1. business and industrial
2. construction

Sept. 20, 1938. '
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RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION
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RAILWAY CAR CON STRUCTION I
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RAILWAYy CAR CONSTRÚCTION
original Filed April 1o, 1_933
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Sept. 20, v1938.
K. F, NYSTROM
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RAILWAY CAR CÓNSTRUCTION.
Original Filed April lO, 1933
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» PatenteciSept. 20, l1938
2,130,812 '
_ AUMTED STATES PATENT voFFlcr:
2,130,812
RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION
Karl F. Nystrom, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to
Chicago-Hutchins Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a
corporation of Delaware
Application April 10, 1933, Serial No. 665,414
\
Renewed February 22, 1938
'
_5 claims. v(c1. 10s-_409)
Current practices in railway car construction
Fig. l is a fragmentary, side elevational view
mayr be found in the Car Builder’s Cyclopedia,
of a box car made in accordance with the pres
1931, published by Simmons-Boardman Publish- .
ent invention;
ing Company,~ 30~Church Street, New York, New
5 York. Particular reference is made to pages 101
to 412 and pages 463 to 676.
y
`
'
Fig. 2, is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2
of Fig. 4, looking down on the ñooring;
5
Fig. 3 is an enlarged ldetail section of one of
'
-In both freight» and passenger car construction
it is the common practice (see Fig. 545, page 359
_ and Fig. I1408, 'page 614) to first build the under
10 frame, then mount the sideframes on the side
the corners;
'
Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the
line 4_4 of Fig. 5;
lines and ñnally apply the roof and side sheathu
Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-,---5 lo>
of Fig. 4 looking toward the end wall of the car`, a
part of the interior finish being broken away to
ing. '
disclose the structure behind;
sills, connect the tops of the sidefraines by car
This method, however, is very costlyV for it
15 means that much yof the drilling, riveting, and
welding must be done on the car ras it is being
built, and often the men must Work in very
-
'
Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section showing the
mating of the end sheet with the roof; ‘
15
Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail section showing
the junction between the car body and the side
awkward positions. The method is also objec-- sill, the section being taken on the -line 'i-‘l of
tionable because the metal sheathing cannot be fFig. 2;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section through the 20
20 applied until after the sideframes and carlines».
have'been built on the car, and consequently roofzzthe section being taken on the line 8-8 of
,much time is wasted.
Fig. 9. is an enlarged detail sectional view of the
Primarily the object of the present inventionl
is to reduce the cost of car construction by upper right hand portion of the car, taken
through one of the side plate pans;
_
25
25 eliminating all of the framework. This is ac
Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line
' complished by building the car body from a plu
lll-l0 of Fig. 5;'
rality of _sheet metal sections which are pro
Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line
videdilwithfinwardly extending reinforcing flanges
sufilcientin size and number to give the body the H_II of Fig. 4.
Fig_
30 necessary'strength.
.
;
»
'
.
vWhile the invention has been illustrated as 30 '
y
of standard-sized mill sheets for the sheet metal
sections, standard-sized veneer sheets for the in
applied to a. box car', it will be understood that
this is for the purpose of disclosure only, for the
invention is equally applicable to other types of
side lining, andan arrangement of the flooring
railway cars.
Other objects of this invention include the use
35_ whereby all waste is avoided; shaping the car
~‘ _ vto reduce wind resistance to a. minimum; pro
viding a floor construction that protects the side
, joints against ingress of moisture and which en
ables the floor to be partly or wholly renewed
~
Also the details of construction are merely il- g5
lustrative of the invention and should not be
construed as imposing limitations uponthe ap
pended claims except as may be required by the
prior art.
_
'
.The car chosen to illustrate the invention is a 40
40 without disturbing any of the' interior finish;y
providing a’ car vbodylwhich facilitates repairs in box car having an underframe 20 mounted onI
case of an accident and reduces the area over trucks 2|. The car body. generally designated
which the damage is likely to spread; providing 22, comprises sides 23 and 24, ends 25 and 26, and
n'ovel arrangements of the longitudinal and a roof 21 upon which longitudinal and latitudlnal
v445 latitudinal running boards and the side and end 'running boards 28 and 29 respectively, are 45
ladders, and a method of constructing la car
- which
embodies the
above
advantages
and
' furthermore permits the greater part of fabri-l
cation~ to bedonebefore assembly where the
v50 work can be done far more expediently.
