Variable gauge axles are axles that allow railway vehicles to pass from tracks of one rail gauge to a different gauge. An axle is a central shaft for a rotating Wheel or Gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or Bushing A railroad car or railway carriage is a Vehicle on a rail transport system (railroad or railway that is used for the carrying of Cargo or Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. Variable gauge axles are used to allow the running of trains between Spain and France, Europe and Russia, Kazakhstan and China, and Mongolia and China. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Mongolia (mɒŋˈɡoʊliə, literally Mongol country/nation,) is a Landlocked Country in East
There are several alternatives to such a system including transferring the cargo, replacing the wheels and axles, replacing entire bogies and use of transporter wagons. A bogie (ˈboʊgi (BŌ-gē is a Wheeled wagon or trolley In mechanics terms a bogie is a Chassis or framework carrying wheels attached to a vehicle A transporter wagon, in Railway terminology is a wagon (UK or Railroad car (US designed to carry other railway equipment
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Overview
Variable gauge axles help solve the problem of a break of gauge without having to resort to dual gauge tracks or transshipment. With railways a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge Railway is a special configuration of railway track, allowing trains of different gauges to use the same track Transshipment or Transhipment is the Shipment of goods to an intermediate destination and then from there to yet another destination
There are several variable gauge axle systems:
- That of the Talgo-RD. Talgo is a Spanish manufacturer of railway vehicles It is best known for a design of articulated railway passenger cars in which the wheels are mounted This system dates from 1968 and is patented.
- That of CAF-BRAVA
- The CAF system was originally designed in 1968 by the Vevey Company (since absorbed by Bombardier Transportation), a company located in the city of Vevey on Lake Geneva, in Switzerland and was originally called the "Vevey axle" [1]. Portbou is a town in the Alt Empordà comarca, in Girona province, Catalonia, Spain. Irun (old Basque for 'fortified town' Spanish: Irún) is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Guipuscoa ( Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF is a rail equipment manufacturer based in Beasain in the Basque Country, Spain. Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Bombardier group Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva. Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (Lac Léman Léman Lac de Genève is the second largest freshwater Lake in Central Europe in terms of surface area (after Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The design was subsequently obtained and improved by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF).
- That of DB Cargo-Knorr-Bremse. Railion is a European (mainly German) railway cargo carrier. The name was probably intended to be a play on the English words "rely on" though Knorr-Bremse is a manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated in the field for over 100 years [2] being developed in 2002 for use between Europe and Russia.
- That of DBAG-Rafil Type V for freight. Deutsche Bahn AG ( DB AG, DBAG or DB) is the German national Railway company [3]
- That of Japan Railways hoping to include motorised axles. The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as, consists of seven for-profit companies that took over most of the Assets and Operations of the government-owned [4]
Canada
Variable gauge axles were used for a while in 19th century Canada but proved unreliable. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track.
Timeline
2004
In February 2004, RENFE placed orders for:
- Forty-five CAF/Alstom 25 kV AC/3 kV DC, variable gauge EMUs for 250 km/h regional services, between October 2006 and May 2009 (€580 million)
- Twenty-six 25 kV AC variable gauge trains for 250 km/h long-distance services using two Bombardier power cars and Talgo Series VII trailer cars (€370 million) [3]
2003
Since 14 December, VGA trains were introduced between Krakow and Kiev in lieu of bogie exchange. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the Rail gauge. [5] VGA saves about 3 hours compared to bogie exchange. Gauges involved are 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) and 1,520 mm (4 ft 11⅞ in).
See also
External links
References
- ^ La Vie du Rail, No. Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the Rail gauge. Broad gauge Railways use a Rail gauge (distance between the rails greater than the Standard gauge of. Named gauges Broad gauge railways by gauge and country Standard gauge railways, by country This is the Standard or international Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. In railroad industry the Ramsey Car Transfer Apparatus ( Ramsey Transfer) was a proposed device to replace Bogies on Railroad cars to permit The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. The wheel and axle is a Simple machine. The traditional form as recognised in 19th century textbooks is as shown in the image A wheelset is the Wheel - Axle ( Wheel and axle) assembly of a Railroad car. 1415, 4 November 1973, ÉCARTEMENTS VARIABLES: L' "ESSIEU MIRACLE" EST-IL NÉ DANS LE CANTON DE VAUD? [1] in French or [2] in English)
- ^ Janes World Railways 2002-2003 p165.
- ^ Variable-Gauge Wagon Wheelsets - Brief Article | International Railway Journal | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ Science Links Japan | Development of Variable Gauge Bogie
- ^ Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe, Special notes
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