Insulative panels for a railway boxcar

Abstract

Insulative panels mountable to the exterior of a railway boxcar, and railway boxcars having exterior insulative panels are disclosed. Each disclosed insulative panel may have first and second skins of fiber-reinforced plastic spaced apart from each other with foam or other insulative material interposed into the space therebetween. The disclosed insulative panels can be attached to the exterior of an existing, non-insulated boxcar to retrofit it as an insulated boxcar. In addition, thermally insulative material may be positioned vertically above a door opening for additional insulation.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to railroad freight cars and in particular to one or more thermal insulating members for railway boxcars and a method for retrofitting a boxcar to be thermally insulated.

Existing boxcars typically include opposed side walls, opposed end walls, a floor, a roof, and at least one doorway together defining a cargo-carrying enclosure that is mounted upon a supporting undercarriage with a wheel assembly for movement upon a railroad track. Though early railway boxcars comprised simple wooden structures mounted on a platform, modern railway boxcars are built from materials that are both more sturdy and more durable so that they may carry loads far more heavy than what an early wooden boxcar could carry. For example, a typical modern boxcar will include a supporting undercarriage having a longitudinal center sill, body bolsters, side sills, cross bearers, and cross ties that are each made of iron, steel, or other rigid metal. This undercarriage may then support the side walls, end walls, and roof, which are also typically of metal construction.

Though the modern boxcar construction just described is adequate to transport heavy loads, such boxcars are often insufficient to transport over large distances perishable cargo or other cargo that must be maintained at a low temperature. One existing solution is to construct an insulated boxcar that is capable of maintaining the interior temperature of the boxcar enclosure at a desired level by preventing heat from entering the enclosure. Various types of insulated railway boxcars are presently manufactured and used. A typical insulated railway boxcar includes an enclosed structure having an outer surface, typically of metal or fiber-reinforced composite material, one or more layers of foam or fiber insulation, and an interior surface of fiber-reinforced composite material.

One problem with these existing insulated boxcars is that the floor of the insulated enclosure must be able to withstand without deformation, significant loading both from the cargo carried by the boxcar and the concentrated weight of forklifts or other machinery used to load and unload cargo from the boxcar. Additionally, the sides of the boxcar enclosure must have sufficient strength to withstand the impacts of loads shifting during transport and thereby battering the interior surface of the boxcar enclosure. The fiber reinforced composite material, however, does not have the strength of steel, and thus insulated boxcar enclosures are typically fabricated with thicker floors, end walls, and side walls to better withstand the forces encountered during transport of cargo. Because the exterior dimensions of the boxcar must fit within the assorted plate requirements of the American Association of Railroads (AAR), however, this extra thickness reduces the interior dimensions of the cargo-carrying enclosure of the boxcar, hence decreases the load-carrying capacity of the boxcar.

An alternative to an insulated boxcar is a refrigerated boxcar that uses a refrigeration unit to maintain the interior of the cargo-carrying enclosure at a desired temperature. These refrigeration units are costly to install, and unless used in combination with an existing insulated boxcar with the aforementioned disadvantages, are costly to operate due to the transfer of heat into the interior of the cargo-carrying enclosure.

What is desired, therefore, is an improved structure for insulating the interior of a boxcar cargo-carrying enclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aforementioned disadvantages of existing boxcars are addressed by a boxcar having at least one insulative panel on the exterior of the boxcar. An existing, non-insulated boxcar may be converted to an insulated boxcar by attaching at least one insulative panel to its exterior.

A first embodiment of the disclosed invention may include an insulated boxcar having a side wall with an outwardly directed surface. At least one thermally insulating member is positioned proximate the outwardly directed surface. In one aspect of this embodiment, a side post may stand proud of the side wall and the thermally insulating member may define a recessed portion that engages with the side post. The thermally insulating member may also include an outer skin spaced apart from the inner skin, and insulating material such as insulating foam may occupy the intervening space between the inner and outer skins of the thermally insulating member.

