Gauging (superstructure)
The re- gauging of routes or networks of track-bound means of transport is carried out by converting these routes from one gauge to another using technical means. This can include changes to the rails , the track or the entire superstructure .
The reason is usually that an island operation is abandoned and its route network is to be connected to a different-lane route network. Mostly these are routes that were once narrow-gauge for reasons of cost , which are converted into the respective standard gauge for reasons of compatibility . The reverse case is less common, examples are the Bad Orber Kleinbahn in Hesse, which was rerouted between 2001 and 2006, or the Gernrode – Quedlinburg section in Saxony-Anhalt, which was rerouted in 2005/2006 . Rare is also a place of Umspurung realignment made or a three-rail track installed. This is a completely new building, especially when re-gauging narrow-gauge lines that have been inexpensively adapted to the terrain. The advantage of this solution is that business interruptions can be largely avoided. Examples of this are the Sarajevo – Ploče routes in Bosnia-Herzegovina or Athens – Patra and Paleofarsalos – Kalambaka in Greece. On the latter route, only the stations in Trikala, Karditsa and Kalambaka remained in their old location. An example of the years of use of three- rail tracks is the Stuttgart Stadtbahn network, which has been practically completely changed from meter to standard gauge .
Occasionally there are cases in which routes have even been re-gauged several times, such as the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem railway line .
technology
Starting position
The sleeper length and thus the bedding and substructure width are directly dependent on the track width. In addition, larger track widths require larger arc radii, they also allow a larger clearance profile . An increase in the track width, if it exceeds a certain level, is therefore only feasible with fundamental modifications, including the routing. In addition, engineering structures must be adapted in terms of load-bearing capacity and clearance profile. If the track width is to be reduced, comparable problems usually do not arise. In order to reduce the effort, it is possible and customary in peacetime to install track material in preparation that is prepared for the later change in the gauge. In the past, when there was a sufficiently large difference in gauge, for example on the Klotzsche – Königsbrück line in Saxony, preparatory four-rail tracks were laid.
process
Depending on the difference between the starting and target track widths, one or both rails must be moved laterally. The effort required for re-gauging depends on the material available. In the case of wooden sleepers, it may be sufficient to loosen the rail or base plate fastenings, close the holes with pegs and fasten the rails again with the new gauge. However, if the rail inclination is incorporated into the sleepers, it is necessary to machine the sleeper surface. In the case of superstructures with concrete or steel sleepers that have not been prepared for gauge change, solid track or tracks embedded in the track surface, a complete track renovation is required. This also applies to switches and crossings in general , unless they have already been structurally prepared for the gauge change, since the distances between the switch device and frog shift during gauge change and the size of the crossing square changes at crossings. The consequences of a makeshift gauge change, for example in the form of cut steel sleepers secured by track holders and track sleepers, are only acceptable under war conditions. A permanently stable superstructure cannot be obtained in this way.
A necessary consequence of re-gauging is the adaptation of the control and safety technology. Even if nothing is changed on the track position, switch positions, signal distances as well as slip paths and danger point distances shift.
Examples
to bathe
The Grand Ducal Baden State Railways began building the line around 1840. Baden was the only German state to initially build its railway lines in 1600 mm wide gauge . Around 1844, Baden tried to oblige Württemberg to use its gauge when negotiating the construction of the Württemberg Western Railway . After the wrong decision in choosing the gauge became obvious, Baden politics initially defended it vehemently. The Court Marshal Baron von Göler (1809–1862) argued at a meeting of the First Chamber of the Estates in 1846 :
“I think that the importance of matching the gauge is far too high; also assuming that there would be one and the same track through Germany, a car from Baden would never run on the Württemberg railway. "
Only after it turned out that all neighboring countries preferred the standard gauge (1435 mm) did the Badische Staatsbahn convert all of the lines it had built up to that point within just one year, 1854/55.
Southern United States
In the early days of rail travel in the United States, the railways of the southern states had mostly broad gauge 5-foot (1524 mm), while in the northern states the standard gauge of 4 feet, 8½ inches (1435 mm) was common. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, it became apparent that a common, equal gauge was an economic necessity for the development of states. So it was decided to convert the tracks in the southern states to standard gauge. At the objection and request of the Pennsylvania Railroad , which has a slightly different gauge of 4 feet and 9 inches (1448 mm), it was decided to use this dimension, called the "mediation track," instead of the exact English dimension. This determination took place in October 1885 and February 1886 the date for the main lines was fixed.
