Flame cutting machine for modification of railway car side sills

A flame cutting machine for trimming side sill gussets comprises a trolley beam assembly mounted to roll longitudinally along the side sills of the car. A traveling beam is adjustable laterally on said trolley beam and includes side hanger frames on opposite ends thereof each of which supports a cutting torch arrangement including motor means for moving the cutting torch in a pre-determined pattern to trim portions of the side sill of a railway car.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The field of invention relates to a flame cutting machine and specifically 
to a combination which is adapted to be supported upon a railway car for 
modification by means of flame cutting certain portions of the car. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Prior art relating to the present invention includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 
2,283,346 May 19, 1942, 2,515,302 July 13, 1950, 2,568,074 Sept. 18, 1951, 
3,713,637 Jan. 30, 1973, and 3,843,103 Oct. 22, 1974. The present 
invention is an improvement over the prior art patents. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a flame cutting assembly and combination 
which is particularly adapted for trimming the side sills of a railway 
car. The arrangement comprises a trolley which is supported on a laterally 
extending beam provided with rollers at opposite ends thereof which are 
guided on the upstanding side sills of a railway flat car. A traveling 
beam is supported on the trolley support beam the said traveling beam 
being laterally movable on rollers or bearing assemblies to provide for 
lateral adjustment of the traveling beam relative to the longitudinally 
movable trolley. The traveling beam includes downwardly extending hanger 
supports or frames which in turn have connected thereto and supported 
thereon a cutting torch which is adapted to trim portions from the side 
sill gussets which comprise a part of the side sill assembly of the 
railway car. The hanger members include rack and pinion means whereby the 
cutting torch may be moved vertically and guided by means of a guide slot 
to remove or cut predetermined portions of the side sill gussets as 
selected. The hanger assembly also includes manually adjustable means for 
moving the cutting torch longitudinally and laterally relative to the 
portions of the side sill which are to be trimmed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
In FIG. 1 a railway car body 10 is disclosed in cross section, only 
one-half of the same being shown, the other half being identical. The body 
10 is of a flat car type and includes a floor 11 having on opposite sides 
thereof longitudinally extending side sills 12. The side sills 12 are of 
conventional design and include an inner flange sill plate member 13 
having upper and lower flat flanges 18 and 19. The flanges 19 are suitably 
connected to the opposite ends of the floor 11. Throughout the length of 
the sill side members 13 there are provided longitudinally spaced and 
laterally extending plate or gusset members 14 to which is connected a 
flanged longitudinally extending side plate sill member 15. The side plate 
sill member 15 is shown in phantom lines since this plate is removed prior 
to the gusset trimming operation which the present invention performs. The 
car body also includes a plurality of transversely extending supports 16 
which are spaced longitudinally along the car beneath the floor 11. As 
best shown in FIG. 1 the longitudinal center line of the car is indicated 
at 17. 
The present railway flat car body 10 is to be modified by the present 
invention in that the side sills 12 are to be changed by removing portions 
14' of the gussets 14 as shown in FIG. 3. Prior to this operation the 
outer flanged side sill plate 15 is removed the same having been welded to 
the side sill structure. After removal of the plate 15 the present frame 
cutting machine and apparatus is postioned on top of the flat car as 
indicated. The flame cutting apparatus includes a trolley generally 
indicated at 20 and comprises a transversely extending support beam 21 of 
I-beam configuration. The transverse support beam 21 includes upper 
flanges 22 and lower flanges 23. A pair of longitudinally extending I-beam 
sections 24, as best shown in FIG. 2 are connected to opposite ends of the 
beam 21. The lower portion of the I-beam sections 24 have connected 
thereto hanger plates 25 which support at opposite ends thereof pillow 
blocks or bearings 26. The blocks 26 are adapted to support shafts 27 
which include collars 28 in engagement with springs 29 for urging the 
shafts 27 in an outward direction relative to the pillow blocks 26. The 
shafts have connected thereto at their outer ends rollers or wheels 30 
including roller surfaces 31 which are seated upon and guided on the upper 
flanges 18 of the side sill assemblies 12. As best shown in FIG. 2 the 
I-beam sections 24 each have three sets of rollers 30 supported thereon to 
provide for a stable trolley construction adapted to move longitudinally 
upon the side sills of the railway car. 
