Open top gondola railcars and closure assemblies for cleanout openings of those railcars are disclosed. In some embodiments, the closure assembly includes a closure member sized to be received in a cleanout opening and to span a substantial portion of the cleanout opening to define at least one gap between a closure perimeter and a floor perimeter. The closure assembly additionally includes a sealing member fixedly attached to, or formed with, the closure member. The sealing member spans between the floor perimeter and the closure perimeter to cover the at least one gap. The closure assembly further includes a tethering member having opposed first and second end portions. The first end portion is fixedly attached to the closure member and the second end portion is attached to one of the floor or a cross bearer of the open top gondola railcar.

A cryogenic tank car tank includes an outer tank, an inner tank positioned within the outer tank, an inner nozzle, and inner manway plate, an outer nozzle, and an outer manway plate. The inner nozzle defines an opening in the inner tank. The inner manway plate is welded to the inner nozzle and covers the opening in the inner tank. The outer nozzle defines an opening in the outer tank and is positioned above the inner nozzle, such that the inner manway plate is accessible through the outer nozzle. The outer manway plate couples to an upper edge of the outer nozzle to cover the opening in the outer tank. In response to applying the vacuum to the annular space between the inner and outer tanks, a differential pressure between the annular space and a space external to the outer tank secures the outer manway plate to the outer nozzle.

Cover assemblies for railroad cars are disclosed. In some embodiments, the cover assemblies include a cover pivotably movable between closed and open positions. The cover assemblies additionally include a lid stop assembly including a release handle positioned adjacent to a cover handle and a first locking element operatively connected to the release handle. The lid stop assembly additionally includes a second locking element attached to, or formed with, the housing. The first locking element moves between a locking position in which the first locking element engages the second locking element to secure the cover in the open position, and a releasing position in which the first locking element is spaced from the second locking element allowing the cover to be moved from the open position toward the closed position. The release handle allowing the user to move the first locking element between the locking and releasing positions.

A method of manufacturing a railroad car tank head includes the steps of providing a circular blank of steel plate material, cold-forming the circular blank to form an intermediate ellipsoidal dish, cold-forming a peripheral flange region of the intermediate ellipsoidal dish to form a flanged ellipsoidal dish, and heat treating the flanged ellipsoidal dish. The heat treatment may be either a thermal stress relieving heat treatment or a normalizing heat treatment. The two cold-forming steps may be carried out at room temperature. The present invention provides a method of making a railroad car tank head that is more efficient than prior methods, avoids the challenges of hot-forming and single-stage cold-forming, is easily adaptable to different tank head diameters using the same forming equipment, and yields a railroad car tank head that meets safety standards.

A railroad tank car may have external fittings, such as a bottom opening valve, that protrude from the bottom of the tank car tank. In a derailment the tank car tank may meet the ground. A tank skid plate assembly has an accommodation in which to shelter such fittings. The skid plate assembly has a shell with tapered ramps at either end. It mounts to tank reinforcement structure, such as reinforcing bars. Reinforcements may be mounted in the lee of the shell. Those reinforcements may be mounted to the shell only, without welding connection to the tank car tank. The reinforcements may be, or combine with the shell to define either a bridge or a truss that spans the space between the reinforcement bars. The assembly may have an access passageway, such as for admitting a heating pipe. The assembly may include lateral and longitudinal internal webs for providing crush resistance.

A tank for a railway tank car includes an outer tank, a nozzle, a fittings plate, and a set of pipes. The nozzle protrudes through the outer tank such that an outer edge of the nozzle extends past an exterior surface of the outer tank. An intersection between the nozzle and the outer tank defines an opening in the outer tank. The fittings plate is welded to the nozzle around the outer edge of the nozzle. The set of pipes pass through the fittings plate and into the outer tank through the nozzle. The set of pipes includes pipes to load and/or unload fluid from the tank.

A gusset is capable of providing reinforcement in tank cars, particularly for nozzles in tank cars. A tank car includes a body having a curved wall portion, a nozzle opening formed in the wall, a reinforcing pad disposed on the wall, adjacent to the nozzle, and a gusset configured to support the nozzle. The gusset includes a portion of a cylinder having a predetermined radius. The portion of the cylinder includes a first edge disposed adjacent to a circumferential surface of the nozzle and a second edge disposed adjacent to a circumferential surface of the reinforcing pad, such that an axis of the portion of the cylinder intersects an axis of the nozzle at a predetermined angle. The predetermined radius and the predetermined angle are configured such that an arc of the portion of the cylinder extends less than approximately 180 degrees.

A system for preventing manway cover gasket over-compression utilizes machined surfaces on the top of eye bolt lugs on the side of a manway nozzle, machined compression stops on the periphery of the cover, and a specified distance between the top of the eye bolt lug and the manway nozzle edge to engage the stops at a predetermined amount of gasket compression. Force is distributed over an increased contact surface area between the manway cover and the bolt lugs to ensure that deformation occurs preferentially in the eye bolts before any other component in the manway cover system.

A valve interlock system for a railcar including a valve stem locking subsystem that includes a coupling device rotatably coupled to the valve stem. The coupling device is substantially stationary in the longitudinal direction and rotatably translatable about a longitudinal axis and defines an engagement slot thereon. The subsystem also includes a stationary support member extending toward the coupling device in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and includes a locking member that is transversely translatable and complimentary with the engagement slot. The subsystem also includes a biasing device coupled to the locking member that increases an engagement bias as the locking member is transversely translated away from the engagement slot. The subsystem further includes a valve operator assembly that includes a longitudinally and rotatably translatable body configured to regulate the slot engagement bias as a function of a longitudinal position of the body.

A manway assembly features a nozzle featuring a groove. A cover is attached to the nozzle and may be pivoted between open and closed positions. Retainers secure latch segments to the cover so that they may slide with respect to the cover. A latching mechanism moves the latch segments into and out of engagement with the groove of the nozzle sidewall when the cover is in the closed position. The latching mechanism may include a screw rod that is turned to move the latch segments. The nozzle may also include a nozzle rim that is provided with the manway assembly and secured to a remaining portion of the nozzle. The nozzle assembly may also include an outer cover attached to the nozzle in a hinged fashion and adapted to cover the manway cover when in the closed position to protect the latching mechanism from the environment and tampering.