MULTIPLE TRUCK FREIGHT CAR HANDBRAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR A RAILWAY CAR ASSEMBLY COMPOSED OF A SERIES OF ARTICULATELY INTERCONNECTED CARS

摘要

MULTIPLE TRUCK FREIGHT CAR HANDBRAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR A RAILWAY CAR ASSEMBLY COMPOSED OF A SERIES OF ARTICULATELY INTERCONNECTED CARS (CASE CWU/15825 A handbrake arrangement for railroad freight cars is disclosed that will connect a mechanical handbrake operating mechanism to the brake equipment (brake beams and brake shoes) on 2, 3, or more trucks on the same freight car. It is especially useful on articulated freight cars consisting of multiple units in order to satisfy handbrake power requirements required by industry and Federal regulations, but a similar arrangement may be used on special purpose cars having a multiplicity of trucks. On an articulated car, consisting of a number of units, there is a multiplicity of trucks and because of the size and weight characteristics of the car, it is desirable to connect the handbrake mechanism to a number of the trucks in order to provide adequate handbrake power. A relatively simple mechanical handbrake mechanism for providing adequate braking power to a series of lightweight short articulated interconnected cars (of the kind disclosed in Adams et al (U.S. Patent No. 4,233,909 issued November 18, 1980) consists of a series of rods, levers, and slack adjusters interconnecting two or more trucks to the handbrake operating mechanism.