I can’t find the original source he used, but it is a massive electrically powered rack railway that hauls ships, up and over a dam in Russia. At the top it has a turntable so the locomotive can be turned to keep it’s load straight, no matter which way it goes. Think of the top of the dam as the crest. In order to keep the downhill side always downhill, you have to turn it. This one is unusual because the top of the turntable is slanted to keep the locomotive slanted, so the load stays level. Add to all this, is the massive size of everything. This has to be the longest, and heaviest turntable in the world.
If you look at some of the pictures, you can see the gears to mesh in to the rails. That is my reasoning for it to be a rack railway, even though it doesn’t have the traditional center rack, like you would think. Further reading, looks like the
Locher rack rail type system.
1 Comment
[...] Capdiamont offers the details behind this railed giant; I can’t find the original source he used, but it is a massive electrically powered rack railway that hauls ships, up and over a dam in Russia. At the top it has a turntable so the locomotive can be turned to keep it’s load straight, no matter which way it goes. Think of the top of the dam as the crest. In order to keep the downhill side always downhill, you have to turn it. This one is unusual because the top of the turntable is slanted to keep the locomotive slanted, so the load stays level. Add to all this, is the massive size of everything. This has to be the longest, and heaviest turntable in the world. [...]
Pingback by Interesting Ship Of The Week - Geared Funicular Railway | gCaptain.com Sunday 6 Jan 2008 @ 02:09