Starting on Monday, May 31, 1886, tens of thousands of workers then moved the western rail of the broad gauge tracks at 76 within 36 hours mm offset inward (3 inches, from 1524 to 1448 mm track width) and reattached. The nailed superstructure on wooden sleepers, which was customary at the time, made it possible to pull part of the nails and drive them in at the new distance as an internal stop for moving the rail and thus a quick implementation of the gauge. At the same time, after long preparation and preliminary work, the vehicles were adapted in many places.
The vehicle transition was made possible by the gauging, but only with the acceptance of greater wear and tear and poorer smoothness due to the greater clearance. Then around the 1920s, the switching track sections gradually increased by another half an inch, or 13 mm, reduced and thus to the exact standard track size 1435 mm brought.
Second World War
In 1941 the Wehrmacht invaded the Soviet Union . She succeeded in a surprise attack; by the winter you will have big gains in terrain.
The Soviet railways had a broad gauge (1524 mm). After it became clear that significantly less rolling stock could be captured than hoped, that the replenishment could not be transported by motor vehicle in the required quantity and that reloading processes also impaired performance, railway pioneers of the Wehrmacht tracked thousands of kilometers of railroad to the front with standard gauge vehicles to get. The mostly nailed superstructure on wooden sleepers made it easier to re-track under field conditions. In the track it was enough to loosen a rail and move it 89 millimeters inwards. In order not to endanger the stability of dams in particular, the outer strand was relocated on double-track lines. The points were re-measured starting from the frog.
With the advance of the Soviet Army, their railway pioneers traced these routes back just as quickly. The pioneering re-gauging became problematic in Poland because there were frequent steel sleepers and crossings. The latter caused by far the greatest amount of work. The superstructure would only have been permanently secure if it had been converted to wooden sleepers and all rail fasteners had been replaced. Therefore, if possible, this re-gauging was avoided or only one strand was changed. West of the Vistula, only individual routes were re-tracked with the express permission of the State Defense Committee . The broad gauge reached Berlin, for the journey from Josef Stalin to the Potsdam conference , a long-distance line of the Berlin light rail from the Schlesisches Bahnhof to Potsdam was also re- tracked and back again after the end of this conference. The existing safety systems were not adapted for this temporary broad-gauge operation, the switch blades were moved and secured individually.
In the new Russian territories (example: Königsberg ) the existing standard gauge lines were not converted to broad gauge until around 1950 and in a peaceful quality.
Spain
The Iberian gauge of 1668 millimeters, which differs from the rest of the European network, was in turn already made possible through the mediation of the original Portuguese (1665 mm) and Spanish broad gauge (1672 mm), has proven to be a massive obstacle, especially for rail freight traffic , at the latest since the accession of Spain and Portugal to the EC . Therefore, an adjustment of the gauge to the standard gauge was planned several times. The new high-speed lines to be built were built according to standard lanes from the start. A final decision has not yet been made, especially since Portugal would also have to be taken into account. However, since around 1990, re-gauging in Spain has been prepared for new buildings and conversions by installing re-gauging track material. In particular, concrete sleepers for track W with double rail mounts for Iberian broad and standard gauge ("traviesas polivalentes") are laid in broad-gauge tracks. The change of government in Madrid influenced the change of gauge plans and their preparations several times, around 2000 simple concrete sleepers without the possibility of change of gauge were installed again. Preparations were later intensified again, and now there are also turnouts with concrete sleeper sets prepared for gauging. What is new about these is that in the case of gauge change, the frog and the wheel guide are relocated, while the point drive and the point lock remain in their original positions. The changes in length take place in the intermediate rails and behind the frog.
Starting with the provisional connection of the French standard gauge network with the Spanish high-speed lines in 2012, more and more concrete sleepers are being installed for three- rail tracks . This prevents existing broad-gauge connections from being interrupted when the standard gauge lines are continued. One example of the installation is the greater Valencia area.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bernt Mester: particularism of the rail. The development of national rail systems by 1870 . In: Harm-Hinrich Brandt (Ed.): Train of time - time of trains. German Railways 1835–1985 . Siedler Verlag, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-88680-146-2 , p. 204 .
- ^ The Days They Changed the Gauge. In: Ties. The Southern Railway System Magazine. August 1966 (accessed July 13, 2016).
- ↑ The General of the Railway Troops on a business trip to the Eastern Front: Excerpt from a draft for a regulation for changing the gauge from broad gauge to standard gauge. ( Memento of the original from December 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Around 1941/1942. German Federal Archives , BArch RH 66/59.
- ↑ The history of gauges. Parovoz.com.
