Introduction

Our company has been concerned with manufacturing, operating and servicing road-rail shunting vehicles since 1982. About 350 shunting vehicles made by our company are operating on industrial railways both in Hungary and abroad. Our structural components made by modern technology are employed by both the automotive industry and the machine industry. Qualified employees, a modern plant and technology of high quality ensure that Mobilitás 82. Ltd. can reach its strategical goals.

Our company possesses ISO 9001:2000 quality assurance certificate.

USE OF MTZ-TRAC AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLES IN RAILWAY TRACTION.

An important task of the operator is safe and cost-effective moving of railway carriages put aside to railway tracks in industrial premises and factories. MTZ-TRAC amphibious (road-railway) vehicles help to solve this kind of problem. Its design enables traction and shunting of mixed weights of 300 or 500 tons on a railway sliding of 0-2%o longitudinal gradient with a speed of 5 km/h (with an engine 15 km/h). The equipment is suitable for a quick set-up or set-off, by means of a covered rail section of 8-10m. By this it is suitable for sequential servicing of several railway sidings.

Essential advantages of the vehicle over the low power shunt engines with conventional design are as follows:

• its small size; at switching carriages shorter tracks are sufficient.

• as it can leave the track, there is no need for storage tracks and engine depot and shunting tasks can also be performed on tracks where going around would not be possible for conventional engines.

• significant mobility in addition to the big tractive power is useful for shortening the idle operating times.

• design of the vehicle makes work of the shunting personnel easier and safer, as they do not have to enter between the carriages when performing the job, while on walking around they can stand on the big shunting steps inside the loading gauge.

• the traction engine is able to run on every existing curved track and every kind of superstructures, its operation is simple, the licensed personnel should only gather knowledge on railway signals and traction.

• the vehicle, even after the transformation, can be used as a road tractor by dismounting the traction bar with a few minutes work.

Adhesion factor between the rubber wheels and the steel tracks is approx. 4 times that of the conventional steel wheel/steel track value and due to this, traction power of MTZ- TRAC at starting and braking corresponds to that of a conventional engine weighing 20 to 25 tons.

Experience gained so far - 343 vehicles have been put into operation with ca. 3 Millio operating hours - proved that MTZ-TRAC is a reliable and cost-effective vehicle. The tractor is very useful on railway sidings of unfavourable arrangement at small or medium traffic and places where there are numerous mixed items to be moved in smaller units. Such instances are, e.g., removal of loaded carriages and putting in empty ones, as well as other tasks in up/down loading tracks of the cement industry, corn industry, mining, oil refineries.

The investment is cost-effective due to the relatively low price of the tractor compared to that of the conventional engines. Thanks to this, after an investigation performed in 1986, the Hungarian Railways and municipal operators of tram and underground networks own and operate nearly 40 vehicles at rescue activities, in carriage-washers and switchyards and repair shops since 1982; these fleets are continuously expanded.

MTZ-TRAC road/railroad tractor was made from the MTZ.820.4 Belarus tractor, with appropriate accessories. The basic type is a vehicle that is able to haul 300 T mixed weight and it safely moves 4 to 5 carriages 70 T each.

500 T capacity equipment is the base type equipped with extra brakes and extra weights and is able to haul 7 to 8 carriages.

We have the type permits issued by the Hungarian National Transport Authority:

Number of type permit for 300T vehicle: UHF/VF/806/1/2012
Number of type permit for 500T vehicle: UHF/VF/806/2/2012

Number of MERCEDES type permit: UHF/VF/3216/2/2012

These amphibious vehicles basically differ from the conventional railway vehicles, but this is the basis of their advantages from many respects.

The vehicle gauge is infinitely variable so it can be used on both the normal 1,435mm Central European and on the different 1,520mm gauge tracks.

In railway operation, the tractor props against the tracks with its rubber wheels and the same wheels provide the traction force.

Staying on the tracks is warranted by the railway guiding wheels on each end of the vehicle. These guiding wheels, designed with standard railway profiles and rolling bearings, are pressed against the tracks by an electronically controlled hydraulic system.

Guiding wheels may be raised and locked in that position from the control box.

Interlocking occurs automatically at raising the wheels. Construction of the MTZ-TRAC wagon tractor enables all actions - necessary to stand on the tracks and leave them - to be performed from the control cabin of the vehicle.

Safety against derailing of the MTZ-TRAC tractor is greatly enhanced by the accurate suspension in the base vehicle and the articulated design of the guiding wheel axles. Thus it is able also to run safely on poor condition tracks with surface defects (with a smaller speed, however).

MTZ-TRAC tractor is excellent for haul of railway goods wagons and other types of vehicle and performing shunting tasks, as the 4-wheel drive of the base vehicle, the differential lock and the extremely precise speed distribution provides the good utilization of the traction force.

Manufacturer also has a recommendation from the National Mining Authority for explosion type.

Imre Vanya, Certified Mechanical Engineer

General Manager

Introduction

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