Patent ID: 7275488

Claim:
An articulated railway car capable of transporting automobiles in commercial rail service, said car comprising at least two units, each unit comprising a floor, a roof, a pair of upstanding side walls, a pair of end doors, and at least one upper deck spaced above the floor of the car so that automobiles may be supported on at least two levels; each of said upstanding side walls comprising a plurality of substantially vertical posts supporting said at least one upper deck and roof, and a plurality of side wall panels connected to said substantially vertical posts; said side wall panels functioning as shear plates to tie said vertical posts together and to bear substantial loads in the plane of said side wall; each of said side wall panels extending substantially the entire height of said side wall, and some of said side wall panels having a plurality of separate groups of perforations for ventilation and lighting formed therein, with other portions of the side wall panels being imperforate to reduce admission of airborne particulates said groups of perforations including a horizontal series of groups along the bottom of at least one level to provide lighting and ventilation for workers adjusting wheel chocks at the floor of the level; said groups of perforations being spaced inward from the edges of the panel and being spaced vertically from one another in each panel.