The thermally insulating member may be affixed to the outwardly directed surface of the side wall or end wall in any convenient manner, such as with an adhesive, a bolt, stud, or other fastener. If further insulation is desired, panels may be positioned proximate the roof of the rail car and/or foam insulation may be affixed to the undercarriage of the boxcar.

A second embodiment of the disclosed invention includes an insulative panel attachable to the exterior surface of a boxcar. When the boxcar includes a side post standing proud of the exterior surface, the panel may define a recessed portion engageable with the side post. The panel may comprise inner and outer skins of rigid material, spaced apart from each other with insulating material positioned in the intervening gap.

A third embodiment of the disclosed invention is a method of retrofitting an existing non-insulated boxcar to convert it into an insulated boxcar. The disclosed method includes the step of affixing a thermally insulative panel to an outwardly directed surface of the boxcar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway and exploded perspective view of an exemplary railway boxcar having around its exterior a plurality of insulative panels.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional end view of the boxcar of FIG. 1 where the section to the left of the longitudinal centerline of the boxcar is taken at one of the crossties of the boxcar undercarriage and the section to the right of the longitudinal centerline of the boxcar is taken at one of the cross bearers of the boxcar undercarriage.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional end view of the boxcar of FIG. 1 taken along line 5-5 and showing one of the cross bearers of the boxcar.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the boxcar of FIG. 1 taken along line 6-6 and showing a body bolster of the boxcar.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of portion of the boxcar of FIG. 1 showing an exemplary attachment of safety appliances to the panels of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary boxcar 10 having opposed side walls 14, opposed end walls 18, a roof 20, and a floor 16, each structurally supported by an undercarriage 15 (shown in FIGS. 4-6) mounted on a truck (not shown) or other member that facilitates movement of the exemplary boxcar 10 along a railroad track. Each of the foregoing side walls 14, undercarriage 15, floor 16, end walls 18, and roof 20 may preferably be fashioned from steel, iron, or other rigid metal members that provide strength to the boxcar 10 and resist deformation of the boxcar due to loading weights and other forces.

The side walls 14, end walls 16, and roof 20 of the exemplary boxcar 10 may define an exterior, outwardly facing surface 13 of the boxcar 10 through which a great deal of heat would normally enter during transport of cargo. To insulate the exemplary boxcar 10, and thereby reduce the amount of heat passing through the surface 13, thermally insulative panels 12 may be positioned proximate the exterior, outwardly facing surface 13. The panels 12 may be of a relatively thin construction that does not significantly add to the cross sectional profile of boxcar 10 as it travels over a railroad track.

An exemplary boxcar 10 insulated by the panels 12 has several advantages over existing insulated boxcars. First, because the panels 12 may be of a relatively thin construction, the cargo-carrying capacity of the boxcar enclosure is not reduced, as is true with existing insulated boxcars which rely upon necessarily thick insulated side walls, end walls, roof, etc. to provide the desired insulation. Second, the load-bearing structure of the exemplary boxcar 10 may be of any desired construction, hence a manufacturer need not significantly change its production process to make an insulated boxcar in accordance with the present disclosure.

Also, as can easily be appreciated, the panels 12 provide a simple, cost effective method of retrofitting an existing, non-insulated boxcar into an insulated boxcar by fastening the panels 12 to the exterior surfaces of the side walls 14, end walls 18, and roof 20 of the existing, non-insulated boxcar. For purposes of this disclosure, the exemplary boxcar 10 will be described as such a retrofitted boxcar, although it should be understood that the boxcar 10 could be initially constructed as the disclosed insulated boxcar 10 by including the disclosed panels 12 proximate the outwardly facing surface 13.

