Patent ID: 7757611

Claim:
A rail road gondola car having: a lading containment receptacle mounted on a pair of spaced apart rail road car trucks for rolling motion along railroad tracks in a longitudinal direction; first and second side beams defining side walls of said receptacle; cross-bearers extending between said first and second side beams; upstanding stiffeners mounted to reinforce said side walls; at least a first of said upstanding stiffeners being located at a longitudinal station aligned with one of said cross-bearers; said first upstanding stiffener having a base adjacent said one of said cross-bearers, and a tip upwardly distant therefrom, said first upstanding stiffener having a pair of legs and a back extending between said legs, said legs having toes oriented to mate with one of said side walls and thereby to form a hollow closed section tube; and said base being wider in the longitudinal direction than said tip.