Patent ID: 8319660

Claim:
In combination with a railroad car with a hopper from which material can be discharged, a door movable between open and closed positions relative to a discharge opening defined by said hopper, a linkage mechanism connected to and for controlling movement of said door between the open and the closed positions and thereby controlling the discharge of material from said hopper, a lock including an over-center design connected to said door, with said lock being operable in either a locked condition, wherein said lock maintains the door in the closed position whereby inhibiting discharge of material from the hopper, and an unlocked condition, wherein said lock permits the door to be moved from the closed position toward the open position whereby permitting the discharge of material from the hopper, with said mechanism including a member movable in a predetermined path of travel as said lock moves between conditions, and a system for visually indicating the condition of said lock, said system comprising: an electrically powered illuminable indicator arranged on a side of the hopper for indicating whether said over-center lock is in said locked condition or said unlocked condition; and circuitry connected to said illuminable indicator, said circuitry including sensor technology for monitoring the condition of said over-center lock and for controlling the operation of said illuminable indicator as a result of signals from said sensor technology indicative of the condition of said over-center lock.