Conceivably, each of the panels 12 could be of a size and shape that conforms to that of an entire section of the boxcar 10; i.e., a panel 12 could have outer dimensions that match those of the roof 20, or a end wall 18, or a side wall 14 with an opening sized to match a doorway 21. Preferably, however, each panel 12 is quite a bit smaller than each of the roof 20, the end walls 18, and the side walls 14. Panels 12 of such a relatively small size will facilitate the easy placement of each panel 12 on the outwardly directed surface 13 of the boxcar. Thus each of the panels 12 placed over the side walls 14 of the exemplary box car 10 may have a length that extends approximately from one end of the boxcar 12 to the doorway 21 and a width that extends approximately one fourth of the height of a respective side wall 14. The panels 12 placed over the end walls 18 and the roof 20 may have a length that conforms to the width of a respective end wall 18 and the roof 20, and a width that also extends approximately one fourth of the height of a respective side wall 14. If the height of the boxcar 10 is not an integer multiple of the width of a panel 12, as shown in FIG. 1, partial panels 12a may be cut from panels to cover the remaining surface of the side wall 14. These dimensions are exemplary, and may be changed to suit the particular boxcar around which the panels 12 are intended to be placed.

Each panel 12 is preferably a thermally insulating member placed proximate a respective portion of the outwardly facing surface 13 of the boxcar 10. The composition and structure of each panel 12 is preferably chosen to achieve a desired amount of thermal insulation. For example, referring to FIG. 2, each of the thermally insulative panels 12 may comprise an inner skin 24 of 16-gauge steel or other appropriate rigid material and an outer skin 26, also of 16-gauge steel or other appropriate rigid material. The inner skin 24 and the outer skin 26 may be spaced apart from each other so that insulative material 28 may be inserted between the inner skin 24 and the outer skin 26. Alternatively, the inner skin 24 and/or the outer skin 26 may comprise fiber-reinforced composite material of a desired thickness in order to provide greater thermal insulation and reduce the weight of the boxcar 10.

The boxcar 10 may include a four-inch thick piece of polyurethane foam insulation as the insulative material 28 positioned between the inner skin 24 and the outer skin 26. Alternatively, the insulative material 28 may be any other desired material such as a resin-impregnated foam core matrix or even air. Further, the panels 12 may either comprise an outer rigid skin that retains the insulative material in a position proximate or adjacent the outer surface 13 of the boxcar 10, avoiding the need for an inner skin 24, or may simply comprise a thermally insulating layer of fiber-reinforced composite material or any other desired insulating material of a chosen thickness.

Typically, boxcars will include a number of side posts 22 that support, and usually stand proud of the exterior of, the side walls 14. Accordingly, and in order to insulate as much of the exterior of the boxcar 10 as feasible, the first skin 24 of the panel 12 may define a recessed portion 30 shaped to engage a side post 22 standing proud of a side wall 14. That is to say, where a boxcar 10 includes a side post 22 that extends outwardly from a side wall such that the side post has a lateral surface 23 extending substantially normal to the side wall 14, a panel 12 may preferably include an inner skin 24 shaped to define a recessed portion 30 with a surface that is proximate to the lateral surface 23 of the post when the panel 12 is positioned over the side post 22.

Each of the panels 12, if desired, may also be securely fastened to the exterior of the boxcar 10 by attachment of the panel 12 to the side post 22. For example, a threaded stud 34 may be welded to a chosen side post 22. A panel 12 to be secured to the post 22 may define a mating opening 34a by which the panel 12 may fit over the stud 34 to a position proximate the post 22. A nut 36 may then be engaged with the stud 34, thereby securing the panel 12 to the exterior of the box car 10. A washer 35 or other similar member may be used to distribute the force that the nut 36 exerts on the panel 12 over a larger area. To facilitate attachment of a panel 12 to a side post 22 with the stud 34 and the nut 36, the second skin 26 may also define a cavity 32 into which the nut 36 may be recessed, and the cavity 32 optionally covered with a removable plug 37. Alternatively, the panels 12 may be secured directly to the side walls 14 and/or the posts 22 with a desired adhesive material.

