Patent ID: 8806994

Claim:
A tool for manipulating the hand brake controls on a railroad car, the brake controls including a brake wheel having a front and a rear and including radial spokes supporting a rim, the wheel being freely rotatable about a rear wheel axis; said tool comprising: an elongate handle having a longitudinal axis including: a proximal end for gripping by a user; and a distal end; and a C-shaped collar for pivotally coupling said distal end of said handle to a spoke or the rim of the wheel such that a reciprocal motion of said proximal end of said handle may fully rotate the wheel; said collar including: a proximal side pivotally attached to said handle near a distal end by an axle extending from a lateral side of the handle such that said collar is freely rotatable by 360 degrees about a pivot axis passing through said handle substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle, wherein said collar remains on the lateral side of the handle during rotation of said collar about said pivot axis; a split for passage of the rim or a spoke of the brake wheel; and a central bore for retaining the rim or a spoke received by said split while a user turns the brake wheel with said tool.