A traveling beam generally designated at 32 is mounted on the transverse 
I-support beam 21. A plurality of ball transfer members are designated at 
33 and these are rigidly supported on the flange 22 of the beam 21. The 
transverse supports 33 include ball rollers 34 and the assembly is 
conventional in the art providing for a roller bearing type of support for 
the traveling beam so that it may move laterally to an adjusted position 
as selected by the operator. The longitudinal I-beam sections 24 also 
support outer guide housings 35 comprising vertical side plates 36 having 
lower flanges 37 which are suitably connected to the upper ends of the 
sections 24 by means of nuts and bolt assemblies 38. Top plates 39 are 
suitably connected to the side plates 36. The trolley assembly 20 also 
includes inner guide housings designated at 41 which also consist of 
vertical side plates 36' connected by means of bottom and top plates 37'. 
The bottom plates 37' are suitably connected to the flanges 22 of the 
transverse I-beam 21 by means of bolt and nut assemblies 38' as best shown 
in FIGS. 1 and 2. The housings 41 also have connected at their upper ends 
thereof hoist hooks 40 which are utilized to remove the cutting torch 
arrangement from one car body to another. 
The traveling beam 32 comprises specifically side plates 42 a top plate 43 
and a bottom plate 44 connected in tubular or rectangular relation. As 
best shown in FIG. 1 substantially centrally from opposite ends of the 
traveling beam 32, there are provided elongated slots 45 vertically 
aligned in the top and bottom plates 43 and 44 respectively. A threaded 
rod 46 is rigidly supported on a block 47 in turn rigidly connected to the 
top flange 22 of the transverse I-beam 21. The rod 46 projects upwardly 
through the slots 45 and a wing nut 48 is adapted to rigidly connect the 
traveling beam to the transverse I-beam 21 after it has been properly 
centered along the longitudinal center line 17 of the car structure. To 
facilitate the centering of the traveling beam there is provided a center 
line indicator generally designated at 49 which includes a tube 50 rigidly 
connected to one of the sides of the traveling beam 32. The tube 50 
includes an elongated vertical slot 51 and an indicator needle 52 is 
slidably disposed within the tube 50. The indicator needle 52 includes 
thereon a slide element 53 slidable within the slot 51 and a set screw 54 
in the lower end of the tube 50 rigidly connects the indicator needle in 
proper height position as indicated in FIG. 1. The traveling beam 32 
supports at opposite ends thereof hanger plates 55 for supporting the 
flame cutting arrangement. The traveling beam 32 is provided with hanger 
plates 55 at opposite ends thereof which have supported thereon bearings 
or pillow blocks 56 one of which is best shown in FIG. 4. The pillow 
blocks 56 are suitably connected by means of bolts 57 to the traveling 
beam 32. Each pillow block 56 includes a pair of jaws 58 which are 
provided with a split bore 59 within which a shaft 60 is positioned. The 
shaft 60 extends transversely through the pillow blocks 56 and support 
vertical hangers 63. The shaft 60 is adapted to be locked against rotation 
by means of a transversely extending threaded bore 61 provided in one of 
the jaws 58. The lock bolt 62 extends through the other jaw 58 and into 
the threaded bore of the other jaw 58 so that upon rotation of the lock 
bolt 62 the jaws 58 are moved together to thereby grasp and keep the shaft 
60 from rotation. 
The hangers 63 which are supported for rotation with the shaft 60 are 
rigidly connected to cutting torch hanger plates or frames 64 which 
includes an upper plate portion 65 and a lower plate portion 66. Each 
hanger plate 64 also includes a guide slot 67. A vertical track is also 
provided on each of the frames 64 and includes a vertical rack 69 having 
rack teeth 70. 
As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a torch carrier plate structure 71 is guided 
as indicated at 72 on the vertical track 68 to move vertically with 
respect thereto. The drive motor 73 is supported on the plate structure 71 
and includes a drive gear 74 which also rotates a driven gear 75 in turn 
driving a sprocket 76 which is in engagement with the rack teeth 70 
whereby the torch carrier plate structure 71 may be moved vertically 
relative to the frame 64. 
The horizontal rack bar 77 is also supported on the frame 64. The supports 
78 on the plate structure 71 supports the rack 77. The knob 79 rotatably 
carried by the support 78 includes a sprocket 80 which in turn is adapted 
to drive a gear 81 which in turn rotates a pinion or sprocket [not shown] 
which is in engagement with the teeth 82 of the rack bar 77 for moving the 
same horizontally toward and away from the side wall assembly 12 as best 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. 
