Patent ID: 8485107

Claim:
A device for stopping travel of a railcar that rides along a pair of rails, the railcar having a plurality of wheels, each wheel in the plurality of wheels having a wheel tread that rides along one rail of the pair of rails and having a flange that radially outwardly extends from the wheel tread, the device comprising: a wing that is pivotable about a longitudinal hinge axis that extends parallel to one rail of the pair of rails, the wing being pivotable between a raised position wherein the wing prevents travel of the railcar along the pair of rails and a lowered position wherein travel of the railcar along the pair of rails is permitted, the wing comprising a bearing face that is transversely oriented relative to the longitudinal hinge axis and is offset from the longitudinal hinge axis so that when the wing is oriented in the raised position, the bearing face is aligned on top of the one rail and engages with the wheel tread of one wheel in the plurality of wheels; wherein the bearing face has an inside edge that is aligned with the one rail when the wing is in the raised position so that the flange on the railcar wheel can pass by the bearing face as the wheel tread approaches the bearing face; and wherein the wing further comprises an inner bearing surface that is transversely oriented with respect to the bearing face and faces the longitudinal hinge axis, such that when the wheel tread is engaged with the hearing face, the inner bearing surface engages with the flange on the railcar wheel and prevents the wing from moving from the raised position to the lowered position.