Railroad car roof panel and skylight assembly

• Main Authors: Hepburn, Christopher D, Manyek, Peter R, Rentschler, Richard W
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.03.2003

Skylights have been installed in buildings and vehicles of various types but a practical, economical and leak resistant skylight for a railroad boxcar which also provides resistance to unauthorized entrance has, so far, eluded railroad car manufacturers. The failure to provide a practical skylight for a railroad boxcar may be due to the nature of the roof structures of railroad boxcars and because of the demanding service to which railroad cars are subjected. A conventional boxcar roof is assembled of rectangular sheets of 12 or 14 gauge galvanized steel which have been strengthened with pyramidal corrugations to form roof panels. The roof panels, which are preformed, are positioned on top of the boxcars with the longer dimension of each panel extending between the side walls of the cars. The panels are then connected by rivets and roof seam caps provided over adjacent edges of roof panels to prevent leakage. A railroad car roof panel and skylight assembly. The assembly includes a rectangular metal roof panel. A pair of corrugations are formed in the roof panel with the corrugations extending longitudinally of the roof panel and spaced apart from one another transversely across the roof panel. A pair of light holes are formed in the roof panel between the corrugations. The light holes are positioned longitudinally of each other with each of the light holes having an inner edge. A translucent plastic window is located above each light hole. Each transparent window has a shape similar to but larger than the shape of its light hole and is positioned to overlie the inner edge of its light hole. The transparent plastic window may be planar or dome shaped. A ring shaped gasket formed of an elastomer such as EPDM has an annulus of rectangular transverse cross section with a thickness greater than that of the translucent window. The gasket also has an integrally outwardly extending brim which is thinner than the annulus. An inwardly opening groove is formed in the annulus with the groove sized to receive an edge of the translucent plastic window. An annular clamp ring is positioned on the ring shaped gasket. The clamp ring has a first portion engaging the annulus and a second offset portion engaging the brim of the gasket. A series of swaged lockbolts extend through the metal roof panel and the clamp ring to clamp the gasket and translucent plastic window there between.