Schnabel car

File:CPOX820.jpg

Consumers Power Company Schnabel car with an electrical transformer in Texas in 2008

A Schnabel car or Schnabel wagon is a specialized type of railroad freight car. It is designed to carry heavy and oversized loads in such a way that the load makes up part of the car. The load is suspended between the two ends of the cars by lifting arms; the lifting arms are connected to an assembly of span bolsters that distribute the weight of the load and the lifting arm over many wheels.

When a Schnabel car is empty, the two lifting arms are connected to one another and the car can usually operate at normal freight train speeds. Some Schnabel cars include hydraulic equipment that will either lift or horizontally shift the load while in transit (at very low speeds) to clear obstructions along the car's route. As of 2012, there were 31 Schnabel cars operating in Europe, 30 in North America, 25 in Asia, and one in Australia.

File:Type of heavy capacity wagon.png

Types of heavy capacity railroad cars:
A: Depressed-center flatcar
B: Schnabel car (self-supporting load)
C: Well hole car.
In this figure, black indicates parts of the car and gray is the cargo.

Examples

The largest Schnabel car in public railroad operation, reporting number WECX 801, was completed in 2012 by Kasgro Railcar for Westinghouse Nuclear and is used in North America primarily to transport reactor containment vessels. It has 36 axles (18 for each half). Each half contains nine trucks which are connected by a complex system of span bolsters. Its tare (unloaded) weight is and has a load limit of for a maximum gross weight of . WECX 801 has the ability to shift its load vertically and up to laterally on either side of the car's centerline. When empty, this car measures long; for comparison, a conventional boxcar currently operating on North American railroads has a single two-axle truck at each end of the car, measures long and has a capacity of . The train's speed is limited to when WECX 801 is empty, but only when loaded, and the system requires a crew of six operators in addition to the train's crew.

The second largest Schnabel car in service, owned by ABB, bears the CEBX 800 registration, and is used in North America. Built by Krupp AG, it has 36 axles (18 for each half). Each half has 9 bogies linked together by a complex system of span bolsters. Its tare weight (empty mass) is . When empty, this wagon is Template:Cvt long. It can carry a load of Template:Cvt long and .

History

File:Karl-railoadedsmall.jpg

A self-propelled siege mortar with its pair of Schnabel-cars on rails

The word Schnabel is from German , meaning "carrying-beak-wagon", because of the usually tapered shape of the lifting arms, resembling a bird's beak.

In World War II, the German used Schnabel cars for transporting the heavy-calibre (54 cm and 60 cm calibre) siege mortars. These were self-propelled with a continuous-track suspension chassis of substantial length to maneuver into a firing position over a short range, but depended on a pair of purpose-designed Schnabel cars for long-range transport by rail. The same system was also used at the same time for the rail transport of the French FCM 2C super-heavy armoured fighting vehicle.

In the United States, the first Schnabel car, WECX 200, was built for Westinghouse Nuclear by manufacturer Greenville Steel Car in the 1960s.

List of selected Schnabel wagons

Class number	Maximum carrying capacity	Tare weight	Wheelsets	Quantity (DB as at 31 Dec 1997)	Length over buffers	Bogie pivot spacing or wheelset spacing	Length of low loading bay
Uaai 812		Template:Cvt	10	1	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	N/A
Uaai 820		Template:Cvt	12	1	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt
Uaai 821	( with suspension bars)	Template:Cvt	12	1	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt
Uaai 823		Template:Cvt	16	1	Template:Cvt	N/A	N/A
Uaai 831	( with suspension bars)	Template:Cvt	20	2	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt Template:Cvt	N/A
Uaai 836		Template:Cvt	20	1	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	N/A
Uaai 837		N/A	24	1	N/A	N/A	N/A
Uaai 838 ( with suspension bars)	N/A		24	1	N/A	N/A	N/A
Uaai 839		N/A	32	1	N/A	N/A	N/A

Gallery

• Examples of Schnabel cars
• ÖBB Schnabel car with an electrical transformer near Koblenz in May 2009
  ÖBB Schnabel car with an electrical transformer near Koblenz in May 2009
• Two Schnabel cars without loads in Japan
  Two Schnabel cars without loads in Japan
• Empty Japanese wagon
  Empty Japanese wagon
• Many wheels of a German schnabel wagon
  Many wheels of a German schnabel wagon
• Arrival of a Schnabel wagon at its destination with a large transformer. The load will now be transported by road on a lowboy.
  Arrival of a Schnabel wagon at its destination with a large transformer. The load will now be transported by road on a lowboy.
• Onward transportation of the large transformer by road to the electricity substation
  Onward transportation of the large transformer by road to the electricity substation
• US patent image[15]
  US patent image

See also

• Class U special wagon

Further reading

• (additional technical details on CEBX 800)
• (boxcar comparison figures)
• (details on CEBX 800)
• (basic definition of a Schnabel car)

External links

• Schnabel cars – photos and technical information on Schnabel cars used worldwide.
• Heavy Rail Transport Basics