Patent ID: 7861659

Claim:
A hopper car comprising: (a) a center sill passing through a plurality of cargo wells and oriented longitudinally with respect to the hopper car, the center sill having an upper member and a lower member parallel to the upper member, and at least one hood member affixed to said upper surface that directs fluid cargo in a said cargo well around said center sill; (b) each cargo well being at least partially bounded by: (i) a respective pair of opposed slope sheets transverse to and intersecting the center sill at respective intersections; (ii) a respective pair of side sheets each extending between opposed slope sheets on a respective side of the center sill; and (iii) a selectively openable floor; and (c) a plurality of reinforcing members, each positioned beneath a respective said hood member, each reinforcing member being located adjacent the upper member and each reinforcing member being located adjacent a respective intersection, wherein the number of the reinforcing members is less than the number of the intersections at said upper member; wherein (d) each of said intersections is characterized, relative to each other, by the junction of said center sill with a different respective one of said slope sheets.