Articulated connection for railway hopper car

Claim 1

The combination, in an articulated railway car comprising a pair of coupled-together open-top hopper car bodies, each of said car bodies including an upwardly sloping floor and sidewalls, the adjacent marginal edges of said sidewalls being spaced apart, wherein the improvement comprises: a. an inverted V-shaped cross ridge member the ends of which rest upon and slidably connect the sloping floors, b. an elongated rigid member extending laterally beneath and supporting the center of said cross ridge member, c. pivotally mounted oppositely inclined outer suspension members having variable included angles controlled by track curvature and extending respectively from adjacent ends of said sidewalls to said rigid member, d. side closure sheets slidably engaging adjacent sidewalls and closing the space between the car bodies, e. the bottom portion of said side closure sheets being extended inwardly so as to rest slidably upon said V-shaped cross ridge member, f. bridging members mounted to adjacent sidewalls of the car bodies through resilient mounting means, said bridging members having guide means to center the side closure sheets with respect to the sidewalls, and g. resilient means for urging said side closure sheets against the sidewalls of the respective car bodies.