Freight car

Claim 1

A WHEELED VEHICLE ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR TRANSPORTATION OF A PLURALITY OF MATERIAL CONTAINERS EACH OF WHICH EXTENDS ALONG ONLY A MINOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF THE WHEELED VEHICLE, SAID WHEELED VEHICLE INCLUDING IN COMBINATION, A BED AND WHEELS SECURED THERETO, A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF BRACE MEMBERS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT THEIR LOWER PORTIONS TO THE VEHICLE BED, THE PIVOT POINTS OF EACH PAIR OF BRACE MEMBERS BEING SPACED ONE FROM THE OTHER ALONG THE VEHICLE BED, SAID PIVOT POINTS BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE EDGE OF THE VEHICLE BED AND BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO ENABLE THE BRACE MEMBERS TO SWING IN A PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE VEHICLE, THE UPPER END OF EACH BRACE MEMBER BEING RELEASABLY SECURED TO AND SUPPORTING A CROSS MEMBER WHEN IN OPERATIVE CONDITION, THERE BEING AT LEAST ONE CROSS MEMBER INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE WHEELED VEHICLE, A PAIR OF TERMINAL CROSS MEMBERS, ONE FOR EACH END OF THE VEHICLE BED, EACH OF SAID TERMINAL MEMBERS BEING SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY DIRECTLY ABOVE AN END OF THE VEHICLE BED AND CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED FOR CONNECTION TO THE FREE END OF AN ASSOCIATED BRACE MEMBER, EACH OF SAID INTERMEDIATE CROSS MEMBERS HAVING RELEASABLY SECURED THERETO THE UPPER END OF TWO BRACE MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID BRACE MEMBERS BEING PIVOTABLE FROM A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH IT IS CONNECTED TO A CROSS MEMBER AND SPANS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN ADJACENT PIVOT POINTS TO A SECOND, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY POSITION TO THEREBY PROVIDE UNOBSTRUCTED ACCESS TO THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID PAIRS OF PIVOT POINTS, THE BRACE MEMBERS IN EACH PAIR OF BRACE MEMBERS CROSSING ONE ANOTHER WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION, MEANS FOR SECURING CROSSING BRACE MEMBERS TO ONE ANOTHER TO THEREBY PREVENT COLLAPSE OF THE BRACE MEMBERS WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION, AND TO SUPPORT THE TERMINAL AND INTERMEDIATE CROSS MEMBERS ABOVE THE VEHICLE BED, AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CROSS MEMBER, SAID MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CROSS MEMBERS BEING A SIMILAR ARRANGEMENT OF BRACE AND CROSS MEMBERS, EACH PAIR OF PIVOTABLE BRACE MEMBERS BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY DIRECTLY OPPOSITE A CORRESPONDING PAIR OF BRACE MEMBERS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE BED TO THEREBY PROVIDE UNOBSTRUCTED, LATERAL ACCESS TO THE SPACE BETWEEN ADJACENT PIVOT POINTS WHEN THE BRACE MEMBERS IN OPPOSITE PAIRS OF BRACE MEMBERS ARE ALL IN THEIR SECOND, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION.