Railway tank cars

Claim 1

A RAILWAY TANK CAR COMPRISING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING TUBULAR BODY SHELL AND 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 END 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 SECTION 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 EXTENDING TOWARD 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, SAID BODY SHELL CONSTITUTING THE ONLY CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF THE TOTAL DRAFT FORCE THEREBETWEEN, A PAIR OF LATERALLY EXTENDING BODY BOLSTERS RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE INTERMEDIATE PORTIONS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS, A PAIR OF PEDESTAL STRUCTURES RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED BELOW THE LOWER PORTIONS OF SAID END SECTIONS AND RESPECTIVELY RIGIDLY CONNECTED THERETO AND RESPECTIVELY DISPOSED IN SUPERIMPOSED RELATION WITH RESPECT TO SAID BODY BOLSTERS, EACH OF SAID BODY BOLSTERS INCLUDING A TOP PLATE, EACH OF SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES INCLUDING A BOTTOM PLATE, THE BOTTOM PLATE OF EACH OF SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES BEING SUPPORTED UPON THE TOP PLATE OF THE ADJACENT ONE OF SAID BODY BOLSTERS FOR READY LONGITUDINAL SLIDING MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT THERETO, MEANS RESILIENTLY URGING TOGETHER THE TOP PLATES OF SAID BODY BOLSTERS AND THE ASSOCIATED BOTTOM PLATES OF SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES, AND A PAIR OF CONNECTORS RESPECTIVELY CONNECTING TOGETHER THE TOP PLATES OF SAID BODY BOLSTERS AND THE ASSOCIATED BOTTOM PLATES OF SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES, SAID CONNECTORS RESPECTIVELY INCLUDING MEANS ACCOMMODATING LIMITED RELATIVE LONGITUDINAL SLIDING MOVEMENTS BETWEEN SAID TOP PLATES AND THE ASSOCIATED ONES OF SAID BOTTOM PLATES THEREBY TO ACCOMMODATE SUBSTANTIAL LONGITUDINAL EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION OF SAID END SECTIONS WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID DRAFT SILLS WHILE BEING RESILIENTLY URGED TOGETHER BY SAID RESILIENT MEANS WITHOUT THE CREATION OF ANY SUBSTANTIAL SHEAR STRESSES IN SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES AND PREVENTING ANY SUBSTANTIAL LATERAL MOVEMENTS BETWEEN SAID TOP PLATES AND THE ADJACENT ONES OF SAID BOTTOM PLATES, WHEREBY SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE DRAFT FORCE EXERTED BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS AND SAID BODY SHELL IS APPLIED THROUGH THE INNER ENDS OF SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS AND THROUGH SAID REINFORCING PLATES, THEREBY SUBSTANTIALLY TO ELIMINATE ROTATIONAL DRAFT TORQUES EXERTED BETWEEN SAID STUB DRAFT SILLS AND SAID BODY SHELL AND APPLIED THROUGH SAID PEDESTAL STRUCTURES.