Patent ID: 7422401

Claim:
A rail car hook retainer for retaining a B-hook having projecting locking lobes, the retainer being mounted in association with a pocket in a surface of a rail car, the pocket having top, bottom, side and rear walls defining a opening, the opening being closed with a shaped plate, the pocket and plate coacting to secure lading tie straps and hardware, said tie straps being adapted to be tensioned to secure lading in the rail car, and untensioned to enable each strap to be in a slack condition, a shaped anchor aperture formed and arranged to receive the B-hook and have a hook engaging lip to engage the lobes said retainer comprising: said retainer being formed and arranged to maintain the B-hook in the anchor aperture when the tie strap is untensioned; said retainer being formed of a compressible and resilient material and mounted in association with the B-hook and aperture so that when the B-hook is maneuvered through anchor aperture the retainer is compressed, and when the tie strap is slack, the resilience of the retainer maintains the B-hook in the aperture to prevent inadvertent removal of the B-hook from the shaped aperture resulting in the lading tie strap no longer securing the lading to the rail car.