subject: Bombardier Weighs Rail Vehicles Within .05 Percent Accuracy with Weighline System from Avery Weigh-Tronix's Railweight Division [print this page] To minimize running and maintenance costs, and also to maximize safety, many rail organizations are setting more stringent weight regulationsrequiring precise rail vehicle weighing. Gross weight and weight distribution are important for ensuring reliable operation, since overweight vehicles require more fuel, making them more costly to run, and cause more wear on the wheels, axles, trucks and track. Underweight or imbalanced vehicles, on the other hand, can prove dangerous, as they increase the risk of derailment.
Bombardier Transportation, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, tests and weighs rail vehicles in a controlled environment to attain the most accurate results. This includes placing vehicles on a straight and level track (within +/-0.04 inches) in a buildinga test laboratory at the company's Derby site in the United Kingdomwhere external factors such as wind, rain and rough terrain cannot affect the test results. Here at the Bombardier Derby Test Lab, the company checks vehicles for gross weight and the weight of each wheel, axle and truck.
To weigh rail vehicles with the high degree of accuracy required, Bombardier Transportation selected the Weighline WI 1310 static rail vehicle weighing system, provided by Avery Weigh-Tronix's Railweight division. The system was developed to weigh rail vehicles axle by axle and provide a continuous display of the gross weight of each wheel, as well as the total axle weight. Since all data is collected, stored and transmitted electronically, the Weighline solution reduces operator involvement to a minimum, thereby minimizing the potential for manual error.
Designed for train weighing applications, Weighline transducers are manufactured from standard rail sections. These high performance transducers minimize the effects of lateral (side) loading, producing accurate readings despite offset loads. The transducers are also designed to compensate for environmental temperature fluctuations, which can cause rail temperature to widely vary from night to day. These features ensure the Weighline transducers deliver reliable, repeatable results and are capable of tolerating high dynamic overloads. Plus, the transducers are IP67 rated, making them suitable for harsh environments.
The Weighline solution also meets OIML R60 and R106 requirements while delivering minimum installation time and expense. Typically, Weighline installations involve primarily replacing existing rail sections with Weighline transducers, and the entire process is generally completed in three or four days. This design saves significant time and labor costs over a traditional pit-type rail weighbridge installationwhich involves excavation, pouring a concrete foundation and transferring a scale platform by crane over to the appropriate locationthat typically takes at least two or three weeks to complete.
With the Weighline solution, Bombardier Transportation can measure static weight within 5 lbs. loading on each wheelresulting in an accuracy of 0.05 percent per wheel, based on a 4-axle car weighing 45 tons. Data captured and reported includes the vehicle number, ID input, wheel, axle, truck and total vehicle weight, plus the time and date of the transaction. This precise data on train and vehicle weights can then be simply interfaced with business systems via a PC.
Railweight additionally supplied and installed a PC system with I-Line application software to print information, store the data or transfer it to the site computer system as required. Using this package, Bombardier Transportation can create custom reports about their rail vehicles, including wheel loads, axle loads, wagon type, total train and individual wagon tare, gross and net weights. I-Line software can also indicate overloads, overspeeds and vehicle imbalanceboth side-to-side and end-to-end. All data is instantly archived, so users can simply reference it at a later date for additional reporting purposes.
The Weighline solution from Avery Weigh-Tronix's Railweight division now provides Bombardier Transportation with a simple to use, cost-effective weighing solutionallowing them to ensure their rail vehicles, and their budgets, stay in line.
For more information on Avery Weigh-Tronix products and services, visit www.wtxweb.com.
Bombardier Weighs Rail Vehicles Within .05 Percent Accuracy with Weighline System from Avery Weigh-Tronix's Railweight Division
