Well car

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Peter Horn (talk | contribs) at 00:40, 9 June 2009 (→‎Other countries: flatcars was flat cars). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A double-stack car owned by the TTX Company. The car is a Gunderson Maxi-IV. The containers are owned by Pacer Stacktrain.

A well car, also known as a double-stack car or stack car for short, is a type of railroad car specially designed to carry intermodal containers (shipping containers) used in intermodal freight transport. The "well", a depressed section which sits between the wheel trucks of the car, close to the rails, allowing a container to be carried lower than on a traditional flatcar and can allow carry a stack of two containers per unit one some railway lines and on others are required in order to carry a single container where the loading gauge does not allow the use of flatcars. The top container is held in place either by a bulkhead built into the car, or through the use of inter-box connectors.

Advantages to using well cars is increased stability due to the lower center of gravity of the load, lower tare weight, and in the case of articulated units, reduced slack action.

Double-stack cars are most common in North America, where intermodal traffic is heavy, and electrification is less widespread and thus overhead clearances are typically more manageable.

History

Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), along with Malcom McLean, came up with the idea of the first double-stack intermodal car in 1977.[1][2] SP then designed the first car with ACF Industries that same year.[3][4] At first it was slow to become an industry standard, then in 1984 American President Lines, started working with the SP and that same year, the first all "double stack" train left Los Angeles, California for South Kearny, New Jersey, under the name of "Stacktrain" rail service. Along the way the train transferred from the SP to Conrail.

Multiple unit cars

A multi-unit articulated double-stack car, with five 48' wells. This one was built by Thrall and is owned by Pacer Stacktrain. Note that there is no bottom, which would make it unsuitable to carry road trailers.

Double-stack cars may be constructed with a single well, but are often constructed with multiple units, usually with 3 or 5 wells, connected by articulated joints. Articulated joints are supported by a single wheel truck, (often a 125-ton capacity truck).

Also, in a number of cases, multiple single-well cars (usually 3 or 5) are connected by drawbars and share a single reporting mark.

On both types of multiple-unit cars, the units are typically distinguished by letters, with the unit on one end being the "A" unit, and the unit on the other end being the "B" unit. All railroad equipment has an 'A' and 'B' end, with the 'B' end being the end where the brake wheel (and equipment) is located. On three- and five-unit articulated well cars, the middle units are referred to as 'C', 'D', and 'E'.

Carrying capacity

Double-stack cars come in a number of sizes, related to the standard sizes of the containers they are designed to carry. Well lengths of 40 ft (12.19 m), 48 ft (14.63 m) and 53 ft (16.15 m) are most common. A number of 45 ft (13.72 m) wells and 56 ft (17.07 m) wells also exist. (The sizes of wells are frequently marked in large letters on the sides of cars to assist yard workers in locating suitable equipment for freight loads.)

In cases where wells are smaller than some of the containers being loaded, larger containers are often placed on top of smaller containers that fit in the available wells. Many wells are also capable of carrying two 20' ISO containers in the bottom position.

Some double-stack cars have been also equipped with hitches which allow them to carry semi-trailers as well as containers. These are known as "all-purpose" well cars.

Other countries

Choke points

Low bridges and narrow tunnels in various locations prevent the operation of double stack trains until costly upgrades are made.[11]

References

  1. ^ Cudahy, Brian J., - "The Containership Revolution: Malcom McLean’s 1956 Innovation Goes Global". - TR News. - (c/o National Academy of Sciences). - Number 246. - September-October 2006. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document)
  2. ^ Chronological History - Union Pacific Railroad Company
  3. ^ Kaminski, Edward S. (1999). - American Car & Foundry Company: A Centennial History, 1899–1999. - Wilton, California: Signature Press. - ISBN 0963379100
  4. ^ "A new fleet shapes up. (High-Tech Railroading)". - Railway Age. - (c/o HighBeam Research). - September 1, 1990
  5. ^ Parkes article on double stacking
  6. ^ http://www.artc.com.au/library/RIS_2.2.pdf
  7. ^ a b Business Line - India Double Stacking Cite error: The named reference "cont" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ Double stack
  9. ^ http://www.irfca.org/gallery/openline/IRJ.jpg.html
  10. ^ Preparing to handle double-stack containers, Raghu Dayal, Railway Gazette International May 2009, p46
  11. ^ Railpage Australia - U.S. rail network facing congestion 'calamity'

Online rosters

Magazine articles

  • Mainline Modeler:
Fortenberry, Curt & Bill McKean. - "APL Container Car". - February 1987. - p.65-69.
Fortenberry, Curt & Robert L. Hundman. - "APL container car part II the brake system". - March 1987. - p.78-81.
Hundman, Robert L., & Curt Fortenberry. - "APL 45-foot container car". - May 1987. - p.54-57.
  • Model Railroader:
Durrenberger, Cyril. - "SP/ACF double stack cars". - October 1983. - p.83-93.
  • Model Railroading:
Bontrager, David A. - "Articulated double stacks: a prototype overview". - June 1993. p.24-29.
Bontrager, David A. - "The Newest Prototype Well Cars: An Abundance of Kitbashing Possibilities". August 1997. - p.46-49.
Casdorph, David G. and Ed McCaslin. - "Gunderson's Husky-Stack: The Prototype and Detailing A-Line's HO Model". - October 1995. - p.32-37.
Casdorph, David G. - "NSC 53' Drawbarred Well Car Roster and Pictorial". - August 2002. - p.30-33
Geiger, Doug. - "Thrall Double-Stacks: Three-Well DTTX Drawbar-Connected Car". - October 1994. - p.50-55.
Geiger, Doug. - "Gunderson Husky Stack Three-Well BN Drawbar-Connected Car". - July 1995. - p.48-53.
Geiger, Doug. - "Gunderson Maxi-Stack IIIs Part I: The Prototype". - December 1995. - p.58-63.
Geiger, Doug. - "Maxi-Stack Well Car Part I: The Prototype". - April 1997. - p.28-31.
Mansfield, Jim. - "Thrall Five-Unit Double-Stack Car - Series TWG50J". - October 1993. - p.19-23.
Mansfield, Jim. - "Thrall Five-Unit Double-Stack Car - Series APLX 5000". - November 1993. - p.24-25, 27-31.
  • Railroad Model Craftsman:
Panza, Jim & Chuck Yungkurth. - "Thrall's double-stack cars". - January 1989. - p.89-98.
Panza, Jim & Bruce Keating. - "The Gunderson Husky-Stack well car". - July 1992. - p.71-75.
Panza, Jim & William Halliar. - "Thrall stand-alone and drawbar connected well cars". - October 1992. - p.64-68.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Well_car&oldid=295282873"