The panels 12 of the exemplary boxcar 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be secured to the exterior of the boxcar 10 using both the threaded stud 34 and an adhesive between the panels 12 and each of the posts 22. In this manner, the panels 12 are positioned proximate the outwardly facing surface 13 of a respective side wall 14 and the outwardly facing surface of a respective side post as well as its lateral surface 23 that is normal to the outwardly facing surface 13 of the side wall 14. FIG. 2 shows that because of the adhesive bond between the side posts 22 and the panels 12, the inner skin 24 of a panel 12 may be in contact with a post 22, while in some places the inner skin 24 of the panel 12 may be separated from the side wall 14 a small distance. This separation between the panel 12 and the side wall 14 as shown in FIG. 2 may be typical of a retrofitted boxcar due to an uneven side wall surface resulting from the normal use of the boxcar prior to being retrofitted. However, the panel 12 should be positioned proximate the side wall 14 (or the roof 20 or the end walls 18) despite any deformities in the exterior surface of the boxcar, preferably leaving a gap of less than approximately 0.5 inches. The configuration shown in FIG. 2 is exemplary only, as a panel may also include an inner skin 24 in pressing engagement with the side walls 14 as well as the posts 22, particularly when it is desired to adhesively bond the panel 12 directly to the side wall 14 instead of, or in addition to, the post 22.

Referring to FIG. 3, the roof 20 of the boxcar 10 may comprise several roof sections 70, with adjacent sections 70 secured together with respective clamps 72 engaged with upstanding marginal flanges of the sections 70. Typically, the presence of clamps 72 along with upwardly directed stiffening corrugations 73 will give the upper surface of the roof, to which panels 12 are to be secured, an uneven shape. Accordingly, a panel 12 to be secured to the roof 20 of a boxcar 10 may merely comprise an outer skin 26 and a layer of insulative material 28 such as polyurethane foam bonded to the outer skin 26 of the panel 12, with an inner skin 24 being absent. During the fabrication of the panels 12 that are to be attached to the roof 20, the polyurethane foam insulation cures to substantially rigid condition as it dries, after which transverse channels may be cut into the polyurethane or the polyurethane may be otherwise shaped, such that the panels 12 each fit around the clamps 72 and stiffening corrugations 73 at the upper surface of the roof 20. The polyurethane foam may be shaped in any desired manner, such as with a knife or a hot wire. Alternatively, a mold can be made of the roof in which to form the layer of polyurethane foam. If desired, the mold may be integrated with the roof panels 12 and secured to the roof 20, or in the case of a production car, may be reused.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the end walls 18 may lack side posts or any other analogous vertical post around which a panel 12 need fit. The end wall 18, however, will typically include horizontal end channel stiffeners 68 running between corner posts 56 on either side of the end wall 18. Thus the end wall 18 may be covered with panels 12 by securing each panel 12 to the corner posts and/or one or more end channel stiffeners 68 with an adhesive.

Once the panels 12 have been secured to the side walls 14, the roof 20, and the end walls 18, angled corner closures 74 may be placed over the corners defined by the respective adjacent panels 12 of the end walls 18 and the side walls 14. Similarly, doorway closures 76 and roof closures 78 may be placed over the corners defined by the adjacent panels 12 of the doorways 21 and side walls 14, and by the roof 20 and the sidewalls 14, respectively. The corner closures 74, the doorway closures 76, and the roof closures 78 may be of steel sheet or other suitable construction.

