Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik Installs Powerful Lifting System for UK Train Depot in Record Time

New system at Etches Park Depot in Derby hoists 5-car coupled vehicles with up to 400 tons

Kissing, April 15, 2008 - Stringent time constraints are nothing new to the engineers from Kissing/Germany-based Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik GmbH & Co. KG. It took the experts for rail and road technology only three months to equip the Etches Park Depot in Derby, UK, with a new powerful maintenance system: It is capable of lifting 5-car coupled vehicles with a weight of up to 400 tons, spanning a distance of approximately 120 metres on the centre track of the depot. In order to fulfil all requirements of their franchise agreement, the customer Maintrain Limited needed this powerful system to be installed by November 2007 when the new franchise period began and they became East Midlands Trains (Stagecoach). Pfaff-silberblau managed to supply the hardware within a very short delivery period and worked intensively hand-in-hand with the depot team on-site to meet the deadline. The order placed by Maintrain Limited included twenty 20-ton-capacity HD lifting jacks with floor travel gear which were required for their maintenance facility. As the system has to be able to adapt to different train types, the adjustable load arms along the track had been specially modified. The new design developed by Pfaff-silberblau also contributed to a more comfortable handling. Each load arm starts at 1,751 mm above floor level and is able to lift a railcar to a height of 3,751 mm or respectively 2,000 mm from track level. The entire jacking system is being operated through a synchronization control with a maximum ±3mm deviation amongst the 20 jacks. The control cabinet was installed at the far end of the track, but workers plug in a mobile control console with state of the art touch screen panel at three different positions along the rail car to be lifted. As always with Pfaff-silberblau, security was top priority for the jacking system. All components have been tested for their operability and reliability during heavy usage. To ensure a safe and secure operation the lifting system in Derby was equipped with a confirmation pendent on the opposite side of the track for observing the lift of the train. The order was placed in August 2007; by the end of October the jacks arrived in Derby and were placed in position in record time. Just on schedule, on 9 November 2007, a Meridian Train was successfully lifted and proved the reliability of the lifting jacks. Since then, the system already has a total operating time of 24 hours, with several trains being lifted and serviced per day.

About Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, which is based in Kissing, Germany, is a subsidiary of the Pfaff-silberblau Group. The company is a leader in the fields of hoisting machinery and materials handling equipment, actuator technology/worm-gear screw jacks, and rail & road technology. In 1970, Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik installed its first underfloor lifting system in Nuremberg, and in 1983, the company began producing lifting jacks. Its HD series of lifting jacks was recognized in 1996 with “Best of Branch” award for form and functionality by the “Industrieforum Design” of Hannover. Pfaff-silberblau’s underfloor lifting systems are used around the world for servicing railway vehicles, including such locations as Toronto/Canada, New Delhi/India, Bangkok/Thailand, Madrid/Spain and Vienna/Austria. In 2004, Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik became a separate “GmbH & Co. KG” company (a form of limited commercial partnership in Germany). Besides components for rail & road engineering, the company primarily offers complete planning & design, installation and maintenance of turn-key lifting systems for rail vehicles. Further information at www.pfaff-silberblau.com.