Outlet gate assembly for hopper cars

1. An outlet gate assembly comprising:

a body;

a discharge conduit having opposite ends defining discharge openings,

an air flow conduit having an air flow opening adjacent each of said discharge openings and

removable covers, each enclosing one of said discharge openings, and the adjacent air flow opening of said air flow conduit,

wherein each said cover defines a flow path between said discharge opening and said air flow opening covered thereby.

2. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said discharge conduit comprises

an elongate discharge tube within said body defining a valve opening between said discharge tube and said body,

a valve member interposed between said body and said discharge tube.

3. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said body includes transverse end walls and said discharge tube extends between said transverse end walls.

4. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said air flow conduit comprises a separate air flow tube extending between said transverse end walls of said body.

5. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein said assembly includes an end adapter secured to each said transverse end wall of said body, and each said end adapter includes a cylindrical outlet tube in communication with said discharge tube that defines one of said discharge openings of said discharge conduit.

6. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein said end adapters each define an air flow section in communication with said air flow tube and define one of said air flow openings adjacent the discharge opening defined by said cylindrical outlet tube of said end adapter.

7. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein removal of one of said covers exposes one of said discharge openings and one of said air flow openings to the surrounding atmosphere.

8. An outlet gate assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said air flow conduit includes two separate air flow tubes defining an air flow opening in communication with said discharge conduit at a location remote from said air flow opening of said tube of said air flow conduit.

9. A method of discharging material from an outlet gate assembly for a hopper car, having

a body;

a discharge conduit having opposite ends defining discharge openings,

an air flow conduit having an air flow opening adjacent each of said discharge openings and

removable covers, each enclosing one of said discharge openings, and the adjacent air flow opening of said air flow conduit,

wherein each said cover defines a flow path between said discharge opening and said air flow opening covered thereby, and

wherein said discharge conduit comprises

an elongate discharge tube within said body defining a valve opening between said discharge tube and said body, and

a valve member interposed between said body and said discharge tube, and

wherein removal of one of said covers exposes one of said discharge openings and one of said air flow openings to the surrounding atmosphere,

said method comprising:

removing one of said removable covers enclosing one of said discharge openings and the adjacent air flow opening and maintaining said other cover in place, closing said other discharge opening and the adjacent air flow opening and providing a flow path therebetween,

attaching a vacuum hose to said uncovered discharge opening,

opening said valve member interposed between said body and said discharge tube,

applying a vacuum to said vacuum hose.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein

said body includes transverse end walls and said discharge tube extends between said transverse end walls of said body,

said air flow conduit comprises a separate air flow tube extending between said transverse end walls of said body,

said assembly includes an end adapter secured to each said transverse end wall of said body, and each said end adapter includes a cylindrical outlet tube in communication with said discharge tube and defines one of said discharge openings of said discharge conduit,

said end adapters each define an air flow section in communication with said air flow tube and define one of said air flow openings adjacent the discharge opening defined by said cylindrical outlet tube of said end adapter,

said method further comprising:

attaching a vacuum hose to one of the cylindrical outlet tubes.

11. An outlet gate assembly of a hopper car comprising:

a body having a first side configured to be positioned on a first side of the hopper car and second side configured to be positioned a second, opposite side of the hopper car;

a discharge conduit on the body, the discharge conduit having a first end generally adjacent the first side of the body and a second end generally adjacent the second side of the body, the discharge conduit being configured to pass material through each of the first end and the second end;

an air flow conduit having closable ends open at the ends of the discharge conduit; and

removable closures, closing each end of said discharge conduit and said ends of said air flow conduit,

wherein each said closure defines a flow path between said discharge opening and said air flow opening covered thereby.

12. An outlet gate assembly of a hopper car comprising:

a body for mounting on the hopper car, the body having a first side and a second side, the first side being configured to be positioned on a first side of the hopper car and the second side being configured to be positioned on a second, opposite side of the hopper car;

a discharge conduit on the body, the discharge conduit having a first end generally adjacent the first side of the body and a second end generally adjacent the second side of the body, the discharge conduit being configured to pass material through each of the first end and the second end; and

an air flow conduit associated with the body and the discharge conduit,

upon opening the first end of the discharge conduit and the closing the second end of discharge conduit, the air flow conduit including a first air flow path extending generally from the first side of the body generally towards the second side of the body and being in fluid communication with the discharge conduit generally adjacent the second end of the discharge conduit, and

upon opening the second end of the discharge conduit and the closing the first end of discharge conduit, the air flow conduit including a second air flow path extending generally from the second side of the body generally towards the first side of the body and being in fluid communication with the discharge conduit generally adjacent the first end of the discharge conduit.

13. A method of discharging material from an outlet gate assembly for a hopper car, having

a body;

a discharge conduit having opposite ends defining discharge openings, and

said discharge conduit defining a valve opening between said discharge conduit and said body, and

a valve member interposed between said body and said discharge conduit, and

removable covers each enclosing one of the discharge openings of the outlet gate,

each said cover including a body having at least one vent opening to permit air flow from the surrounding atmosphere into the discharge conduit,

said method comprising:

removing one of said removable covers enclosing one of said discharge openings and maintaining said other cover in place,

attaching a vacuum hose to said uncovered discharge opening,

opening said valve member interposed between said body of said outlet gate assembly and said discharge conduit, applying a vacuum to said vacuum hose.