Buffer car

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buffer car of the Bruchhausen-Vilsen museum railway
Jacking up in the trolley system, in the background a waiting buffer car

A buffer car is a narrow-gauge railway carriage that has both narrow-gauge and normal-gauge coupling devices and is used when operating with trolleys .

description

In the roll-head system, the jacked up wagons form their own group of wagons in the narrow-gauge train, which must be coupled to the narrow-gauge part of the train . Originally this was done with a long coupling rod , which was hooked at one end into the coupling hook of the standard-gauge wagon and the other into the coupling funnel of the narrow-gauge wagon. The handling of these coupling rods was difficult and prone to accidents, and it was not uncommon for accidents to occur during maneuvering in which the higher-lying buffers of a standard-gauge wagon bored into a narrow-gauge vehicle.

In order to remedy these problems, especially in the years after the Second World War, buffer wagons were built from freight cars that were no longer needed . The front and rear walls of the car were reinforced with steel plates welded to the car body , to which coupling hooks and buffers were screwed. Additionally built-in ballast weights should prevent derailment due to the thrust of the heavier standard gauge wagons.

When using air-braked trolleys, a buffer trolley is sufficient. If, on the other hand, unbraked roller stands are used, several buffer cars must be distributed in the train set depending on the length of the train.

In addition to their actual function, the buffer wagons were often used for other purposes, e.g. B. by installing a train driver - compartment , carrying winches for rerailing vehicles or for transporting luggage or general cargo . The buffer wagons cannot be used in rail operations in accordance with international UIC guidelines, as the couplings for narrow-gauge operation and their fastening frames protrude into the so-called Bern area and thus exclude UIC approval. The buffer cars are only permitted as ancillary vehicles .

With the decline in roller-block traffic, most of the buffer wagons became superfluous; in Germany there are only a few examples that have been preserved in museums. In the case of railways that still use roller stands today, a motor vehicle is usually equipped with the appropriate coupling devices.

Web links