A friction wedge with improved bond characteristics may include a friction wedge body and a friction wedge liner. The friction wedge body may include a pattern formed by a ridge or elevation disposed on a connecting face of the friction wedge body. The friction wedge liner may include a complementary pattern formed by a channel disposed on a bonding surface of the friction wedge liner.

A side bearing assembly for a truck assembly of a rail vehicle includes a base, a cap moveably coupled to the base, and one or more elastomer springs disposed between the base and the cap. The one or more elastomer springs include a foam having air pockets that are configured be compressed.

A railroad car truck for a railroad freight car, such as an autorack car, has a bolster mounted cross-wise between two sideframes. The bolster ends are mounted on respective spring groups carried by the sideframes. The bolster can translate laterally relative to the sideframes. The side frames are mounted to swing laterally relative to the wheel sets, and hence relative to the rails. Resistance to lateral deflection is provided by the resistance of the sideframes to the pendulum swinging motion, and by shear in the spring groups. The truck has a doubled damper arrangement of dampers in a four-cornered layout at each end of the bolster, giving a flexing resistance to yaw between the sideframes and the bolster ends. The doubled damper arrangement works against large wear plates mounted on the sideframe columns. The large wear plates are mounted normal to the dampers and square to the sideframes.

A friction assist side bearing assembly for a truck assembly of a rail vehicle includes a first friction member, a second friction member that opposes the first friction member, and a cap coupled to the first friction member and the second friction member. The cap is configured to contact a portion of a car body coupled to the truck assembly.

There is a damper wedge for a railroad car truck. It has a removable and replaceable friction element that reciprocates on the wear plate of the side frame column of the railroad car truck. It has a non-metallic wear surface; a spring seat that, in use, engages a spring of the railroad car truck; and an inclined damper wedge surface having a primary angle, alpha, and a secondary angle, beta. The inclined damper wedge surface has a curvature. The curvature has a working point. The working point is located in a central region of a contact patch, or working surface patch. The nonmetallic wear surface material is mounted to a carrier that mounts removably to the damper wedge body. The carrier has fingers that span the wedge and that transfer shear and resist torsion, the fingers preventing the non-metallic member from migrating out of position.

A side bearing assembly for a truck assembly of a rail vehicle includes a base, a cap moveably coupled to the base, and one or more elastomer springs disposed between the base and the cap. The one or more elastomer springs include a foam having air pockets that are configured be compressed.

A damping system for a truck assembly of a rail vehicle includes a first friction shoe configured to engage a first portion of a side frame of the truck assembly, and a first lever pivotally coupled to the first friction shoe.

There is a damper wedge for a railroad car truck. It has a removable and replaceable friction element that reciprocates on the wear plate of the side frame column of the railroad car truck. It has a non-metallic wear surface; a spring seat that, in use, engages a spring of the railroad car truck; and an inclined damper wedge surface having a primary angle, alpha, and a secondary angle, beta. The inclined damper wedge surface has a curvature. The curvature has a working point. The working point is located in a central region of a contact patch, or working surface patch. The nonmetallic wear surface material is mounted to a carrier that mounts removably to the damper wedge body. The carrier has fingers that span the wedge and that transfer shear and resist torsion, the fingers preventing the non-metallic member from migrating out of position.

A damper wedge for a railroad car truck includes a friction member that rides on the wear plate of the side frame column of the railroad car truck and a non-metallic wear surface; and a spring seat that, in use, engages a spring of the railroad car truck. The inclined damper wedge surface has a primary angle alpha, and a secondary angle beta. The spring seat has an axial centerline. The inclined damper wedge surface has a curvature. The curvature has a working point. The damper wedge has a datum plane that is normal to the non-metallic wear surface and that contains the axial centerline. The axial centerline meets the inclined damper wedge surface at an intersection point that is the center of a contact patch. The working point is located in a central region of the contact patch, or working surface patch, downslope of the intersection point.

A rubbing plate of a side bearer of a railcar bogie is a rubbing plate of a side bearer provided at the railcar bogie so as to slidably contact a slide member arranged above or under the side bearer. The rubbing plate includes a recess-projection provided on an opposing surface of the rubbing plate, the opposing surface being opposed to a sliding surface of the slide member.