To provide thermal insulation to the boxcar 10 beyond that provided by the panels 12, it may often be desirable to insulate the undercarriage 15 of the boxcar 10. The boxcar 10 may have an undercarriage 15 of any desired load-bearing construction capable of supporting and carrying heavy loads across large distances, but preferably includes a load-supporting structure of steel, iron, or other such high-strength material. Referring to FIGS. 3-5, for example, the boxcar 10 may have an undercarriage 15 comprising a center sill 50, opposed end sills (not shown), a pair of body bolsters 52, and opposed side sills 54 which each comprise a first side sill member 54a and a second side sill member 54b welded together and secured to each body bolster 52 with an attachment plate 54c. The downwardly extending portion 55 of the side sill member 54b shown in FIG. 5 as bending underneath the undercarriage 15 is truncated at the body bolster 52 as shown in FIG. 6 to provide the required clearance for the trucks (not shown) to be located beneath the body bolster. The undercarriage 15 may also include cross bearers 58, and cross ties 60, each of steel and interconnected by welds or, in the case of the connection between the cross bearers 58 and the center sill, by a steel attachment plate 51. A series of longitudinal stringers 64 and composite spacers 66 may support a steel floor 16 at a level position above the undercarriage 15 while transmitting loads and other forces to the center sill 50, cross bearers 58, and cross ties 60. Reinforcing members 64a may be welded to the lower surface of the floor 16 and a respective longitudinal stringer 64 to facilitate the transmission of loading forces from the floor 16 to the undercarriage 15. The longitudinal stringers 64 may each comprise several longitudinal sections 65 that at either longitudinal end intersect a body bolster 52 at bevels 65a. The undercarriage 15, in turn, may support the aforementioned side posts 22, corner posts 56, and side walls 14. The specific manner of constructing and interconnecting the component members of the undercarriage 14 will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

If it desired to insulate the undercarriage 15 of the boxcar 10, insulative foam, the boundaries of which are shown by the dashed line 67 in FIGS. 4-6, may be positioned beneath the undercarriage. One preferred method of insulating the undercarriage 15 is to invert the boxcar 10 and place a mold (not shown) over the undercarriage that both protects those portions of the undercarriage 15 that should not be covered with insulative foam (such as the side bearings 80 and the center bearing 81 on the body bolster 52 for connecting the wheeled trucks) and further provides a form that retains the insulative foam within its intended boundaries, such as the aforementioned dashed line of FIGS. 4-6, until the foam cures.

Once the mold is in place, liquid foam such as polyurethane foam may be blown in to cure in place beneath and adhere to the undercarriage approximately to the outermost longitudinal stringers 64. At that point, panel extensions 82, of 16 gauge steel for example, may be secured to the outer skin 26 of the lowermost panels 12 on the side walls 14 that each extend downwardly and around the undercarriage. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, those portions of the panel extensions 82 in the vicinity of the body bolster extend downwardly a much shorter distance than other portions of the panel extensions so that they do not interfere with the trucks (not shown) that underlie the body bolsters 52. After the panel extensions 82 are in place, the remaining foam insulation may be installed in the lateral portions of the undercarriage 15 to cover the side sills 54.

The boxcar 10 may include a doorway 21 within which a plug-type door (not shown) may fit. Typically, these doors are manufactured with insulative material inside them, hence the disclosed exemplary boxcar 10 need not include any panels 12 on either the interior or exterior of the plug-type door. In some instances, however, it may be appropriate to place the panels 12 over the outside of the door, assuming there is sufficient clearance within the appropriate plate requirements of the AAR. Alternatively, such panels 12 may be placed on the inside of the plug-type door assuming that the panels 12 are sufficiently thin to allow the door to clear the doorway and adjacent panels 12 when opened and then slide along the door track 21a shown in FIG. 1.

