Railway car center filler plate

Center filler plates for mounting on draft sills of railway car underframes are disclosed. The center filler plates have four pockets surrounding a hub. The pockets are shallower than in the prior art, and the walls defining the pockets meet in radii having larger radii of curvature than in the prior art. The shallower pockets and larger radii of curvature facilitate removal of the casting from the molding sand in the cope and drag sections of the mold. The formation of burned-in sand is limited in the present invention, and any burned-in sand that does form is also more easily removed from the center filler plates of the present invention. The base portion of the center filler plates is not as high as in the prior art. The ribs of the center filler plate and the walls of the hub are thicker than in the prior art to provide the needed strength to the center filler plates. In one embodiment, the ribs taper toward the hub, and the hub is shorter than the surrounding web; a tool may be inserted through the kingpin hole, expanded to bear against the tapered surfaces of the ribs; a machine may be used to lift the center filler plate and move it into position on the draft sill. The tool may then be contracted and removed, and the center filler plate may be secured to the draft sill through welding or other techniques.