' Further andother objects -and advantages of
the invention will become apparent as the dis
' closure proceeds'and the description isy read’y in
conjunction with the .accompanying drawings,
`sßinllvhich
-
J
mounted.
Side and end ladders 30 and 3l are .
mounted at the ends of the car according' to
A. R. A. speciñcations. ' ,
Underframe
In building a car according to this invention, 50
the underframe 20 is iirst fabricated, if not in
tegrally cast, and is then mounted on the car
trucks.
-_ _In the present embodiment of the invention, `g55
2.
2,180,812
the underframe is fabricated and comprises
standard A. R. _A. center sills 32, side sills 33,
end sills 34, body bolsters 35, braces 35. and floor
beams 31, all riveted and/or-welded to form a
5 rigid structure.
The side sills 33 (best’shown in Fig. ’1) may
be termed i angle or channel bars and are placed
with their apexes pointing upwardly and out
standard size; and the top, bottom and side
ñanges are all 3%".
All of the sections are made of lß” steel plate
which in combination with the reinforcing
flanges provides adequate strength to resist the 5
outwardpressure of theladingand _furnish sup
portgfor the superstructure. - "
`_
' ’
lThe sections may be bolted together and then
welded along the inside and outside of the mat
wardly; the outside legs 39 of the side sills
10 project downwardly and then inwardly with a » ing flanges to provide a unitary structure with l0
smoothly curved bend 49. Preferably the leg is inwardly extending reinforcing flanges.
curved according to the formula Y=2 los X
ìSince the door in a box car is ordinarily in
with the origin of the curve at,4l.
, the center of thecar, each of the sides will be
The upper legs d2 of the sidesills extend hori-> ' made up of two units fabricated as described
15 zontally inwardly a certain distance, then down
above. These units are mounted on the under
wardly as shown at 43 and then inwardly to form frame and'then welded, as indicated at 54 and
shoulders 44. The outside iioor boards of the 95, leaving’ a space for ‘the door, which is not
Aiioor 38 rest upon the shoulders 44 and abut the shown. The door also is made up of two or
downwardly extending portions 43. Since the more panels similar to the ones used in the sides.
20 depth of the offset is approximately the thick
Preferably the tops and bottoms of the side 20
ness of the floor, moisture within the car will panels or sections 41 and 53 are slightly curved
drain between the ñooring and the side sill rather as indicated at 56 and 51, respectively, to-blend
than' through the joint between the car body and with the roof and side sill curves.
- the side sill. This is particularly desirable be
After the sides 23 and 24 are mounted on the
25 cause it avoids the collection of moisture at the underframe `and welded in place, furring or nail
25
base of the car sides.
ing strips 59 are secured to the inside of the
It is common practice to lay the licor boards flanges 50 by bolts 59 to> provide a means for
crosswise between the center sills and the side
sills but this practice results in unnecessary
30 waste because the ñoor boards do not come in
nine foot lengths which is the span between the
side sills of a standard box car. Floor boards,
however, do> come in fourteen foot length and
since _a standard car is forty feet six inches
35 in length, three of such standard length floor
boards can be used with a minimum amount of
Waste.
As shown, the iloor boards aretongue and
grooved and rest upon end sills 34, holsters 35,
40-iioor beams 31, center sills 32 and side sills 33.
The boards are individually bolted to the end
sills 34 as shown in Fig. 2 and to the various cross
members of the underframe. Although the iioor
ing may be laid on the underframe before ap
5 plying the car ends 25 and 26 and the sides 23
and 24, it is preferably laid later to facilitate the
welding of the sides and ends to the underframe.
'After' the underframe has been set up and
pieced together, the usual striking castings 45
50 and bolster fillers 46, along with draft gears, cou
fastening the interior iinish to the side walls.
Ends
30
The ends 25 and 26 are preferably made in
one piece from 1A" steel plate, corrugated as
shown in the drawings. The tops of the ends are
flanged inwardly as shown at ‘60 and then down
wardly as shown at Si, the latter ñanges being
adaptedto mate with the adjacent flanges of the
roof and be secured to the roof by welding. The
bottom of the ends are provided with flanges t2
which rest upon the end sills and are welded to
said sills on both the inside and outside of the
flange. Side flanges 63 and 64 provided with in 40
wardly turned portions 65 and 66 are welded to
the mating flanges of the corner sections 53 of
the sides 23 and 24, respectively.
