Extended Field Tests of Advanced Hump Block Hangers

Abstract

Notwithstanding the steady progress with mechanization and automation of humping operations block hanger still proves to be an important tool in the context of reliable marshalling yard process. The paper tackles and analyzes the results of extended tests of the hump block hanger advanced design version, lightened and strengthened by contrast to mass production block hangers now in operation at such marshalling yards as Losinoostrovskaya (Moskovskaya Railway), Likhaya (Severo-Kavkazskaya Railway) and Sol’vychegodsk (Severnaya Railway). There is presented statistics, characterizing the numbers of scrapped trial design hump block hangers and mass production ones at each of the mentioned marshalling yards and at the three marshalling yards in total. There is also analyzed the effect of the hump block hangers’ structural and material modifications (improved performance, better ergonomics, reduced share of scrapped block hangers). With new hump black hanger design version it became possible to reduce the number of such failures as cracking/ breaking away of toe caps and kipping/breaking away of side plates and fully eliminate hogging of skid. Expected service life of the new block hanger is more than twice as long as of the mass production one. There are put forward proposals aimed at further improvements of the hump block hanger design, which take into consideration the results of the block hanger heavy-duty tests at some non-mechanized hump yards.