Body for a railway carriage

Claim 1

A railway carriage body comprising a shell structure formed from the following structural sub-assemblies; a base sub-assembly comprising a series of transverse lower frame elements spaced longitudinally of said body and each constituted by a respective pair of sheet-metal frame parts welded together, girders interconnecting the said lower frame elements, an outer sheet-metal covering fixed to said girders and to the lateral and lower edges of the said lower frame elements, and a flooring fixed to the upper edges of the said lower frame elements, a pair of side-and-roof sub-assemblies each forming one side and part of the roof of the said body and comprising a series of vertically-extending lateral frame elements connected at their lower ends to the said lower frame elements, and a series of upper transverse frame parts connected to the upper ends of respective ones of said vertical frame elements, corresponding said frame parts of the two side-and-roof sub-assemblies being welded together in the assembled body to form a series of upper transverse frame elements together with the said lateral and lower frame elements form a series of frames of rectangular shape, each side-and-roof subassembly further comprising a plurality of girders extending longitudinally of said body and serving to interconnect the said frame elements of the sub-assembly, and an outer sheet-metal covering affixed to said frame elements and girders and provided with strengthening frames defining window and door openings, a pair of end-wall units affixed to opposite ends of the said sub-assemblies, the said frame parts making up each upper and each lower frame element having their inner end portions, considered laterally of the body, telescoped one within the other to permit adjustment of the width of said carriage body during assembly prior to being permanently joined together, and means for permanently joining together the said frame parts making up each upper and each lower frame element.