Importance

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Abstract

An articulated hopper railcar is provided which when fully loaded has a low combined center of gravity and has an improved track load distribution when compared with conventional railcars of similar capacity. The car has good dynamic stability making it ideal for rail lines with greater surface irregularities and sharper curves than those found on main lines. The car includes two hopper car bodies, each car body having an adjacent end and an exterior end, each car body having a hopper therein with at least one discharge exit, the hopper having a first end sheet at the exterior end of the car body, sloped upwards and outwards from the hopper, and a second end sheet at the adjacent end of the car body, sloped upwards and inwards towards the hopper; two end trucks with wheels, each end truck supporting the exterior end of each car body; a pin connection mounted on each end truck for pivotally supporting the exterior end of the car body on the end truck; center truck with wheels for supporting the adjacent ends of the two car bodies; articulated connector mounted on the center truck for connecting the adjacent ends of the two car bodies together and for pivotally supporting the adjacent ends of the two car bodies on the center truck; end coupler at the exterior end of each car body adapted for coupling the hopper railcar to an adjacent railcar or locomotive, and center sill member in each car body extending in line through the hopper from the end coupler to the articulated connector, adapted to transfer traction load through the hopper railcar.

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First Claim