Horizontal movement of the rack bar 77 is also achieved by means of a cam 
follower 84 which is supported on a cam follower support 83 connected to 
the rack bar 77. The cam follower 84 is vertically movable and guided 
within the slot 67. 
A support housing 86 is connected to the end of the rack bar 77. The 
support housing 86 supports a longitudinally extending rack bar 87. A hand 
knob 88 is connected to a vertical shaft 89 in turn rotatably supported on 
the housing 86. The shaft 89 is provided at its lower end with a drive 
gear 90 which is adapted to engage rack teeth 87' whereby the rack 87 may 
be longitudinally adjusted relative to the rack 77. A torch assembly 91 is 
adjustably supported on a support or clamp sleeve 92 in turn connected to 
one end of the rack bar 87. A locking knob 93 is connected to the clamping 
sleeve 92 and may be tightened or loosened so that the axial position of 
the torch 91 may be adjusted. The torch 91 includes a rotatable nozzle 
assembly 94 which also may be used to adjust the relative position of the 
torch 91 about a vertical axis. 
THE OPERATION 
The present invention is particularly adapted for modification of the car 
body 10. The gussets 14 which are connected to the inner flanged sill 
member 13 and to the outer flange sill member 15 are to be modified by 
removing a section of each of the gussets which is designated at 14' as 
indicated in the phantom lines of FIG. 3. Both of the side sills of the 
car body are thus to be modified by removing material 14' from the main 
portion of the gussets 14. Initially therefore the outer sill member 15 is 
removed on both sides of the center sill. The flame cutting apparatus and 
arrangement is hoisted into the positions shown in the drawings and the 
wing nut 48 is loosened after the trolley has been supported with its 
rollers 30 and surfaces 31 seated upon the side sill plates 13'. The 
center line of the car body 17 has been determined by scribing or other 
markings which extends the length of the body. The indicator 52 is now 
placed on the center line 17 as shown in FIG. 1 and the traveling beam 32 
is locked in position by tightening the wing nuts 48 in the centrally 
located position indicated. Movement laterally to this adjusted and locked 
position is of course facilitated by the ball transfer arrangements 33 
shown which permit the traveling beam to be easily moved and accurately 
positioned. 
The rollers 30 are continually biased to the position in engagement with 
the sides of the inner sill members 13 by means of the springs 29 in their 
biasing engagement with the flanges or collars 28. Thus the trolley and 
the traveling beam are now positioned and the flame cutting frames 64 are 
now placed in the proper vertical position. This adjustment is possible by 
loosening up the lock bolts 62 thereby permitting the frame 65 to assume 
an exactly vertical position as desired and tightening the lock bolt 62 
wherein the shaft 60 and frames are locked in the desired position. 
Longitudinal adjustment of the cutting torch 91 is achieved by turning the 
knob 88 thereby adjusting the rack 87 longitudinally to the desired 
location relative to each of the gussets 14. Manual adjustment of the rack 
82 is possible by means of the knob 79 and sprocket 80 which drives the 
driven gear or pinion 81. However, during operation and vertical movement 
which is effectuated by the motor 73 the plate structure 71 and rack 82 
are moved vertically relative to the vertical track 68 and during this 
vertical movement the cam follower 84 moves initially downwardly in the 
guide slots 67 and then outwardly angularly as the follower 84 travels 
down in the slot. During this movement the knob 79 is free to rotate by 
virtue of the lateral movement of the rack bar 82 in response to the 
guided follower action of the follower 84 in slot 67. 
Thus the motor 73 on both sides of the assembly are placed in operation for 
vertical movement of the track carrier plate structure 71 which by virtue 
of the positioning of the slot 67 provides for movement of the nozzle or 
torch 91 to flame cut the gusset 14 in the manner indicated in FIG. 3. The 
nozzle 91 also may be adjusted with respect to a longitudinal axis by 
operation of knob 93 which secures a nozzle on the clamp sleeve 92 mounted 
on the rack 87. By virtue of the present arrangement an accurate flame 
cutting of the gussets results as the trolley and traveling beam are moved 
longitudinally along the car from one end to the other. Thus the 
modification of the railway car bodies is easily achieved and efficiently 
accomplished.