Hold down bar for rail car hatch covers

摘要

A hold down bar for securing adjacent hatch covers of a hopper car and for further sealing the gap that exists between those covers includes a latch arm formed from spring steel in the configuration of an inverted U so as to have a generally straight midportion and legs which are directed downwardly and outwardly from the midportion. In addition, the bar has a resilient shoe which fits against and is attached to the midportion of the latch arm, but is shorter than the space between the two legs so that it can be adjusted back and forth in that space and thus positioned with considerable precision with regard to underlying hatch covers. The shoe in turn carries a gasket that seats against the adjacent hatch covers along a gap between them to effect a water tight seal with those latch covers. Being formed from spring steel, the latch arm will deflect in the presence of heavy impacts, such as derived from the latch covers being dropped on them, but will not take on a permanent deformation. One leg of the latch arm is rolled into a knuckle which receives a bushing sized to fit into the space between two tabs on a hinge bracket located on the roof of the rail car, and this bushing is secured within the knuckle by washers which fit over and are attached to it so that the knuckle is captured between the washers. Thus by varying bushings a single latch arm and likewise the bar of which it forms a part can accommodate various hinge brackets.