Resting inside each end sheet on the flange 52
is a transverse furring strip t1 rabbeted at 68 to
receive the interior finish. The furring strip 51
is secured to the flange E2 by bolts 59, the heads
of which are spot-welded to the iiange.
Other transverse furring strips 19, 'M_ and 12
plers, etc. are applied and lthe car is then mount- _ . are secured to the inside of the end sheets 25
ed on the trucks 2|.
'
55
`
Sides
While the underframe is being made. another
part of the shop may be at work in fabricating
the car sides. In general, the car sides 23 and
.24 are composed of a plurality of sheet metal
1 sections 41 provided with inwardly extending top
and 26 by bolts 13 having their heads spot
welded to the sheet.
The furring strip 12 is, of course, curved to
conform with the shape of the roof and has a
rabbet 14 to receive the interior finish.
j, .55.
The roof also is made up of a plurality of sheet
60 and bottom ñanges 48 and 49, respectively, and metal sections comprising center sections 14, 60
sections 15 and side plate >sections
side ñanges 50 and 5I, respectively,fthe latter intermediate
16. The sections have inwardly projecting re
' being bent inwardly again at 52 parallel to tbe , inforcing, flanges 11 extending completely
face of the section.
The end sections 53 do not
have a ñange corresponding to the iiange 52, but
are otherwise identical with the other sections.
All of the sections with the exception of the
corner sections 53 are made by taking standard
sized‘mill sheets of 42." width and drawing out
7o the top, bottom and side ñanges to form what
may be termed a pan.
All flanges of the pan
may be 3%" deep; and the ñange 52 may be 2"
' in- width, as these dimensions have been found
to give the sections the desired strength. The
15 end sections 53 are made from 40" plate also of
'around the marginal edges of the sections. , The
tops of the sections are. curved according to the
equation Y=8 log X, the origin of the curve being
indicated
at
19.
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_
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.
The center sections 14 are made from No..16
gauge steel plate, and the intermediate sections
15 from No. 15 gauge steel plate, both plates 70
having a width of 32”,‘which is a standard mill
size. The side sections 16 are made from No.' 7
gauge steel plate, which is considerably heavier
than the plate used for either the center sections
`Ír'1/4,` intermediate sections 15, or side sections 41
3
andere
and 53. The width of the4 plate is 18" which is
also a standard mill size.
'The center and intermediate sections 14 and
15, in addition to being the same width`are also
p the same length, as indicated in Fig. 1. The
side plate sections 16, however, are twice as long
_ as either the center or intermediate sections 14
and 15 (Fig. 1). The purpose of this arrange
ment is to cause the heavier gauge metal in the
10 side plate sections to oppose any tendency of the
center and intermediate pans to buckle along the
latitudinal flanges. The heavier metal of the
side plate sections is also desirable because these
sections . act
15
as
a
longitudinal
beam
and
strengthen the center portion of the car which
is being constantly/'subjected to vertical stresses.
By making the roof into center, intermediate,
and side plate sections, -the former two may be
made of comparatively light metal, because of
20 the small proportion ofíthe total load which they
carry, while the side pl'ate sections are made of
heavier metal to withstand the greater stresses ‘
to whichçthey are subjected.
_ ‘
Furring .strips 19 are secured by bolts=80 along
25 one Ylongitudinal and one‘latitudinal flange 11
of each section. , The furring is, of course, curved
to cónform with the curvature of the roof.
The roof is fabricated by taking the center,
intermediate, and side plate sections and bolting
together Ithe mating flanges. The sections may
then be welded together both on the inside and
- outside of the flanges to provide a unitary roof
structure, which is self-supporting and requires
vno supplemental framework.
35
_
After all the sections have been welded to
which includes the dotted line portion indicated
at 9|. The side plates, however, are notched at
92 to` accommodate .the latitudinal. flanges Vand.
furring of the side plate sections. 'I‘he side
plates are secured in place by fastening them
to the side plate furring and to the lower longi
tudinal furring of theintermediate sections of
the roof. The upper edges .of the side plates are
rabbeted at 93 to accommodate the_eeiling lin
ing 80.
