends laterally over adjacent panel 20. The top panel portion 172 is attached to the top of door panel 22 and also extends laterally over panel 20, at least sufficiently to cover hinge 32 which joins panels 20 and 22. The top panel portion 172 is provided with an edge 174 which is inwardly and upwardly directed in the same direction as is roof structure portion 162 to provide clearance thereof.

Top panel portions 170 and 172 extend from the top of the door assemblies angularly inwardly relative to the opening and the plane formed by the unfolded closed main door panels 18, 20 and 22 and are in spaced relation with the roof structure. The angle of the top panel portions 170 and 172 and the space between them and their space from the roof structure horizontal portion 160 and inwardly and upwardly directed portion 162 are of such magnitude that when the door assemblies are in the unfolded closed position, the end opening portion above the door assemblies is substantially closed. The magnitude, however, is chosen such that when the panels are pivotally moved from the unfolded closed position to the folded open position and to storage along the rail car side walls 42, and back, each of the top panel portions 170 and 172 clears the other top panel portion and the roof structure sufficiently for movement relative thereto. In the preferred embodiment, the angular relation of the top panel portions 170 and 172 relative to the main door panels 18, 20 and 22 approximates the inwardly and upwardly directed angle that the roof structure portion 162 makes with the rail car side walls 42.

It will be seen that with this arrangement and with the spacing provided over the panel 20 between top panel portions 170 and 172 that the required clearance during the folding open, unfolding closing and storing operations is provided, therefore providing for substantially complete closing of the end opening of the rail car by the unfolded closed doors and yet solving the problem of storage of the folded open doors by permitting their entrance into the rail car cavity along the inside of car walls 42.