Patent ID: 7784411

Claim:
A rail road gondola car having a lading containment structure mounted upon rail road car trucks for rolling motion along rail road car tracks; said lading containment structure including a bottom portion defining a deck and upstanding sidewall portions running lengthwise along side margins of said deck; said sidewall portions having a lower margin adjoining said deck, and an upper margin distant from said deck, said upper margin terminating at a top chord; each said sidewall portion having an height measured upwardly of said deck; each truck having a truck bolster extending cross-wise between a pair of sideframes, and wheelsets mounted in the sideframes; each wheelset having an axle and a pair of first and second wheels mounted at either end thereof; said deck having at least one body bolster mounted cross-wise thereunder, said at least one body bolster being pivotally mounted on a respective truck bolster of one of said trucks; said containment structure having a sidewall reinforcement extending partially cross-wise therewithin abreast of one of said at least one body bolster, said sidewall reinforcement extending laterally inboard of one of said wheels of said truck; said sidewall reinforcement having a region mated to a respective one of said sidewall portions, said reinforcement extending upwardly against said respective one of said sidewall portions a height greater than ¼ of said height of said sidewall portion, and said reinforcement standing less far upwardly of said deck inboard of said respective sidewall portion.