‘
10
rThe side lining 81 comprises a plurality of
veneer sheets which are but slightly smaller
than the standard sized sheets. 'I'he sheets are
.trimmed to the desired size and then fastened to
` the furring that is provided.
-
'I'he end lining is also veneer and is secured to
15.
the transverse furring strips 10 and 1|. The
upper .end lining 89 is curved to conform to the
>roof and ~is securedïto the transverse furring
strips 1| and 12. The ceiling sheets 80 which 20
are also veneer extend from the center of the
`roof to the side plates and are pressed into con->
formity with the roof furring and then secured
in place to .the furring. A batten strip '84 covers
the joint between the two halves of the ceiling 25
lining.
'
One feature of this invention is the fact that
the side, end and ceiling linings may be removed
independently of one another. 'I'his is accom
plished by forming the corners as shown in Fig.,3 30
with the end lining 88 seated within the rabbeted
edge 14 of the furring12. In order that the Joint
ywill be Weatherproof and waterproof, a galvanized
iron strip 85 is iitted into the corner so that a
slight spreading of the side and end sheets will
gether both longitudinally and latitudinally, thev not permit moisture to enter the car.
furring strips 19 are applied to the flanges 11
In a similar manner, the joint between the
and are secured in place by the bolts 80. The
side plate sections 16 have straight edge furring
40 8| which _constitute continuations of the side
furring 58.
v After the roof‘sections have Abeen welded> to- »
gether, metal saddles 82, which support the run--[ning board sections, are welded along the top
45 seam. _The saddles are in the form of U-brackets
_provided with outwardly -extending flanges 83
upon which thel running board 28 rests. The
running board may _then be applied tothe car
roof or may be later applied when‘ the roof has
roof and the car end is provided with an ironl
strip 96, and serves the same function.
40
Longitudinal _running board
The running board 28 is made in'four sections.
the end sections of which are supported by brack
ets 91 which are welded to the car ends.
Each
section comprises three boards 88 which are unit 45
ed at their ends by U-shaped metal strips 88 em
bedded in the wood.v The boards are also unitedat their mid-sections by a wooden saddle |00 to
which- the boards are suitably secured and which
' is shaped at the bottom to conform to the curva 50
'I'he latitudinal running board brackets 84 are ture of the roof.
‘ _also welded on the car roof before the roof is.Therefore, to apply the running boards to the
mounted on the car.
i roof, it is only necessary to put them in place
50 been assembled on the car.
'The carA roof, which _is now completely- welded
and is _provided with the necessary furring and
with the necessary running board brackets and
ksaddles may now be lifted by a suitable hoist and
placed on thecar sides and ends. The top flanges ‘
48 of the side sections >are then welded Ato the
bottom flanges of the side plate sections and the
end ñangeslof the roof are welded to the down
wardly extending flanges 6I of the car ends to
make the entire car body a unitary structure.
65
Interior finish.
The interior finish comprises base boards 85,
side plates 86, side lining 81,‘end lining 88 and
88, and 'ceiling lining 90.
`
'_I‘he base boards extend completely around the
«70 interior of the car, they side base boards resting
rupon the raised horizontal portion of the side
sill legs 42.. 'I‘he base boards are securedin
place by fastening them to the side furring I8.
The- v.side plates 86 -are irregularly shaped
wooden strips (see- Fig. 9) the main outline of'
with vtheir ends resting on the metal saddles 82
and bolt them to -the saddles by bolts 10|, the 55
metal saddles 82 having already been welded to
the car roof.
'
'
' '
Latitudínal running board
j
.
.
The latitudinal running board 29 comprises a 60
plurality of transverse boards |02 which are se
_cured to the angle members |03. 'I'he brackets
84 which are welded to the roof before it is
mounted on the car enable the latitudinal run
ning board to be fastened in place by‘bolts |04
which pass through downwardly extending
flanges provided on the angle members |03.
Side and end ladders
Side and end ladders ordinarily have their
rungs fastened, to; the sides by bolts which pass
clear through the body. Consequently, when a
rung is broken it is necessary to unload the car~
and disturb part of the interior finish in order to
remove the bolts holding the broken rung.v
75
4
_In the present invention, this objectionable
the longitudinal roof center and each side wall of
practice is obviated by having the sides |85 of
the ladders 30 and 3| provided with offset por
the car.
.
