Patent ID: 8534203

Claim:
A method of assembling a railway hopper car, said method comprising: coupling first and second opposing sidewalls extending in a longitudinal direction to first and second opposing end walls extending in a transverse direction to form an upper portion of the hopper car, the sidewalls and the end walls including a top edge and a bottom edge; coupling a plurality of well panels to the upper portion of the hopper car for forming a lower portion of the hopper car, the lower portion including a plurality of cargo wells, each of the well panels sloping inwardly from the bottom edge of the upper portion to a selectively openable floor, each cargo well of the plurality of cargo wells including at least one longitudinal boundary extending in the transverse direction and defined by an intersection of two well panels; coupling a roof panel proximate to the top edge of the sidewalls and the end walls, the roof panel including an access opening extending longitudinally over at least a portion of each of the plurality of cargo wells; coupling a first support assembly to an inner surface of the first sidewall and a second support assembly to an inner surface of the second sidewall proximate to a first longitudinal boundary of the at least one longitudinal boundary, each support assembly extending between the roof panel and the bottom edge of the sidewalls, the first support assembly being separate from the second support assembly; coupling a first bottom gusset panel to a bottom portion of the first support assembly and at least one well panel of the plurality of well panels; coupling a second bottom gusset panel to a bottom portion of the second support assembly and at least one well panel of the plurality of well panels; coupling a first top gusset panel to a top portion of the first support assembly and the roof panel; and coupling a second top gusset panel to a top portion of the second support assembly and the roof panel.