Patent ID: 7389731
Filing Date: 2008-06-24
Classification: B61F

Abstract:
1. For use in a freight car truck having a pair of laterally spaced side frame members supporting plural spaced wheel sets, each side frame having a side frame opening between said wheel sets for receiving the projecting ends of a freight car bolster spanning said side frames, each said side frame opening including longitudinally spaced apart opposed friction surfaces disposed on opposed sides of a projecting end of the bolster, said projecting bolster ends having a pair of pockets, each of said pockets facing one of said friction surfaces, said pockets including a sloped back surface part sloping downwardly and inwardly and substantially flat vertically oriented side walls, said sloped back surface part being tapered from a central raised portion towards the sides of the pocket and a pair of wedges disposed within each said pocket, each said wedge having inclined surfaces disposed within said bolster pocket, said wedges being spaced apart with the inclined surfaces disposed on opposite sides of central raised portion with the inclined surfaces interengaging with the sloped surfaces of the sloped back surface part and the vertical surface engaged with one of said longitudinally extending friction surfaces, each said tapered surface cooperating with a corresponding inclined wedge surface to bias said wedge into engagement with the corresponding side wall of the pocket, and biasing means for biasing said wedges upwardly between the associated friction surface and the sloped surface of the back surface part, the improvement comprising a polymeric wear pad attached to a vertically disposed side of the wedge, each said wear pad being disposed for interengagement with said pocket side wall with said pad having a wear surface serving as the sole wear surface between the wedge and the pocket side wall, and wherein the vertically disposed surface of the wear pad comprises a recess generally conforming to the shape of the pad, said recess receiving the pad, the pad having a thickness greater than the depth of the recess whereby the pad surface extends beyond the recess, and wherein said recess and said wear pad have a generally triangular shape with the base of the triangle being disposed along the bottom surface of the wedge.