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Scharfenberg coupler

January 06, 2023

The Scharfenberg coupler[1] (German: Scharfenbergkupplung, abbreviated Schaku) is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling.

Scharfenberg coupler on ICE 3 EMU

Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Königsberg, Germany (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the coupler has gradually spread from transit trains to regular passenger service trains, although outside Europe its use is generally restricted to mass transit systems. The Schaku is superior in many ways to the AAR (Janney/knuckle) coupler because it also automates electrical and pneumatic connections and disconnections. However, there is no standard for the placement of these electro-pneumatic connections. Some rail operators have placed them on the sides while others have placed them either below or above the mechanical portion of the coupler.[dubious – discuss].

Working principles

The face of the Scharfenberg coupler has a protruding cone and a matching cup. Inside the cone there is a rigid metal hoop connected to a revolving, spring-loaded metal disk with a notch on the opposite side. When ready to couple, the spring turns the disk so the hoop is extended from the cone. As the cars meet, the hoop enters the cup on the other coupler, stopping against the disk. The hoops are then pressed back into their own coupler, causing the disks to rotate until the notches align with the hoops. After the hoops have entered, the notches on the disks spring back into the hoop extended position, locking the coupling. In the coupled position, forces on the hoops and disk will balance out, which means that the Scharfenberg, unlike many other couplers, is not dependent on heavy latches to stay locked.

Small air cylinders, acting on the rotating heads of the coupler, ensure the engagement of the components, making it unnecessary to use force to get a good coupling. Joining portions of a passenger train can be done at very low speed (less than 3 km/h or 2 mph in the final approach), so that the passengers are not jolted. One problem with the coupler is that it is often hard to connect it in a curve. Planned coupling is normally done on a straight flat track, while there has been trouble coupling a broken down train at an unplanned place.

  • Scharfenberg couplers
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    Layout of a Scharfenberg coupler (Labels in German)

  •  

    Coupling process of a Scharfenberg coupler (Labels in German)

  •  

    Uncoupling process of a Scharfenberg coupler (Labels in German)

Uses

Scharfenberg couplers on Swedish SL X60 EMU

Rail equipment manufacturers such as Alstom offer the Schaku as an option on their mass transit passenger cars and locomotives. Presently, Scharfenberg couplers are in use on the following passenger transit systems:

Australia

United States

Canada

Europe

United Kingdom

Brazil

Indonesia

Philippines

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

New Zealand

Types

 
Type 10 as used on TGV
 
The Shanghai Metro is among several metro systems that use the Type 35 Scharfenberg coupler

Voith is known to offer the following types of Scharfenberg couplers:[6]

  • Type 10: Used for mainline railways and high speed rail applications
  • Type 35: Designed for rolling stock without a compressed air system and used for urban transit applications
  • Type 330: Used for trams and light rail transit
  • Type 430/530: A folding coupler designed for low-floor trams and monorails
  • Type 55: Designed for shunting purposes
  • Type 140: Designed for industrial railways
  • CargoFlex: For freight trains, based on the type 10 Scharfenberg coupler head
  • CargoFlex Hybrid: For locomotives, based on the type 10 Scharfenberg coupler head, can be used with both automatic and screw couplers

See also

References

  1. ^ us.voithturbo.com: Scharfenberg coupler
  2. ^ . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  3. ^ . The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  4. ^ . Rail Safety and Standards Board. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.
  5. ^ . www.angeltrains.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Scharfenberg couplers". Voith. from the original on 7 July 2019.

External links

  •   Media related to Scharfenberg coupler at Wikimedia Commons
  • Scharfenberg coupler animation

