Looking a the older rolling stock this might still be something to consider. I included a picture below of the to me quite typical older freight car with side buffers that might make the phenomenon possible.
Never seen this happening with any newer rolling stock though.
owlsroost NorthWest Buffer locking is a huge issue as well! In 40 years of European train watching, I've never even seen this mentioned as a issue, so it's certainly not a big issue. A long time ago (40 years maybe) there was a proposal to adopt a European-wide standard auto-coupler, but it never got enough support to make it happen.
NorthWest Buffer locking is a huge issue as well!
Buffer locking is a huge issue as well!
In 40 years of European train watching, I've never even seen this mentioned as a issue, so it's certainly not a big issue.
A long time ago (40 years maybe) there was a proposal to adopt a European-wide standard auto-coupler, but it never got enough support to make it happen.
Good to see some activity on this thread! If I have time I'll post some more photos, but that is unlikely until next weekend. McKey, where are you?
WW2-bunker in front of Emden main station
Right! I took a look at some of the 10'000 or so pictures at 4rail.net and was a bit surprised: instead of being an old phenomenon that side buffers are of wide type it actually looks like there must still be maybe 100'000 ftreight cars with more or less roundish buffers out there. So this phenomenon is still around!
Below the MTAS (part ot the LKAB mining company) T44 with modern square buffers switching in Narvik, Norway. Some of the tracks here are not electrified, so there is still use for the diesel motive power despite IOREs doing themselves all the switching for the super heavy ore trains. If you take a careful look at the coupler here, this unit has both the SA3 center coupler and side buffers but not the semiautomatic hook-and-screw coupler normally used with similar switchers.
Here is another switcher from VR-Yhtyma in Finland. The class Dv12 has all SA3 + semiautomatic hook-and-srew + side buffers. And will also carry semiautomatic knuckle coupler if the need ever arises. Finns are brilliant in engineering and so any combination of couplers can be adapted to locos and cars. Semiautomatic btw. means that the airline has to be manually coupled and uncoupled, connecting and unconnecting the actual coupler are fully automatic / remote controlled. The class Dv12 is seen here in Oulu, in the Northern Finland and is switching one of the autocarriers from the around 8 night trains stopping here.
Tank cars are where you would think the safety is maximized. Well, what do you think about these tiny looking side buffers?This is a Green Cargo class Zacns for refined oil products car in Gävle, Sweden. I think the use is to carry aviation fuels to Arlanda airport near Stockholm.
And finally, the side buffers that are actually not used since all the EMUs use their fully automatic heavy duty coupler. This is a Stadler brand new FLIRT1 EMU seen in Vantaa, Finland. The train is Financed and owned by Junakalusto Oy, operated by VR-Yhtymä and operations ordered and financed by HSL (Metropolitan Helsinki Transportation Authority). Next tendering for operations will be in 2018, so it might be Arriva or someone else operating these later. Picture by Hannu Peltola.
NorthWest A relatively good illustration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ueberpufferung.png Imagine that at speed...
A relatively good illustration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ueberpufferung.png
Imagine that at speed...
My take on this: Imagine you have two adjacent cars on a curve sharp enough that the buffers on the car ends can slide past each other instead of 'buffering up' face to face. IF you now push these cars off the sharp curve, the buffer structures will jam laterally against each other, and the edges of the buffers will be locked together in a way that cannot be released. Pulling in either car, in this condition, yanks on one or both buffers, or bends their stems or edges; pushing on the car jams the mounts and edges laterally. Neither is a good situation, especially if the locomotive can access only one end of the cut...
One way to get around this is to extend the face of the buffer 'laterally' so you have a more oval or 'racetrack' shape with the long axis horizontal.
Please explain closer, I'm not familiar with this term.
Thank you M636 for the additional info and correcting me on the inventor being Willison!
Every word true you say in your text. Hopefully the era of screw type couplers in Europe is nearing its end, because the configuration with those including double buffers is highly dangerous to the train crews. Acquaintance of mine lost his father in one of those accidents years ago, squeezed between the locomotive and the train after just one misstep.
The spacing between the cars still works better on freight cars, but trying for example to attach a passenger loco in Finland equipped with SA3 couplers to passenger coach with all kinds of lines running from the end is hideous. Hardly any space left between the two vehicles. And then you need to fit the small adapter iron just in the right place between the two...
