CargoSprinter
The CargoSprinter is a multiple unit (or articulated) freight car; it could also be thought of as a container truck that runs on rails. Built by the German company Windhoff, it is in effect a self-propelled flatcar for containers. It is intended to recapture some of the freight market back from road trucks, by making it economically feasible to carry small amounts of freight to the individual sidings of warehouses and businesses, without the complications and overhead of conventional locomotive-hauled trains.
The unit consists of two driving and power units, each fitted with a full width cab and two Volvo truck engines for propulsion, which operate in a push pull mode, with up to seven trailers in between.[1] The drive train is hydraulic via an automatic 5-speed gearbox, and has a maximum speed of 120 km/h.[2] The complete train has a total power output of 4 x 265 - 1060 kilowatts and weighs 118 tons.[3]
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[edit] Control system
The computer system in the CargoSprinter is based around a computer running the Linux operating system, with software written in C and in Pascal (Kylix).[4] The computer modules communicate over TCP/IP across a LAN.[4]
[edit] Mechanical wear out disadvantage
The transfer mechanics on the railcars for interchange of cargo containers between railcars requires a certain building height. The required measure is lesser than with trailer-on-flatcars, but not negligible. The mandatory requirement to fit under overhead wire for the traction engine electrical power supply led to a minor size of wheels for the railcars. Hence increased degradation of bogeys by wheel wear-out is a cost disadvantage for the system
[edit] Usage
* In Australia the CRT Group introduced the first CargoSprinter to Australia in February 2002.[1] After a number of promotional trips, the CargoSprinter operated a tri-weekly service from Melbourne to Wodonga in 2003, followed by a port shuttle from the Port of Melbourne to Altona from September 1 that year,[1] before being put into storage.
- In Germany CargoSprinter units have been operated by Deutsche Bahn.
- In the United Kingdom, 25 two-car units are used by the infrastructure operator Network Rail as the British Rail MPV, grouped into five distinct types.
- LRZ NT, Fire Fighting and Rescue Train in Switzerland for incident response in the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. Originally developed by Windhoff with versions operated by Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS) and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS).[5]
[edit] See also
- British Rail MPV
- M250 series (Similar Japanese train)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Peter Attenborough (February 2006). "Colin Rees Transport (CRT)". Australian Model Railway Magazine 22 (256): page 38.
- ^ Windhoff - CRT CargoSprinter details
- ^ Windhoff - CargoSprinter Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany
- ^ a b Aitken, John. "Implementation Example – CargoSprinter". Australia wide Communications System for Railway Operators. Aitken & Partners. http://www.jja.com.au/images/pdf/Australia_Wide_Communications.pdf.
- ^ "First Swiss Self Propelled Fire-Fighting/Rescue Train" (PDF). Windhoff. http://www.windhoff.com/d/wh/akt/pre/20040929.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-12. "the self-propelled rail vehicles, which are based on the company’s own MPV ... 3-car LRZ-NT trainset was ordered by SBB and is to be based at Brig ... 4-car LRZ-NT trainset ordered by BLS will operate from Frutigen. ... [for] deployment should incidents occur in the Lötschberg Base Tunnel"
