Post by igelkotten on Sept 6, 2005 12:25:26 GMT
For your information and delectation, here is an annoted picture of a Westinghouse coupler of the type used on C1-C16 stock here in Stockholm, on the metro and Saltsjöbanan cars.
1) This is the air and mechanical part of the coupler. It consists of a "glove-and-hand" mechanical lock that grips the corresponding part of another coupler and locks, thus creatign a mechanical connection. In the "glove" are also placed two air connections: One for the service brake line, and one for the emergency brake line. These are interconnected throughout the whole train, so if a compressor fails on one car, the other cars in the train can still charge the air reservoirs on the failed unit. And, of course, if the air line bursts, you will get an emergency brake application.
2) This is the electrical head of the coupler. Behind a sliding cover, automatically operated at coupling by a plunger setup, is a movable head with a myriad of little studs. These will press up against the corresponding studs on another coupler head, and thereby create electrical connection for all the trainlined functions, such as traction/brake control, lightning, PA, control circuits and so on.
3) is the mounting of the coupler head to the drawbar. It is jointed, allowing a degree of vertical movement, and it is also hanging from a girder (the "banana")to allow sideways movement.
4) The drawbar. This joins the coupler to the carbody, and also serves to absorb longitudal forces within the train. The drawgear is a sort of double-helix coil, in a sealed oil chamber. This gives an increased level of energy absorption, translating into hopefully a smoother ride and less stresses within the train, as well as some degree of energy absorbtion if the oleo cartridge should fail -something that has happened, and is very messy with all the oil bursting out.
5)These are a pair of heavy multicore cables carrying the train circuits to the coupler head.
6)These are air pipes, for the service and emergency brake lines as well as the feeder pipe. They come from the cab with the valve units for the cab signalling system and the driver's brake valve assembly located just above.
7) This is the emergency brake valve dump pipe. If the train goes into emergency for any reason, this is the pipe through which this particular car will vent it's air. The big tin can on the end of the pipe is a sound muffler, a somewhat recent addition. The sound levels of an emergency brake valve opening are very high -in fact, so high that they represented a health hazard to mainly depot workers who are working around the trains in confined spaces, with the trains often going into emergency due to normal maintenance activities. Thus, sound mufflers have been fitted to the emergency brake valves and compressor overload valves. Another benefit is that people living around the terminal stations are no longer awakened by the sound when we change ends on trains in the middle of the night.
8) The steel wire is an earthing wire for the coupler. The little lever underneath it, on the coupler, is a manual lever for pulling back the "sled", the electrical unit of the coupler. While they are supposed to pull back automatically, that does not always happen. In addition to leavign the electrical couplings unprotected and susceptible to damage, this means that the sled cover will not return to it's rest position. And since the train control circuit goes from a closed sled cover to a closed sled cover (to kepp track of what ends are coupled or not), you won't get much movement out of the train in that case. So, what you do is grab a length of extension pipe kept in a tool box in the cab, manually pull back the sled, and then move a little toggle in front of the handle to keep it locked in place. This can be a very vigorous and stimulating activity in winter, when the coupler is covered in ice and frozen solid, or just covered in a viscuous muck of snow, oil, dirt and god knows what.
1) This is the air and mechanical part of the coupler. It consists of a "glove-and-hand" mechanical lock that grips the corresponding part of another coupler and locks, thus creatign a mechanical connection. In the "glove" are also placed two air connections: One for the service brake line, and one for the emergency brake line. These are interconnected throughout the whole train, so if a compressor fails on one car, the other cars in the train can still charge the air reservoirs on the failed unit. And, of course, if the air line bursts, you will get an emergency brake application.
2) This is the electrical head of the coupler. Behind a sliding cover, automatically operated at coupling by a plunger setup, is a movable head with a myriad of little studs. These will press up against the corresponding studs on another coupler head, and thereby create electrical connection for all the trainlined functions, such as traction/brake control, lightning, PA, control circuits and so on.
3) is the mounting of the coupler head to the drawbar. It is jointed, allowing a degree of vertical movement, and it is also hanging from a girder (the "banana")to allow sideways movement.
4) The drawbar. This joins the coupler to the carbody, and also serves to absorb longitudal forces within the train. The drawgear is a sort of double-helix coil, in a sealed oil chamber. This gives an increased level of energy absorption, translating into hopefully a smoother ride and less stresses within the train, as well as some degree of energy absorbtion if the oleo cartridge should fail -something that has happened, and is very messy with all the oil bursting out.
5)These are a pair of heavy multicore cables carrying the train circuits to the coupler head.
6)These are air pipes, for the service and emergency brake lines as well as the feeder pipe. They come from the cab with the valve units for the cab signalling system and the driver's brake valve assembly located just above.
7) This is the emergency brake valve dump pipe. If the train goes into emergency for any reason, this is the pipe through which this particular car will vent it's air. The big tin can on the end of the pipe is a sound muffler, a somewhat recent addition. The sound levels of an emergency brake valve opening are very high -in fact, so high that they represented a health hazard to mainly depot workers who are working around the trains in confined spaces, with the trains often going into emergency due to normal maintenance activities. Thus, sound mufflers have been fitted to the emergency brake valves and compressor overload valves. Another benefit is that people living around the terminal stations are no longer awakened by the sound when we change ends on trains in the middle of the night.
8) The steel wire is an earthing wire for the coupler. The little lever underneath it, on the coupler, is a manual lever for pulling back the "sled", the electrical unit of the coupler. While they are supposed to pull back automatically, that does not always happen. In addition to leavign the electrical couplings unprotected and susceptible to damage, this means that the sled cover will not return to it's rest position. And since the train control circuit goes from a closed sled cover to a closed sled cover (to kepp track of what ends are coupled or not), you won't get much movement out of the train in that case. So, what you do is grab a length of extension pipe kept in a tool box in the cab, manually pull back the sled, and then move a little toggle in front of the handle to keep it locked in place. This can be a very vigorous and stimulating activity in winter, when the coupler is covered in ice and frozen solid, or just covered in a viscuous muck of snow, oil, dirt and god knows what.
