Patent ID: 7367270

Claim:
A mounting system for securing a support surface to a railroad car to isolate the support surface from the twisting and vibration of the railroad car to reduce fatigue of the support surface, the mounting system comprising: a plurality of compressible, energy absorbing bushings positioned between the support surface and the railroad car such that the support surface is spaced from the railroad car by the plurality of bushings; and a plurality of bolts each associated with one of the bushings, each bolt having an expanded head and a depending shaft, the expanded head being positioned above the support surface and in operative contact with the bushing to isolate the bolt from the support surface, depending shaft extending through the support surface and secured to the railroad car such that the combination of the plurality of bolts and bushings secure the support surface to the railroad car, wherein the plurality of bolts compress the plurality of bushings between the support surface and the railroad car and the plurality of bushings are each further compressed upon relative movement between the support surface and the railroad car to isolate the support surface from the railroad car.