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The C-AKv is a fully automatic coupler design, also known as the Faiveley Transpact; it is a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
compatible with both
buffers and chain coupler Buffers and chain couplers (or couplings) – also known as "buffers and screw", "screw", and "screwlink" – are the de facto International Union of Railways (UIC) standard railway coupling used in the EU and UK, and on some railways in other ...
s and Russian
SA3 coupler SA3 couplers (also known as СА3 or СА-3 couplers per the typical foundry stamp on top of these couplers, meaning "Советская Автосцепка, 3" in Russian or "Soviet Auto-latch 3" in English) or Willison coupler and Russia ...
s, intended as an option for the long delayed EU transition to center buffer couplers. C-AKv is an abbreviation of Compact Automatische Kupplung vereinfacht in German, translating to Compact Automatic Coupler simplified in English.


History

In the 1970s a new type of automatic coupler was developed by the European railways. This was called the ''
UIC UIC may refer to: Computing * Uranium Information Centre, a defunct website sponsored by uranium mining companies * User identification code, the user number of the Files-11 file system in the RSX-11 operating system Education * University of Ill ...
automatic coupler'' and represented a West European variant of the ''AK69e type'' and the East European ''Intermat type''. It was intended as a full replacement for the buffers and chain setup, which is not suitable for heavy loads, very time-consuming to be connected, and requires intensive maintenance. As it would have had to be introduced all across Europe within a very short time frame, this introduction was repeatedly postponed. In addition, the UIC automatic coupler was not compatible with the existing chain couplings, which would have made this conversion prohibitively expensive for some of the European state railways to carry out. The C-AKv coupler was developed by SAB WABCO, now
Faiveley Transport Faiveley Transport (), formerly Faiveley, is an international manufacturer and supplier of equipment for the railway industry founded in 1919. It introduced the single-arm pantograph in 1955. The company has subsidiaries in more than 24 count ...
Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum ...
GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...
. Unlike the UIC automatic coupler, it is compatible with the existing chain coupler, which would allow for a longer transition period. Since the year 2002, the C-AKv has been on trial on the German railways. It is used on heavy coal block trains between the opencast mines at Profen and the
Schkopau Schkopau () is a municipality in the Saalekreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography It is situated at the confluence of the Saale River with its White Elster and Luppe tributaries, approx. north of Merseburg, and south of Halle. ...
power plant. At this time, the German railways, Faiveley and
Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...
are developing possible transition scenarios for a general introduction of the C-AKv coupler.


Heaviest trains

In a field test starting in 2004, the trains on the connection from the brown coal strip mine near Wählitz to the
Schkopau Power Station The Schkopau Power Station is a 900 MW lignite-fuelled power station near the Korbetha part of the municipality of Schkopau in the district of Merseburg-Querfurt (Saxony-Anhalt), Germany, which was built in 1995/1996. It has two units with a t ...
were equipped with C-AKv-couplers which showed that regular wheel replacements shrunk below a third due to reduced wear. The solution has been kept and it spawned further investigations. Beginning in late 2009, eighteen DBAG Class 189 electric locomotives owned by DB Schenker were converted to C-AKv couplers, in order to handle 6,000 tonne iron ore trains from Rotterdam to the Dillingen steel works in
Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...
, replacing the previous German class 151 double units and Dutch class 6400 triple units commonly used on these workings previously. As these locomotives are also capable of operating on both the
15 kV AC Railway electrification using at are used on transport railways in Rail transport in Germany, Germany, Rail transport in Austria, Austria, Rail transport in Switzerland, Switzerland, Rail transport in Sweden, Sweden, and Rail transport in No ...
and
25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...
(and 1.5 kV DC, for a short stretch under reduced power) overhead system on the German and Dutch networks, locomotive changes on the Dutch-German border are no longer required. Loaded trains are commonly operated by two 189s in a multiple unit setup, with the wagons retaining the
AK69e A coupling or coupler is a mechanism, typically located at each end of a rolling stock, rail vehicle, that connects them together to form a train. The equipment that connects the couplers to the vehicles is the draft gear or draw gear, which m ...
type couplers they have been fitted with since the 1980s.


Design

Being an evolved version of the UIC AK69e coupler, the C-AKv coupler has the same basic outline as the
SA3 coupler SA3 couplers (also known as СА3 or СА-3 couplers per the typical foundry stamp on top of these couplers, meaning "Советская Автосцепка, 3" in Russian or "Soviet Auto-latch 3" in English) or Willison coupler and Russia ...
. Unlike the Russian SA-3 coupler, however, connectors for brake air lines and – if required – electric conduits are integrated into the coupler, which are automatically connected while coupling up. Also, these pneumatic and electric connectors are compatible with the buffers and chain setup, as opposed to previous types. Since the brake line and electric connectors are integrated into the coupler's main body rather than in a separate body part below the main body, as had been the case on the AK69e type, it is possible to couple C-AKV equipped stock to stock not thus equipped. The design is much more compact than the former SA3 coupler. The shape is slightly different from that of the SA-3 coupler, due to an additional alignment horn and the matching pocket on the opposite side. These two components allow for greater vertical stability in two connected C-AKv couplers.


See also

*
Draft gear Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...
*
Railway coupling by country The railcar couplers or couplings listed, described, and depicted below are used worldwide on legacy and modern railways. Compatible and similar designs are frequently referred to using widely differing make, brand, regional or nick names, whic ...
*
Unilink coupler A coupling or coupler is a mechanism, typically located at each end of a rail vehicle, that connects them together to form a train. The equipment that connects the couplers to the vehicles is the draft gear or draw gear, which must absorb the ...


References


External links


Willison C-AKv coupler Photos and Description (by Dr. Reiner Seibt)

Willison C-AKv coupler Cost-Benefit Analysis (Multilingual: English section)





Willison CA-3 SA-3 coupler Adaptor Patent
to Janney AAR coupler {{Railway coupling Couplers