3. A railway car body superstructure compris
tions |06 to which the rungs |01 may be fas
ing a plurality of sheet metal panned sections
tened. The rivet |08 or other fastening means secured together to form a unitary structure, said
employed‘for securing the rung to the side need sections including separate side, side plate and
only pass through the rung andthe side. It roof sections, inwardly directed longitudinal and
lateral fianges on the sections forming stiiïening
does not enter the car body. Therefore, when
ever a rung is broken, it may be quickly replaced. ' elements for resisting the usual body strains,
the corresponding flanges of adjacent sections be 10
Theside and end ladders Sil and 3|, respec
10
tively, are secured to the car body by> welding.
ing continuous with each other, said ñanges be
ing sufiicient in number and dimensions to avoid
A railway car made in accordance with this
invention is strong, durable and in case of acci
the necessity of supplemental frame work, and
including a plurality of parallel longitudinal
dent may be easily repaired by replacing the
iianges in said roof sections, said side plate sec 15
tions being sufiicient in strength to form the top
15 damaged sections. The car is much cheaper to
build than those in common use; presents a
smooth exterior finish, which in combination
with the shaping of the car reduces wind re
sistance to a minimum; and can be constructed
20 in less time due to the fact that the several com
ponents of the car may be made in different parts
of the -shop and then assembled.
What I claim as my invention is:
1. In a -railway car, the combination with an
25 underframe of a car body superstructure sup-~
cord of a. truss.
'
4. A railway car body superstructure compris
ing a plurality of sheet metal panned sections.>
secured together to form a unitary structure',
said sections including separate side, side plate
and roof sections, inwardly directed longitudinal
and lateral iianges on the sections forming stif
fening elements for resisting the usual body
strains, the corresponding ñanges of adjacent- 25
sections being continuous with each other, 'said
ported thereon, the sides and roof ofwhich com
prise a plurality of sheet metal panned sections flanges being suflicient in number and dimensions
welded together to form a unitary structure with _ to avoid the necessity of supplemental frame
so
a smooth exterior surface and with longitudinal
work in the superstructure, and including a plu
and lateral inwardly extendingiianges welded to
rality of parallel longitudinal fianges in said- roof
each other forming in abutting sections a network
of reinforcements, the corresponding ñanges of
adjacent sections being continuous with each
other and sufiicient to give the car bodyadequate
sections, the metal of which said side plate sec-.
tions are made being of heavier gauge thanv the
trussing strength without the
necessity of
'separate supporting vframe work in the super
structure, there being at least a pluralityof .lat
erally abutting sections between the longitudinal
roof center and each _side wall of the ear.
40
2. In a railway car, the combination with an
undeßrframe of a car body superstructure sup
ported> thereon, comprisinga plurality of sheet
metal panned sections welded together to form a
unitary structure with a smooth exterior finish,
the sections forming the sides of the car having
vertical flanges for resisting laterally directed
metal in the roof sections.
,
'
V
5. In a railway car, the combination with an
underframe, of a car body superstructure sup 35
ported thereon, the sides and roof >of which‘com
prise a plurality of sheet metal‘panne'd sections
welded together to form‘a unitary structure with
a smoothexterior surface and with‘longltudinal
and »laterally inwardly extending" ñanges welded 40
to each other forming in abutting sectionsva net
work of reinforcements, ythe corresponding ,ñanges
of adjacent sections being continuous with each
other and suificient Ito'givel the car body ade
quatev trussing- strength withoutthe necessity of
separate supporting frame vwork in the'super 45
structure, there being at least a plurality of` lat
erally abutting sections `between the longitudinal
forces and the sections forming the -roof of vthe
car having series of parallel flanges longitudinal
-ly and latitudinally of the car, the correspondingY roof center and each side wall of the car, furring
50 flanges of adjacent sections being continuous
' with each other and welded together so that when`
all sections, side and roof, have been united, the
said flanges will afford adequate trussing strength
to enablel said superstructure to resist bui and
55 draft shocks and the pressure of lading without
supplemental frame work, there being at least
a plurality of laterally abutting sections between
secured to the iianges of 'said panned sections”,
and interior finish attached'to the furring for 50
covering’said flanges, said finish comprising side
lining plates, lining sheets beneath said side lining
plates, and a flat ceiling sheet pressed into con
forxnityr with the curvature of the roof abutting
against said side lining plates and secured to
the roof furring.
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~
KARL F. NYSTROM.