An exemplary boxcar 10 will typically include a number of safety appliances, such as the ladder 38 and the brake operation hand wheel 40, attached to the exterior of the boxcar 10. When retrofitting an existing boxcar to become an insulated boxcar, as described in this disclosure, it may be difficult to remove the safety appliances, attach the panels 12 to the outwardly facing surface 13, and reattach the safety appliances. Therefore, it may be appropriate to divide the affected panels 12 into two pieces, inserting them separately around the safety appliances. Referring to FIG. 7, when an insulated boxcar 10 is being initially manufactured in accordance with this disclosure rather than retrofitted, attachment of the safety appliances is much more convenient. Initially, extenders 83 may be welded to the outwardly facing surface 13 of the boxcar 10. Each panel 12 adjacent to which a safety appliance is to be attached may include a number of slots 84 such that the panels 12 may fit over the extenders 12 and be secured to the outwardly facing surface 13 as previously described. Once the panels 12 are in place, the safety appliance may be secured to the outwardly protruding ends of the extenders 83.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 8, the insulated railway boxcar 10 may define a doorway 21 selectively closed by a door 102. The door 102, when closing the doorway 21, presses a gasket 104 against a doorway reinforcement 106 that extends between the lower end of a top chord 108 and the lower end of a doorway header 100.

The present inventors discovered that an undesirable amount of heat may pass through the doorway header 100 of the insulated boxcar 10. Furthermore, because of the narrow width dimension of the doorway header 100, it is impractical to cover the exterior of the doorway header 100 with a disclosed insulative panel 12. Accordingly, if it is desired to further reduce the flow of heat into or out of the boxcar 10, a thermally insulative backer 110 may be preferably positioned behind the doorway header 100, providing additional insulation for the boxcar 10 beyond that provided by the insulative panels 12. Preferably the insulative backer 110 has a thickness less than two inches, and more preferably a thickness of one and a half inches.

In a preferred embodiment, the insulative backer 110 comprises a rigid block of hardened polyurethane foam cut to appropriate dimensions that correspond to those of the doorway header 100. The rear portion of the insulative backer 110 optionally may be reinforced by a cover plate 112 and secured to the doorway header 100 with a stud 114 that extends from the cover plate 114 to the doorway header 100. If used, the cover plate 114 may be welded or secured by other means to the top chord 108 and/or the doorway reinforcement 106. In alternative embodiments, the insulative backer 110 may either comprise a fiber-reinforced composite material, foam insulation blown into the space between the insulative backer 110 and the cover plate 114 or other such member, or any other desired insulative material.

During transport, it is frequently desirable to restrain cargo in a boxcar to prevent the cargo from shifting or toppling as the boxcar moves. Typically, ropes, cables, or other such tension members are used for this purpose, where the ends of the tension member terminate in a specially shaped adapter, or floor anchor, that each fit within a one of a plurality of matching apertures spaced at intervals along the outer sides of the floor of the boxcar. The present inventors, however, realized that the apertures in the floor may allow water or other moisture to drain into the undercarriage of the boxcar when, for example, the interior of the boxcar is washed. The water then undesirably soaks the insulation in the undercarriage, diminishing its effectiveness and durability.

Referring to FIG. 9, the boxcar 10 may define a cargo-carrying enclosure partially bounded by an inwardly directed vertical side surface 120. In order to facilitate the restraint of cargo carried by the boxcar during transport, the side surface 120 may preferably include one or more anchor apertures 122 into which a cable, rope, chain, or other tension member may be selectively inserted. Because the apertures 122 are at an elevated position with respect to the floor of the boxcar, the floor may be washed without a significant amount of water seeping into the undercarriage.

Preferably, the apertures 122 are shaped to matingly receive and retain a chain inserted into the aperture. For example, tension in a chain inserted into either of the apertures 122 shown in FIG. 9 would cause the narrowed portion of the chain between adjoining links to catch on either of the aperture edges 124 or 126, depending on the orientation of the links of the chain as they are inserted. Thus, the plus-shaped configuration of the apertures shown in FIG. 9 permits a chain to be inserted therein at either of two orientations and be retained within the aperture. Such an aperture has a marked advantage over existing anchor apertures that require special adapters for retainable insertion therein, and do not permit a chain to be retainably inserted within the anchor aperture without a special adapter.

