A railroad hopper car has a hopper carried between two trucks. The hopper has convergent end and side slope sheets that feed a flat bottom discharge. It has a rectangular frame at least half as wide as the car, and at least half as great as the truck center distance. The car capacity is over 5000 cu. ft. The bottom discharge is lower than the center sill. There are ring frames having a bottom reinforcement that passes clear under the center sill. The car has flat bottom discharge gates having multiple arrays of louvers. The side sheets extend downwardly beyond the side sills, so that the side slope sheets terminate at a transition below the side sills. The louvers have curved edges. The louvers move together. The gate may include two opposed sliding doors separated by a beam that runs under the center sill.

A railcar ballast delivery gate with first and second parallel side walls spaced apart by a center truss plate that extends between and is perpendicular to each of the two side walls, a center angled bar that straddles the center truss plate, first and second primary elongated tubes extending between the first and second side walls on opposing sides of the side walls, and a divider assembly. The primary elongated tubes are rotatably connected to first and second tube arms, which in turn are fixedly couple to first and second secondary elongated tubes that are configured to move relative to the primary elongated tubes while remaining parallel to them. The tube arms are rotatably connected to door linkages that are situated underneath and fixedly attached to door panels resting on trusses that extend from a center truss plate.

According to some embodiments, a compression strut comprises a first strut body comprising a threaded end and a hollow end, and a second strut body comprising a threaded end and a shaped end. The hollow end of the first strut body is slidably coupled to the shaped end of the second strut body. A spring is disposed between the first strut body and the second strut body configured to resist longitudinal compression of the compression strut. The first strut body is rotationally coupled to the second strut body so that rotation of the first strut body also rotates the second strut body and rotation of the second strut body also rotates the first strut body. A first ball end is threaded to the first strut body and a second ball end is threaded to the second strut body.

According to some embodiments, a compression strut comprises a first strut body comprising a threaded end and a hollow end, and a second strut body comprising a threaded end and a shaped end. The hollow end of the first strut body is slidably coupled to the shaped end of the second strut body. A spring is disposed between the first strut body and the second strut body configured to resist longitudinal compression of the compression strut. The first strut body is rotationally coupled to the second strut body so that rotation of the first strut body also rotates the second strut body and rotation of the second strut body also rotates the first strut body. A first ball end is threaded to the first strut body and a second ball end is threaded to the second strut body.

A railroad hopper car having a single cargo-receiving hopper extending over substantially the length of a car body having a cargo discharge portion occupying most of the available distance between the wheeled trucks supporting opposite ends of the car body. The car has no pair of slope sheets separating longitudinally-adjacent hoppers and defining unusable space beneath the slope sheets, and so the overall length of such a hopper car capable of carrying a desired volume of cargo can be less than that of one with multiple separate hoppers. Cargo discharge openings are arrayed along the length of the cargo discharge portion, and a unitary multi-gate assembly is supported within the cargo discharge portion of the car body so as to be movable longitudinally of the car body to open or close all of the cargo discharge openings simultaneously.

A mechanism for conjointly operating a plurality of gate assemblies mounted on a hopper car having an elongated car body with sides and ends, and a bottom defining a discharge area comprised of a plurality of discharge openings. Each gate assembly includes a slide door arranged in operable association with one of the discharge openings. The mechanism operates the slide door on all the gates conjointly relative to each other. Methods for controlling the gravitational discharge of material from a hopper car are also disclosed.

A mechanism for conjointly operating a plurality of gate assemblies mounted on a hopper car having an elongated car body with sides and ends, and a bottom defining a discharge area comprised of a plurality of discharge openings. Each gate assembly includes a slide door arranged in operable association with one of the discharge openings. The mechanism operates the slide door on all the gates conjointly relative to each other. Methods for controlling the gravitational discharge of material from a hopper car are also disclosed.

According to some embodiments, a railcar comprises an underframe and at least one hopper. The hopper is configured to transport a lading material. A longitudinal sliding gate assembly is coupled to the hopper and comprises: a pair of side walls coupled to a pair of end walls forming a discharge opening; a pair of tracks, one coupled to each end wall; a sliding gate slidably coupled to the pair of tracks; and a threaded drive screw coupled to the sliding gate and to the pair of side walls. Rotation of the threaded drive screw in a first direction moves the sliding gate along the tracks to an open position that permits the lading material to discharge, and rotation of the threaded drive screw in an opposite direction moves the sliding gate along the tracks to a closed position that restricts the lading material from discharging.

A hopper car gate with a frame having multiple openings and one or more solid sections positioned between adjacent openings, an operating mechanism coupled to the frame, and a door supported by the frame. The door has multiple solid sections to match the number of openings in the frame and one or more openings positioned between adjacent solid sections. The door is movable by the operating mechanism between a closed position, in which the solid sections of the door block the openings in the frame, and an open position, in which the openings in the door are aligned with at least some of the openings in the frame and the solid sections of the door are aligned with at least some of the solid sections of the frame.

A hopper car gate with a frame having multiple openings and one or more solid sections positioned between adjacent openings, an operating mechanism coupled to the frame, and a door supported by the frame. The door has multiple solid sections to match the number of openings in the frame and one or more openings positioned between adjacent solid sections. The door is movable by the operating mechanism between a closed position, in which the solid sections of the door block the openings in the frame, and an open position, in which the openings in the door are aligned with at least some of the openings in the frame and the solid sections of the door are aligned with at least some of the solid sections of the frame.