January 06, 2023
scharfenberg, coupler, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, dece. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Scharfenberg coupler news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Scharfenberg coupler 1 German Scharfenbergkupplung abbreviated Schaku is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling Scharfenberg coupler on ICE 3 EMU Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Konigsberg Germany today Kaliningrad Russia the coupler has gradually spread from transit trains to regular passenger service trains although outside Europe its use is generally restricted to mass transit systems The Schaku is superior in many ways to the AAR Janney knuckle coupler because it also automates electrical and pneumatic connections and disconnections However there is no standard for the placement of these electro pneumatic connections Some rail operators have placed them on the sides while others have placed them either below or above the mechanical portion of the coupler dubious discuss Contents 1 Working principles 2 Uses 2 1 Australia 2 2 United States 2 3 Canada 2 4 Europe 2 5 United Kingdom 2 6 Brazil 2 7 Indonesia 2 8 Philippines 2 9 Singapore 2 10 Taiwan 2 11 Thailand 2 12 New Zealand 3 Types 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksWorking principles EditThe face of the Scharfenberg coupler has a protruding cone and a matching cup Inside the cone there is a rigid metal hoop connected to a revolving spring loaded metal disk with a notch on the opposite side When ready to couple the spring turns the disk so the hoop is extended from the cone As the cars meet the hoop enters the cup on the other coupler stopping against the disk The hoops are then pressed back into their own coupler causing the disks to rotate until the notches align with the hoops After the hoops have entered the notches on the disks spring back into the hoop extended position locking the coupling In the coupled position forces on the hoops and disk will balance out which means that the Scharfenberg unlike many other couplers is not dependent on heavy latches to stay locked Small air cylinders acting on the rotating heads of the coupler ensure the engagement of the components making it unnecessary to use force to get a good coupling Joining portions of a passenger train can be done at very low speed less than 3 km h or 2 mph in the final approach so that the passengers are not jolted One problem with the coupler is that it is often hard to connect it in a curve Planned coupling is normally done on a straight flat track while there has been trouble coupling a broken down train at an unplanned place Scharfenberg couplers Layout of a Scharfenberg coupler Labels in German Coupling process of a Scharfenberg coupler Labels in German Uncoupling process of a Scharfenberg coupler Labels in German Uses Edit source source source source source source source source source source source source source source Scharfenberg couplers on Swedish SL X60 EMU Rail equipment manufacturers such as Alstom offer the Schaku as an option on their mass transit passenger cars and locomotives Presently Scharfenberg couplers are in use on the following passenger transit systems Australia Edit Victoria V Line VLocity 160 Metro Trains Melbourne Comeng X Trapolis 100 also used in Chile New South Wales Sydney Trains T M A amp B sets New South Wales NSW TrainLink Endeavour railcar and Xplorer Western Australia Transperth Train Operations A series B series train South Australia Adelaide Metro 3000 class railcar Queensland Queensland Rail EMU ICE SMU IMU NGR United States Edit San Francisco Bay Area BART New Type D and E vehicles Scharfenberg coupler on a NCTD Sprinter Siemens Desiro VT642 DMU at Escondido Transit CenterSan Francisco Bay Area Muni Metro New Type 4 vehicles Denver RTD Bus amp Rail New light rail vehicles Baltimore Baltimore Light Rail New light rail vehicles New Jersey New Jersey Transit New light rail vehicles Portland Oregon TMTC Light rail vehicles Minneapolis METRO Light rail vehicles Norfolk Virginia HRT Light rail vehicles San Diego County California NCTD Sprinter light rail Canada Edit Montreal Metro Vancouver Skytrain Toronto Scarborough RTEurope Edit Thalys TGV All French high speed trains are equipped with Scharfenberg type 10 couplers ICE All German high speed trains are equipped with Scharfenberg type 10 couplers Many regional train EMUs and DMUs in Europe Rhine Ruhr Stadtbahn Almost all German light rail and streetcar systems use Scharfenberg couplers SBB Cargo In 2019 the swiss freight operator introducing cargo wagons with Voith CargoFlex an extension of Scharfenberg type 10 couplers Channel Tunnel Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Narrow gauge railways in Saxony GermanyUnited Kingdom Edit This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items January 2021 Class 175 Alstom Coradia 2 Class 180 Alstom Adelante used on Grand Central and some East Midlands Railway services 3 Class 185 Siemens Desiro operated by TransPennine Express Class 332 4 Class 333 5 Some UK Hitachi A train AT300 including the Class 395 Javelin AT300 Class 801 Azuma AT300 and Class 802 IET Nova 1 Paragon AT300 Class 803 AT300 and the under construction in testing Class 805 AT300 Class 807 AT300 Class 810 Aurora AT300 citation needed London Underground 2009 Stock citation needed Brazil Edit Sao Paulo Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos All vehicles except 1700 and 5400 series Sao Paulo Companhia do Metropolitano de Sao Paulo Type F M and P vehicles Indonesia Edit Soekarno Hatta Airport SkytrainPhilippines Edit Metro Manila MRT Line 3 Class 3000 and Class 3100Singapore Edit Mass Rapid TransitTaiwan Edit Taipei Taipei Metro Matra VAL 256 Bombardier Innovia APM 256 and Hitachi Rail Italy EMU101 Taoyuan Taoyuan Airport MRT Commuter and Express Taichung Taichung Metro Kawasaki TRSC EMU Kaohsiung Kaohsiung Metro Siemens Modular Metro Thailand Edit Bangkok BTS Skytrain MRT Airport Rail Link and SRT Red LinesNew Zealand Edit Auckland Transport suburban rail network system Metlink Wellington FP FT class Matangi EMU Units New Zealand FP class electric multiple unitTypes Edit Type 10 as used on TGV The Shanghai Metro is among several metro systems that use the Type 35 Scharfenberg coupler Voith is known to offer the following types of Scharfenberg couplers 6 Type 10 Used for mainline railways and high speed rail applications Type 35 Designed for rolling stock without a compressed air system and used for urban transit applications Type 330 Used for trams and light rail transit Type 430 530 A folding coupler designed for low floor trams and monorails Type 55 Designed for shunting purposes Type 140 Designed for industrial railways CargoFlex For freight trains based on the type 10 Scharfenberg coupler head CargoFlex Hybrid For locomotives based on the type 10 Scharfenberg coupler head can be used with both automatic and screw couplersSee also EditJanney coupler Draft gear Railway coupling by countryReferences Edit us voithturbo com Scharfenberg coupler Class 175 Arriva Trains Wales Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 8 November 2022 Class 180 The Railway Centre Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 Retrieved 8 November 2022 System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles Rail Safety and Standards Board Archived from the original on 5 July 2008 Class 333 Northern Rail by Arriva www angeltrains co uk Archived from the original on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 3 August 2018 Scharfenberg couplers Voith Archived from the original on 7 July 2019 External links Edit Media related to Scharfenberg coupler at Wikimedia Commons Scharfenberg coupler animation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Scharfenberg coupler amp oldid 1123941373, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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