Auto Rack cars are a type of railcar configured to store and transport automobiles and/or vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc.). Existing Auto Rack cars may be configured with one deck, (Uni-level), two decks, (Bi-level), or three decks, (Tri-level). Some of these existing Auto Rack cars are convertible from two decks to three decks or from three decks to two decks. Conversions may be performed to accommodate different sized vehicles, such as taller vehicles that may not fit on a Tri-level Auto Rack car. However, the conversion process is cumbersome and expensive, and therefore, is not performed frequently. Converting an Auto Rack car may take over 100 man-hours and may involve major mechanical work, such as removing the Auto Rack deck(s), roof and doors. Other existing approaches involve removing the unused deck from the Auto Rack car.
In existing Auto Rack cars, deck heights determine the maximum height of auto vehicle the Auto Rack deck can transport. Deck heights are generally set and not moved due to difficulty and expense. Deck adjustments may be performed at a distant facility, which requires scheduling and having the Auto Rack car out of service for the duration of the conversion. These adjustments may increase the expense to the shipper and limits the flexibility of the shipper to manage loading efficiency. These adjustments may also require careful scheduling of Auto Rack cars with the correct deck heights to accommodate a given shipment. Further, in order for an Auto Rack car to be compatible with other Auto Rack cars, the decks may have to be located in certain positions or within some tolerance (e.g. plus or minus 3 inches) of the other Auto Rack cars.
Existing Auto Rack cars are about 19 feet in height, and meeting AAR Plate “J” and the Tri-level Auto Rack deck locations limit the population of vehicles that can be loaded into the Auto Rack car due to limited vertical clearance between the decks. Increasing the height of the Auto Rack, for example, to meet the requirements of AAR Plate “K,” provide additional deck spacing and could permit the transporting of taller vehicles. However, increasing the height of the Auto Rack car may not be permitted in some places due to clearance with tunnels, bridges, and other objects.
Protective strips or door edge guards attach to the inside of an Auto Rack car at the door level and protect vehicles loaded into an Auto Rack car from hitting and/or scratching against an interior surface of the Auto Rack car. Existing door edge guards are permanently or semi-permanently attached to the inside of the Auto Rack car using various fasteners such as plastic expanding fasteners that protrude through holes in the Auto Rack side sheets. However, these fasteners may only allow for a finite number of predetermined locations for the door edge guards. Furthermore, attaching the door edge guards may require numerous fasteners along the length of both sides of the Auto Rack car, which may be eighty feet or more in length, and for each deck in the Auto Rack car. These fasteners may not be reusable, and therefore, may need to be replaced when the door edge guards are relocated.