Railway tank cars

Claim 1

A RAILWAY TANK CAR COMPRISING A LONGITUDINAL EXTENDING TUBULAR BODY SHELL DEFINING INDEPENDENTLY OF OTHER STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS A COMPLETE FLUID-TIGHT ENCLOSURE, SAID BODY SHELL BEING OF SELF-SUPPORTING RIGID CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL CENTRAL SECTION OF RELATIVELY LARGE DIAMETER AND A PAIR OF GENERALLY FRUSTO-CONICAL INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS AND A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL END SECTIONS OF RELATIVELY SMALL DIAMETER AND A PAIR OF END HEADS, THE INNER ENDS OF SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS BEING RESPECTIVELY JOINED TO THE OPPOSITE OUTER ENDS OF SAID CENTRAL SECTION AND THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS BEING RESPECTIVELY JOINED TO THE OPPOSITE INNER ENDS OF SAID END SECTIONS AND SAID END HEADS BEING RESPECTIVELY JOINED TO THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID END SECTIONS, THE TOP OF SAID CENTRAL SECTION AND THE TOPS OF SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS AND THE TOPS OF SAID END SECTIONS BEING DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL UPPER PLANE, THE BOTTOM OF SAID CENTRAL SECTION BEING DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL LOWER PLANE AND THE BOTTOMS OF SAID END SECTIONS BEING DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL INTERMEDIATE PLANE AND THE BOTTOMS OF SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS BEING RESPECTIVELY DISPOSED IN TWO OTHER PLANES GENERALLY UPWARDLY AND OPPOSITELY OUTWARDLY INCLINED FROM SAID LOWER PLANE, WHEREBY SAID BODY SHELL IS OF FISH-BELLY CONFIGURATION, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY ALIGNED STUB DRAFT SILLS RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED ADJACENT TO THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BODY SHELL AND RESPECTIVELY PROVIDED WITH HOLLOW OUTER ENDS ADAPTED RESPECTIVELY TO RECEIVE A PAIR OF DRAFT GEARS, THE INTERMEDIATE PORTIONS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS BEING RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED BELOW SAID END SECTIONS AND THE INNER ENDS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS BEING RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED BELOW SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS, A PAIR OF REINFORCING PLATES RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED BOTTOMS OF SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS, THE INNER ENDS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS BEING RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE RESPECTIVELY ADJACENT ONES OF SAID REINFORCING PLATES, A PAIR OF SADDLE PLATES RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED BELOW SAID END SECTIONS AND RESPECTIVELY EMBRACING THE RESPECTIVELY ADJACENT LOWER PORTIONS THEREOF AND RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTED THERETO, A PAIR OF LATERALLY EXTENDING BODY BOLSTERS RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE INTERMEDIATE PORTIONS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS AND A PAIR OF PEDESTAL STRUCTURES RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTING SAID BODY BOLSTERS AND THE RESPECTIVELY ADJACENT LOWER PORTIONS OF SAID SADDLE PLATES, SAID BODY SHELL CONSTITUTING THE ONLY CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF THE TOTAL DRAFT FORCE THEREBETWEEN, SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS BEING LOCATED PRINCIPALLY BETWEEN SAID LOWER AND INTERMEDIATE PLANES SO THAT THE MAJOR FRACTION OF THE TOTAL DRAFT FORCE EXERTED BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS IS APPLIED FROM THE INNER ENDS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS THROUGH SAID REINFORCING PLATES TO SAID INTERMEDIATE TRANSITION SECTIONS AND WELL ABOVE SAID LOWER PLANE AND SO THAT THE MINOR FRACTION OF THE TOTAL DRAFT FORCE EXERTED BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS IS APPLIED FROM THE INTERMEDIATE PORTIONS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS THROUGH SAID BODY BOLSTERS AND SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES AND SAID SADDLE PLATES TO SAID END SECTIONS, THEREBY TO MINIMIZE ROTATIONAL DRAFT TORQUES BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS AND SAID BODY SHELL.