A covered hopper railroad freight car having a car body whose opposite longitudinal sides include flat, parallel, generally vertical upper side wall portions free from outwardly protruding structural strength members.

A covered hopper railroad freight car having a car body whose opposite longitudinal sides include flat, parallel, generally vertical upper side wall portions free from outwardly protruding structural strength members.

A vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, has cladding modules for cladding a body shell-side vehicle lateral wall and/or vehicle roof. The cladding modules, or at least a majority of the cladding modules of the vehicle, either have a first width or a second width which is smaller than the first width, and the difference between the first and second width corresponds to half of the width of at least one partition module which is mounted in the vehicle and which is mounted between two of the cladding modules or is arranged on an interface between two directly adjacent cladding modules, in particular the partition module is placed in front of the interface when seen in the vehicle transverse direction and covers the interface.

A vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, has cladding modules for cladding a body shell-side vehicle lateral wall and/or vehicle roof. The cladding modules, or at least a majority of the cladding modules of the vehicle, either have a first width or a second width which is smaller than the first width, and the difference between the first and second width corresponds to half of the width of at least one partition module which is mounted in the vehicle and which is mounted between two of the cladding modules or is arranged on an interface between two directly adjacent cladding modules, in particular the partition module is placed in front of the interface when seen in the vehicle transverse direction and covers the interface.

A double skin structure of a railcar bodyshell includes: a harmonica type structural portion in which a closed space is quadrangular when viewed from a car longitudinal direction; and a truss type structural portion which is located adjacent to the harmonica type structural portion and in which a closed space is triangular when viewed from the car longitudinal direction. A thickness reduced portion is formed in at least one of a region between a car width direction middle portion of a roof bodyshell and a car body circumferential direction middle portion of a cantrail. The thickness reduced portion having a bodyshell thickness that is made small by arranging an inner wall of the thickness reduced portion at a car exterior side of the inner wall of a region adjacent to the region in which the thickness reduced portion is formed.

A double skin structure of a railcar bodyshell includes: a harmonica type structural portion in which a closed space is quadrangular when viewed from a car longitudinal direction; and a truss type structural portion which is located adjacent to the harmonica type structural portion and in which a closed space is triangular when viewed from the car longitudinal direction. A thickness reduced portion is formed in at least one of a region between a car width direction middle portion of a roof bodyshell and a car body circumferential direction middle portion of a cantrail. The thickness reduced portion having a bodyshell thickness that is made small by arranging an inner wall of the thickness reduced portion at a car exterior side of the inner wall of a region adjacent to the region in which the thickness reduced portion is formed.

A railcar body comprises at least one panel assembly having a first panel and a second panel, both extending longitudinally along the railcar body and adjacently to each other. The inner wall of the first and second panels, which are longer than their outer wall, respectively have at least a first and a second mating interface which are different from each other and compatible so as to be located at a predetermined distance from each other, thereby creating a gap of a predetermined width between two juxtaposed edges of the panels. This panel assembly is designed to be compatible with a laser welding process.

A reinforced railcar side stake configured to be mounted to the underframe of a rail car and extend upwardly therefrom, the side stake comprises: a main body which is a U shaped channel that includes a flat back generally parallel to the side wall and a pair of legs extending generally perpendicular to the back and the side wall structures, the legs of the main body having cutouts at a lower portion thereof; a connection plate coupled to the side sill main body within the cutouts wherein the connection plate surface is flush with the upper ends of the legs above the cutouts; and a reinforcing plate within the interior of the main body near the coupling of the side stake to the underframe wherein the reinforcing plate overlaps the area of the connection plate by extending both below and above the cutouts in the legs.

A reinforced railcar side stake configured to be mounted to the underframe of a rail car and extend upwardly therefrom, the side stake comprises: a main body which is a U shaped channel that includes a flat back generally parallel to the side wall and a pair of legs extending generally perpendicular to the back and the side wall structures, the legs of the main body having cutouts at a lower portion thereof; a connection plate coupled to the side sill main body within the cutouts wherein the connection plate surface is flush with the upper ends of the legs above the cutouts; and a reinforcing plate within the interior of the main body near the coupling of the side stake to the underframe wherein the reinforcing plate overlaps the area of the connection plate by extending both below and above the cutouts in the legs.

A covered hopper railroad freight car having a car body whose opposite longitudinal sides include generally flat, parallel, substantially vertical upper side wall portions free from outwardly protruding structural strength members. A top chord of each of the side walls of the car is defined by a pair of parallel bend lines extending longitudinally along the upper margin of each side wall, and a roof is welded to the top chords of the side walls.