US1888653A - Removable gondola car roof - Google Patents

Description

vNm?. 22, 1932. Q Di BONSALL, 1,888,653

REMOVABLE GoNDoLA CAR ROOF Filed Dec. 5. 1950 f//5 ATTO/@vifs Patented Nov. 22, 1932 NiTeD STATES incassi;

PATENT forrrcl;

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TG I. II. MUR- PHY COMPANY, 0F NEW? KENSIIl'G-TGN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA nnmovennn eoNDoLA GAR Boor Application filed December 3, 1930. y Serial No. 499,641.

This invention relates to ,removable roofs for gondola'cars. It has for its principal objects to provide a sectional sheetmetal roof that can be readily assembled on and dis- '5 mounted from cars of the above type, that can be applied to cars of substantially different widths and to cars with bowed side rails, that will permit the sheets to be compactly stacked forr shipment, and that will embody other advantages hereinafter appearing. The invention consists in the removable gondola car roof, and in the parts and arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, f Fig. l is a plan view of a portion of a gondola car provided with a removable roof embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1,

Y Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section through the eaves portion of the roof on the line 4-4 in Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through one of the roof seams, the section being taken through one of the Seam clamps on the line 5-5 in Fig. 4, the clamping member being shown in elevation.

Referring to the accompanying drawing,

my invention is shown in connection with a gondola car provided with longitudinal side members or rails in the form of bulb angles l that extend along the tops of the side frames ofA the car with their uppermost flanges facing outwardly. A removable roof for such gondola cars comprises a series of metal roof sheets 2 that are provided along their ends with depending eaves flanges 23 and along their side margins with hollow upstanding stitfening or strengthening ribs 3 that have outstanding base flanges 4 at the lower edges of their outer side walls. The ribs 3 are of substantially inverted channelshaped cross-section and their side walls slope outwardly from top to bottom of the ribs. As shown in the drawing, the body portions of the roof sheets 2 extend substantially straight from endA to end thereof, and side marginal ribs 3 slope downwardly from the middle of said ribs to points adjacent to the ends thereof where they are curved down-V wardly and merge into the plane of the flat body portions of the sheet where they are curved downwardly to form depending eaves flanges 23. The surplus of metal resulting from the decreased height of the side marginal ribs 3 at the end'portions thereof is utilize-d to increase the width of the end portions of the base flanges l of said ribs.

The roof sheets are made long enough to span a gondola car of maximum width from side rail to side rail and are arranged on the car side by side with the upstanding side marginal ribs 3 of adjacent roof sheets snugly fit-ting one over the other to form weatherproofing seams, and with the depending eaves flangesy 23 of thesheets overhanging the outer edges of said side rails. Mounted on the top flanges of the side rails 1 of the gondola car are eaves plates 5, which preferably extend lengthwise of said rails from end to end of the car. These eaves plates have main body portions which rest llatwise on and are removably secured to the side rails, preferably by means vof bolts 6 that pass .vertically through said plates and the top flanges of said side rails. The bolt receiving openings in the plates 5 are in the form of elongatedvslots 7 that extend transversely of said plates, whereby the plates can be applied to cars for cars of different widths. rlhe outer side marginal portionsV of the eaves plates of the roof are oifset upwardly, as at 8, to form supports for the eaves end portions of the roof sheets; and said roof sheets are rigidly secured to the sheet supportingl portions 8 of said plates by means of carriage bolts 9 that extend through the widened eaves end portions of the base flanges 4 of the overlapping ribs 3 of the sheets and the body portion of the sheets located therebelow. The eaves strips are made wide enough to rest on the side rails of cars of substantially different widths; and likewise, the slots 7 in said plates are made' long enough to register with the bolt holes in the side rails of the widestand narrowest of such cars.

The overlapped side marginal ribs 3 of adjacent sheets are secured together by clamps preferably located adjacent to and midway of their ends. Each of these seam clamps comprises yan inverted channelshaped member l which is placed astride the upper portion of the overlapping rib of a seam with its depending legs bearing against the sloping side walls of said rib. The seam clamp is held in position by means of an upstanding stud or pin l1 that is riveted or otherwise permanently secured to the underlapping. ribI of the seam and projects upwardthrough a bossed openingl provided therefor in the overlapping rib` of said seam and through a hole provided therefor in the webl of the seam clamp 1.0.v AThe overlapped ribs' of' the s earn are drawntogether by means of' a tapered draw key or wedge 13 which is driven into av tapered longitudinal slot la formed `in the, rivet pin l1 above the clamp `O. By this arrangement the action oi driving the tapered draw key 1 3 into the taperedis'lot le in the rivet pin ll causes the cla-mp l0l to bear against the opposite side walls of the overlapping rib and thus causes the two ribs Efo be drawn tightly together.

N'lvlrie hereinbefore described roof has numerous advantages. It can be quickly and easily lapplied to and removed from the roof; it" provides weatherproof connections between the'afdjacent roof sheets and between the' roof sheets and the side rails of the car; itmay be lapplied without alteration to cars of different 'widths and toV carsY with; bowed side rails; it will presentstraight eaves lines applied tovsaild bowed side rails; it is strong enoughA to support the vertical roof lo' 'd f; 'andaits'lat sheets are wellv adapted for staeking or piling and requirea amount of space in shipping.

Qbviously, my invention admits of considu erable modicationinthe design of the seams and yst itening ribs, and I do not wish` tobe limited to the specilic design shown.

lthat I vclaim is:

l, A'removable roof for gondola cars of substantially dierent widths, said root1 comprijsing a series of roof sheets spanning the carfrom. side rail to side rail and supported only at their ends, lmeans for removably se- ,f curing adjacent margins of said sheets together to form weatherproof joints therebetween, and plates boltedto the tops of said side rails anditovthe undersides of said roof sheetsfsaid plates being wide enough to bear uponthe side rails of the narrowest and the widest ofsuc'h cars, the hole invsaid 1wlates for the bolts'that secure said 'plates to saidside railsbeingj elongated in directions transverse to said rails. l

2, Afremovable roof for gondola cars, said roof comprising roof sheets adapte-d to extend from side rail to side rail of the car and provided along their adjacent margins with hollow ribs that are lapped to form weatherprooiing seams, eaves plates removably secured to said side` rails and to Said roof sheets, inverted channel-sliaped clamps straddling the lapped ribs of adjacent sheets, a pin permanently secured to the underlapping rib of a seam and extending upwardly through registering openings in the overlapping rib and in said clamp, said pin being provided above said clamp with a longitudinal slot, and a tapered key engaging said slot.

3. A removable rootfor gondola cars, said roof comprising roof sheets adapted to extend from side rail to side rail of the car and provided along their adjacent margins with hollow ribs which overlap each other toy form weatherprooiing seams, means for removably securing said ribs together, eaves plates resting latwise on said side rails and having upwardly offset portions adapted to overhang the outer edges of said side rails, bolts "for removably securing Said eaves plates rto said side rails,`an,d bolts for removably securing the roof sheets to the upwardly offset portions of said eaves plates, the opening said eaves plates for the securing bolts therefor being elongated transversely of said side rails.

Signed at New Kensington, Pennsylvania, this 28th day of November, 1930.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL.

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