Schnabel car

[[File:Type of heavy capacity wagon.png|thumb|left|Types of heavy capacity railroad cars:
A: Depressed-center flatcar
B: Schnabel car (self-supporting load)
C: Well hole car.

In this figure, black indicates parts of the car and gray is the cargo.]]

The largest Schnabel car in public railroad operation, reporting number WECX 801, was completed in 2012 by Kasgro Railcar for Westinghouse Nuclear and is used in North America primarily to transport reactor containment vessels. It has 36 axles (18 for each half). Each half contains nine trucks which are connected by a complex system of span bolsters. Its tare (unloaded) weight is {{convert|399.6|ST|t LT|lk=on}} and has a load limit of {{convert|1017.9|ST|t LT}} for a maximum gross weight of {{convert|1417.5|ST|t LT}}. WECX 801 has the ability to shift its load {{convert|44|in|m|2}} vertically and up to {{convert|40|in|m|2}} laterally on either side of the car's centerline.{{cite web| url=http://southern.railfan.net/schnabel/cars/wecx801/wecx801.html| title=WECX 801| website=southern.railfan.net| access-date=February 9, 2016}} When empty, this car measures {{convert|231|ft|m|abbr=on|lk=on}} long; for comparison, a conventional boxcar currently operating on North American railroads has a single two-axle truck at each end of the car, measures {{convert|50|to(-)|89|ft|m}} long and has a capacity of {{convert|70|to(-)|105|ST|t LT|abbr=on}}. The train's speed is limited to {{convert|25|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} when WECX 801 is empty, but only {{convert|15|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} when loaded, and the system requires a crew of six operators in addition to the train's crew.

The second largest Schnabel car in service, owned by ABB, bears the CEBX 800 registration, and is used in North America. Built by Krupp AG, it has 36 axles (18 for each half). Each half has 9 bogies linked together by a complex system of span bolsters. Its tare weight (empty mass) is {{convert|370|t}}. When empty, this wagon is {{cvt|70.6|m|ft}} long. It can carry a load of {{cvt|34.5|m|ft}} long and {{convert|852.3|t}}.Tom Daspit, CEBX 800 [http://southern.railfan.net/schnabel/cars/cebx800/cebx800.html read] (Retrieved 2010-01-22).

File:Karl-railoadedsmall.jpg

The word Schnabel is from German {{lang|de|Tragschnabelwagen}}, meaning "carrying-beak-wagon", because of the usually tapered shape of the lifting arms, resembling a bird's beak.

In World War II, the German {{lang|de|i=unset|Wehrmacht}} used Schnabel cars for transporting the {{lang|de|i=unset|Karl-Gerät}} heavy-calibre (54 cm and 60 cm calibre) siege mortars. These were self-propelled with a continuous-track suspension chassis of substantial length to maneuver into a firing position over a short range, but depended on a pair of purpose-designed Schnabel cars for long-range transport by rail.{{cite book |last=Jentz |first=Thomas |date=2001 |title=Bertha's Big Brother: Karl-Geraet (60 cm & 54 cm) |publisher=Panzer Tracts |pages=8, 19 |isbn=0-9708407-2-1 }} The same system was also used at the same time for the rail transport of the French FCM 2C super-heavy armoured fighting vehicle.

In the United States, the first Schnabel car, WECX 200, was built for Westinghouse Nuclear by manufacturer Greenville Steel Car in the 1960s.

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File:Tragschnabelwagen mit Transformator (8789).jpg|ÖBB Schnabel car with an electrical transformer near Koblenz in May 2009

File:JRF Shiki810-2.jpg|Two Schnabel cars without loads in Japan

File:FRM Shiki160.jpg|Empty Japanese wagon

File:Db-Uaai687.9-9960005-10.jpg|Many wheels of a German schnabel wagon

File:Db-Uaai687.9-9960005-09.jpg|Arrival of a Schnabel wagon at its destination with a large transformer. The load will now be transported by road on a lowboy.

File:Trafotransport.jpg|Onward transportation of the large transformer by road to the electricity substation

File:Ж.Д. транспортёр.jpg|Russian Zh. D. railway gun at Krasnaya Gorka fort

File:Schnabel car patent US4041879-1.png|US patent image[https://patents.google.com/patent/US4041879 https://patents.google.com/patent/US4041879A, filed December 1, 1975, issued to Charles R. Cockrell, with Combustion Engineering, Inc. as assignee, now expired.]

• Class U special wagon

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite web| last=Daspit| first=Tom| year=2005| url=http://southern.railfan.net/schnabel/cars/cebx800/cebx800.html| title=CEBX 800| access-date=May 6, 2005}} (additional technical details on CEBX 800)
• {{cite web |author=GATX Corporation |year=2005 |url=http://www.gatx.com/rail/equipment_types_specs/browse_by_equipment_types.asp |title=Car types |access-date=May 6, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050507010158/http://www.gatx.com/rail/equipment_types_specs/browse_by_equipment_types.asp |archive-date=May 7, 2005 }} (boxcar comparison figures)
• {{cite news|last=Passi |first=Peter |newspaper=Duluth News Tribune |date=May 5, 2005 |url=http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/business/11568644.htm |title=Railroad Giant |access-date=May 6, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050506210703/http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/business/11568644.htm |archive-date=May 6, 2005 |url-status=dead }} (details on CEBX 800)
• {{cite web |author=Railway Industrial Clearance Association |year=2000 |url=http://www.rica.org/ind_info/glossary.html |title=Glossary of terms used in railroad high and wide clearances |access-date=May 6, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050613075223/http://www.rica.org/ind_info/glossary.html |archive-date=June 13, 2005 }} (basic definition of a Schnabel car)

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{{Commons category|Schnabel cars}}

• [http://southern.railfan.net/schnabel/schnabel.html Schnabel cars] – photos and technical information on Schnabel cars used worldwide.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928100314/http://www.alliancewestern.com/haul-basics.htm Heavy Rail Transport Basics]

{{freight cars}}

Category:Freight rolling stock