Although the anchor apertures 122 shown in FIG. 9 are plus-shaped, thereby permitting a chain or other tension member to be inserted therein at two mutually perpendicular orientations, alternate embodiments may permit insertion at two orientations not perpendicular to each other, such as an x-shaped aperture. Alternatively, the aperture may be L-shaped or have any other shape suitable to retainably receive the terminal end of a chain or other tension device, with or without an adaptor.

In a preferred embodiment, each side wall of the boxcar 10 includes at least one aperture 122 such that the boxcar 110 has at least one aligned pair of apertures laterally opposed to each other to facilitate securing a chain or other tension member to either side of cargo carried within the boxcar 110. Where a boxcar 10 includes more than one such pair, such laterally aligned pairs may be vertically stacked in a column, one side of which is as shown in FIG. 9, for example. In an alternate embodiment, one or more apertures may be positioned at only one side of the boxcar where a restraining chain or other tension member is secured at the other side of a boxcar using another means, such as attachment to a hook, or even permanently affixed to the floor or interior side of the boxcar.

Referring to FIG. 10, the anchor apertures 122 may be defined by a plate 126 secured, through a weld or other means, between the respective opposed flanged ends 130 of the channel 132 of a side post 134. In this manner, the anchor apertures 122 may be readily retrofitted into an existing boxcar, or formed within a constructed boxcar. Inner plates 128, welded to the interior channel portions of the flanged ends 130 may reinforce the plate 126.

Although the disclosure herein, except where otherwise noted, describes an example of retrofitting an existing, non-insulated boxcar 10 into an insulated boxcar, configurations identical to those disclosed, and the variations thereof, may be easily incorporated into the production design of an insulated boxcar. It should be further understood that, given the wide variety of existing boxcar structures, the foregoing disclosure of the structure of the exemplary boxcar 10 is given solely for the purpose of understanding the disclosed invention, and the structural configuration of the exemplary boxcar 10 is not intended as a limitation on the disclosed invention.

The terms and expressions that have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A railway boxcar having an outwardly directed surface defining a door opening, said boxcar comprising: (a) at least one thermally insulating member proximate said outwardly directed surface; and (b) thermally insulative material at a position vertically above said door opening and behind said outwardly directed surface.

2. The railway boxcar of claim 1 where said insulative material comprises foam insulation.

3. The railway boxcar of claim 1 where said insulative material comprises fiber reinforced composite material.

4. The railway boxcar of claim 1 including a rigid bracket to retain said insulative material in said position.

5. The railway boxcar of claim 4 where said bracket is secured to a top chord of said boxcar.

6. The railway boxcar of claim 5 including a member rigidly mounted to said top chord where said bracket is secured to said member

7. The railway boxcar of claim 6 where said bracket is secured to said member with a stud.

8. The railway boxcar of claim 6 where said member is a doorway header of said boxcar.

9. The railway boxcar of claim 5 where said thermally insulative material comprises foam insulation that is blown into said position after said bracket is secured to said top chord.

10. The railway boxcar of claim 1 where said thermally insulative material has a thickness less than two inches.

11. A rail car having an inwardly directed side surface defining at least one anchor aperture shaped to matingly receive and retain a chain link inserted into said aperture in either of two orientations.

12. The railway boxcar of claim 11 where said two orientations are mutually perpendicular.

13. The railway boxcar of claim 12 where said aperture is plus-shaped.

14. The railway boxcar of claim 11 where said aperture is x-shaped.

15. The railway boxcar of claim 11 including two opposed said side surfaces, each including at least one said aperture to form a horizontally aligned pair of apertures so that a chain retained by each respective aperture may restrain cargo carried by said boxcar.

16. The boxcar of claim 15 including at least one vertical column of said horizontally aligned pairs.

17. The railway boxcar of claim 11 including a side post defining a vertical channel having opposed side surfaces and a plate rigidly secured between said opposed side surfaces, said plate defining said at least one anchor aperture.

18. The railway boxcar of claim 17 where said plate is welded to each of said side surfaces.