Maintenance Work on Cog Railway to Germany's Highest Peak with Technology from Pfaff-silberblau

Operator of mountain railway to the Zugspitze installs new underfloor jacking system

Friedberg, Germany, March 23, 2006 - With the support of Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik GmbH, of Friedberg/Derching, Germany, the cog railway operated by the "Bayerische Zugspitzbahn" (Bavarian Zugspitze Railway, BZB) will be transporting nature lovers and people who are active in winter sports from Garmisch to Germany's highest mountain and back: In its vehicle workshop in the Zugspitze village of Grainau, the BZB has installed an underfloor jacking system and a hydraulic lifting table from the Southern German specialist for road & rail technology. Effective immediately, the cog railway's two-car train sets can be serviced even more efficiently with the aid of the new lifting system so that the railway can be back in operation quickly. In the past, too, the BZB railway had already been relying on lifting technology from Pfaff-silberblau. Nevertheless, the mobile lifting jacks that the company has been using until now have been replaced with a newer and more modern jacking system. The new underfloor lifting system uses eight worm-gear screw jacks with individual motor drives to lift an entire two-car train set, which has a substantial unloaden weight of more than 54 tonnes (metric tons). Swivel heads on the upper end of the screws make it possible to jack the railcar directly on its superstructure. This makes it easy to replace bogies, for instance. All together, the system from Pfaff-silberblau can jack loads of 8 x 8 tonnes (in other words, up to 64 tonnes) to a lifting height of 2,800 mm. The system can lift one car or two cars at the same time without a problem. The controller for the underfloor jacking system is built into a wall cabinet. When not in use, the system can be retracted completely into the floor of the hall, and the floor base plates can be hidden under stainless steel covers. When vehicle components for the two-car train set are to be replaced, a hydraulic lifting table from Pfaff-silberblau is used. This table is equipped with a rail chassis – which means that it can be moved on the workshop tracks – and with a floating platform that is 2,200 x 1,400 mm in size. The lifting table is configured for loads of up to 5 tonnes at a lifting height of 1,200 mm; when fully extended, its overall height is 1,700 mm. With the aid of the underfloor jacking system and the hydraulic lifting table, it is possible to inspect and service both the electrical two-car train sets with friction and cog-wheel drive currently being used by the BZB, as well as the new cars that will be used beginning in mid 2006. The cog railway to the Zugspitze is one of four of this type still being operated in Germany. It covers the total distance of 7.5 km (about 4.5 miles) from Garmisch to Grainau at a top speed of 70 km per hour (about 43.5 miles per hour) in 13 minutes, and the 11.5-km (7-mile) route from Grainau to the top of the Zugspitze at a maximum speed of 30 km per hour (about 18.5 mph) and a travel time of 55 minutes. "We were very pleased to receive this order from our own region," said Peter Zeller, the company's general manager. "As one of the leaders on the world market for jacking systems used with rail vehicles, Pfaff-silberblau Verkehrstechnik has customers all over Europe, America, Asia and Africa. They particularly value the reliability and high safety standards of our turnkey systems as well as our experience in project management, thanks to which Pfaff-silberblau jacking systems – such as the one here in Grainau – can be deployed rapidly."

About Pfaff-silberblau Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik & Co. – established over 135 years ago – currently has approximately 325 employees and a group turnover in excess of 62 million euros (2005 fiscal year). The company is a leader in the fields of hoisting machinery and materials handling equipment, actuator technology/ worm-gear screw jacks, road & rail, and materials handling technology. Pfaff-silberblau is an experienced partner for solving any problem related to moving (turning, lifting, lowering, pushing, shunting) loads of up to 1,000 tons in any direction. The company has factories in Friedberg and Heilbronn (Germany), and is represented by subsidiaries in Switzerland as well as Austria, United Kingdom, the Benelux countries, Poland and Hungary. Beyond that, more than 40 affiliated representative offices are active for Pfaff-silberblau around the world.