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A Schnabel car is a specialized type of railroad freight car. It is designed to carry heavy and oversized loads in such a way that the load makes up part of the car. The load is suspended between the two ends of the cars by lifting arms; the lifting arms are connected to an assembly of pivots and frames that distribute the weight of the load and the lifting arm over a large number of wheels. When a Schnabel car is empty, the two lifting arms are connected and the car can usually operate at normal freight train speeds. Some Schnabel cars include hydraulic equipment that will either lift or horizontally shift the load while in transit (at very low speeds) to clear obstructions along the car's route. There were 31 of this type of car in Europe, 30 in North America, 25 in Asia and one in Australia. The largest Schnabel car in public railroads operation, owned by Westinghouse, carries road number CEBX 800, and is used in North America, although it was built by Krupp in Germany in 1982. 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 . When empty, this car measures long; it can carry loads up to 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 long and has a capacity of .〔 One notable load of CEBX 800 was completed in January 2006, transporting a reactor for Nexen Inc. and OPTI Canada from Duluth, Minnesota to the Athabasca oil sands in northern Alberta. The load was the heaviest rail load ever transported on the rails between Edmonton and the oil sands. The reactor vessel was shipped to Duluth in the fall, but was not moved by rail until January to allow the ground to fully freeze and support the load.〔 The word ''Schnabel'' is from German ''Tragschnabelwagen'', meaning "carrying-beak-wagon", because of the usually tapered shape of the lifting arms, resembling a bird's beak. ==Patent history== The Schnabel design is covered under US patent #US 4041879 A, filed December 1, 1975, issued to Charles R. Cockrell, with Combustion Engineering, Inc. as assignee. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Schnabel car」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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