Patent ID: 7171907

Claim:
A drive system in combination with a railroad car discharge gate, comprising: a hopper frame defining a discharge opening, a door panel movable along a fore and aft path across said opening and between an open position and a closed position, a rack attached to said door panel and extending along said path, said rack presenting multiple rack teeth, a drive shaft associated with said hopper frame, extending transversely of said path, and having an outer end adapted to be coupled with an operating device, a gear mounted on said shaft for rotation thereby and having a plurality of gear teeth successively engageable with said rack teeth, an elongated, tubular spacer receiving said shaft between said gear and said outer end for supporting said shaft against deflection under rotational load, said spacer having an inner end adjacent said gear and being provided with structure at said inner end restraining said spacer against radial movement, and a bearing tube generally coaxial with said spacer and fixed to said hopper frame.