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Yeah, 2.75 tons sounds not much but this is a problem for the rails, ties and also the roadbed! I´m from Germany and at the moment (don´t laugh) we have a normal maximum weight per axle here of 22.5 metric tons or 24 tons!!! And I wrote about MAINLINES !!. We have branchlines that can handle only 20 metric tons. (I know only one coalmine near Cologne that has a 34 tons per axle railsystem, the rail in this open pit with this gigantic KRUPP wheelloaders. Beginning in 1998 the DBAG Cargo (German Freight Railroad) buyed a 300 car fleet of new ironore cars Type Faals 151 - replaced the then 20 years old and optical similar Faal 150. This new cars have two 3 axle trucks with a maximum gross weight of 150 metrictons against 135 tons of the Faals 150 type (Faals isn´t the name, it´s a normed european classificationsystem, F=open freightcar with unloading equipment, aa=more than 4 axles, l= mechanical unloading, s= maximum speed 100km/h. The digits are a serial number. At November 24 last year - 5 years after the first delivery - the first 39 car train of this cars run with this weight - 6.000 tons unit train between Hamburg-Hansaport via Lüneburg – Uelzen – Celle – Lehrte – Peine to Salzgitter-Beddingen. This line is the first 25 tons per axle route here in Germany. They must installed new ties - closer together - and newer and heavier rails before they can handle this weight! You will see the difference in the states too - A mainline that will handle 315K cars have more ties - most concrete and thicker (higher) rails than the 263K branchline. Now a good, but true, joke. The differences between Europa and the USA - EXTREME !!! Faals151 against Bethgon II (I KNOW,I KNOW: iron ore against coal) This "heavy" Faals151 is the heaviest 6 axle freight car in Europe. Built special for the heavy iron ore and so his volume is only maximum the same as a 4 axle coal gondola (grossweight of a 4 axle coal gondola: 90 metric tons (99 tons) - maximum gross weight 150 metric tons (165.38 tons) - empty weight 38 metric tons (41.89 tons) = 25.3 % of gross weight - maximum loading weight 112 metric tons (123.48 tons) Rotary unloading is here not common because it´s not easy to do with the normal used couplers and sidebuffers - the Faals150 and 151 had or have a very similar to the USA centercoupler and no side buffers because the normal coupler cannot drag 6.000 tons, 3.000 tons at a 2 % grade are here a real coupler problem! (the locomotives of this trains have the The Bethgon is "the" coalgondola in the USA. A simple built car and not expensive - only the Aluminium makes it a little bit more expensive than a car built of steel. But the more of loading tonnage because of the aluminum turn this negative fact into a positive one. - maximum gross weight 143 tons - empty weight 20.85 tons = 14.58 % of gross weight- maximum loading weight 122.15 tons We here in Europe need an expensive 2 truck - 6 axle car that damage the tracks more tha a 4 axle car for hauling a little bit than 1 ton more!!! We have norms: a train cannot have more than 250 axles and cannot be longer than 750 meters. So we transport ore in a maximum 39 car trains = 4.815.72 tons of iron ore maximum! A 125 car (135 are possible) Bethgon coaltrain leaving Powder River = 15.268,75 tons of coal maximum! What´s real better? Exact: The coal train with heavy rails !!! In the end the heavier train is the cheaper one !!!
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