McKey Ok, here are a few more pictures on SA3 attached to IOREs. The original idea was to use the American knuckle couplers, but the MTAB came to their senses before installing these. Having several different coupler types just would make things very complicated. The SA3 can be coupled to any hook-and-screw standard European coupler with a small adapter iron. I'm not sure if a similar adapter would be available for the knuckle couplers.
Ok, here are a few more pictures on SA3 attached to IOREs. The original idea was to use the American knuckle couplers, but the MTAB came to their senses before installing these. Having several different coupler types just would make things very complicated. The SA3 can be coupled to any hook-and-screw standard European coupler with a small adapter iron. I'm not sure if a similar adapter would be available for the knuckle couplers.
Outside Russia, the SA3 coupler is usually known by the name of its American inventor "Willison".
It is not used in the USA because the knuckle coupler based on a design by Janney was so well established. While the Willison is a little stronger, if it were to break the very large and expensive coupler body would have to be replaced, while with the Janney and its successors, the knuckle usually breaks. Not only is the knuckle smaller and cheaper but it is easy to carry a spare to replace when a knuckle breaks.
There are a number of schemes for coupling knuckle couplers to European screw couplers.
In Australia on the standard gauge, the screw couplers are (where still fitted, usually on museum vehicles) at the European height of 3 feet (914 mm) while the knuckle couplers are at the US height of 2 feet 9 inches (839 mm). This allows the screw coupler to be "hooked" on a cast projection on the top of the coupler (called a "bollard") and screwed tight.
In England, both the Knuckle and the screw coupler are centred at 3 feet.. In this case the knuckle head is arranged to drop down, and a coupler hook is located behind the knuckle.
On the narrow gauge in Queensland in Australia, both the knuckle and screw coupler were at 2 feet 9 inches. In this case a hinged link was hung under the knuckle. To use it, the link is lifted into the coupler and locked in place by closing and locking the knuckle. A screw coupler was attached to the link and coupled to the hook on the adjacent wagon.
In all these cases the vehicle with the knuckle coupler still had to have buffers (as on the IORE locomotives illustrated above).
M636C
NorthWest Very nice! The IOREs are such impressive locomotives. It appears that they are using a type of knuckle coupler, of what type?
Very nice! The IOREs are such impressive locomotives. It appears that they are using a type of knuckle coupler, of what type?
Yes, excellent question! It is the most formidable of the couplers, the SA3. Actually the knuckle is in its mouth in this model. It can hold up to 8000 metric ton trains, around 17 650 000 U.S. lbs. The SA type coupler was invented in the U.K. and is now the standard model for all of the ex. Soviet Empire, plus some applications in Finland and Sweden in the Nordic. Looks like Norway is following the suite this year too with Grana Gruber (iron ore mine) new ore cars.
And here is "Then", the old style for IOREs.
How true!
Or could it be done?
MTAB names their Iocos after important locations, U.S. being full of importand locations this might work...?
Here are IOREs "Björnfjell" and "Krookvik" towing a rake of South African built ore cars (that work poorly in the cold, icy and snowy climate) in Saväst, Sweden on Malmbana.These are the most powerful electric locomotives in Europe, even Russia with its Western allies Siemens and Alstom can't compare with these.
Since it sthis thread, this goes to category "Now".
The practice of naming locomotives seems to give them a more human character. I understand why most locomotives aren't named in North America. Try finding names for all of the 2000+ C44-9Ws!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Galore
Looks like all the names are single words, except for “R2D2” and “C-3PO”. I wonder what the "Chewbacca" sounds like on the train radio, when they do everyday communication... :)
Going off topic here is a picture of 3CPO TRAXX AC2 (not copper colored but gray) with Eurosprinter ES64F4 called "Cyborg". TRAXX AC2 "Bond" is for the moment on my picture editing queue so we'll see it in a little while.
McKeyI think all their locos are named after movie characters, like Bond and Moneypenny that I'm going to publish a picture of later.
But "Galore" is NOT only half a name... ;-}
I think all their locos are named after movie characters, like Bond and Moneypenny that I'm going to publish a picture of later. In Sweden it is a custom to name all locomotives, except for the government owned operators who seem to avoid this nice custom.
carnej1 Who names these units? According to this: http://www.hectorrail.com/docs/br141-12.pdf The first 3 are named after the female protagonists of the films "Alien", "Kill Bill" and "The Silence of the Lambs"?!
