RAILWAY CAR UNDERFRAME FOR AN INSULATED COMPOSITE BOXCAR

摘要

A railway car underframe is provided for mounting a composite box structure thereon to form an insulated railway boxcar. The composite box structure includes side walls, end walls and a floor molded as an integral unit with fiber reinforced plastic interior and exterior surfaces. The composite box structure includes a first fiber reinforced composite unit and a second fiber reinforced composite unit. The first fiber reinforce composite unit provides the end walls, side walls and floor for the railway boxcar. The second fiber reinforce unit may be permanently attached to the side walls and end walls to provide a roof for the boxcar. The railway car underframe has a center sill, side sills and end sills with a generally rectangular configuration and coplanar surfaces for adhesively bonding the composite box structure with the railway car underframe. Mechanical fasteners are also provided to couple the composite box structure with the railway car underframe.