Who names these units?
According to this:
http://www.hectorrail.com/docs/br141-12.pdf
The first 3 are named after the female protagonists of the films "Alien", "Kill Bill" and "The Silence of the Lambs"?!
McKey That was the "then" part and here is "now", not surprisingly from Sweden. HectorRail, ever hungry for inexpensive used modern locos bought the ÖBB class 1012 three manufactured units which came HectorRail class 141. 141 for Hector means: 1 - one electric system, 4 - 4 axles, 1 - the first type with these features. I was hoping that I could get some pictures here by now, but it looks like one of the picture servers housing all the class 141 pics is still down for the moment due to component failure. So these pictures will have to be added here later. For now, below is a direct link to class 141 gallery should the server suddenly enter online without me noticing: http://www.4rail.net/reference_sweden_gallery2_ellocos.php#hr_c141
That was the "then" part and here is "now", not surprisingly from Sweden.
HectorRail, ever hungry for inexpensive used modern locos bought the ÖBB class 1012 three manufactured units which came HectorRail class 141. 141 for Hector means: 1 - one electric system, 4 - 4 axles, 1 - the first type with these features.
I was hoping that I could get some pictures here by now, but it looks like one of the picture servers housing all the class 141 pics is still down for the moment due to component failure. So these pictures will have to be added here later. For now, below is a direct link to class 141 gallery should the server suddenly enter online without me noticing:
http://www.4rail.net/reference_sweden_gallery2_ellocos.php#hr_c141
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Well, the picture server housing these pictures has recovered and here are the pictures now
In the next part of the then and Now in Europe is a story of the competition with one winner: SGP and Siemens both built future locomotive suggestions for the Austrian operator ÖBB. Austrian SGP (Simmering-Graz-Pauker) built a class 1012 multipurpose loco and German Siemens their class 1016 ES64U "Taurus", also a multipurpose locomotive. Siemens won in the end and ÖBB has ended up buying so many new electric locomotives from them that it looks like there is always older types to sell abroad.
Three of class 1012 locos of SGP were manufactured in the end. It is very hard to find pictures of these but below is one in the original ÖBB colors.
Good luck on your hunt for the 5100.001!
Sorry, I have not had time to add pictures recently, I may have time this week.
You might be right, but I still hope to find it running. The "5100.001" was acquired by TågAB who are basically just ingenious making old contraptions work, so until confirmed by them I'll keep looking.
Goog luck hunting to you too!
NorthWest Is it used as a parts source? I, too, have found rare units are often camera shy...
Is it used as a parts source?
I, too, have found rare units are often camera shy...
You are absolutely right about the older SNCF units looking so much same!
There is one unit from Romania imported to Sweden but I'm still hunting for it to get it in front of the camera and write a small story on it. Looks to be very evasive...
And thank you for the link activation.
NorthWest I like the older Malmbana paint better, it is more colorful! Looks a lot like one of the older SNCF liveries.... I have to say, I like the El15s better than the CFR 040s (Southeastern European variant). The lower headlights are what makes me like the El15s, as on the 040s, they seem to overwhelm the design. I've activated your link to the brown El15s: http://www.4rail.net/reference_norway_gallery2.php#mtas_el15
I like the older Malmbana paint better, it is more colorful! Looks a lot like one of the older SNCF liveries....
I have to say, I like the El15s better than the CFR 040s (Southeastern European variant).
The lower headlights are what makes me like the El15s, as on the 040s, they seem to overwhelm the design.
I've activated your link to the brown El15s: http://www.4rail.net/reference_norway_gallery2.php#mtas_el15
Then situation now. Most of the locos received the HectorRail official paint scheme as these were the first locos for them to arrive, brand building being important at that point.
Below a picture of the huge locos at HectorRail depot area in Hallsberg. Picture by Gerry Putz. After it pictures by me from Luleå Notviken area in 2013 and 2012. The lower unit seems to have lost its pantographs for now, and you can even see them on ground in Hallsberg, almost 1000 miles away. I wonder what is wrong with these?
Enjoy the pictures!
And the heavy truck construction.
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