Advanced Bogie Brakes

David Wynd
B.Eng (Mech)(Hons), M.Eng(ID)(Dist)

Matthew Connelly
B.Eng(Mech)(Hons)
Faiveley Transport Australia Limited

SUMMARY
As freight rolling stock operators focus on the need for greater improvements in efficiency and safety, there
is a significant need for advances in wagon brake systems. Emerging system applications such as the ECP
brake system are allowing freight rolling stock operators and maintainers to benefit from higher network
capacity and reduced maintenance costs due to improved brake wear.
Advanced bogie brake systems, that include integrated brake cylinders, slack adjustors and spring park
brakes are adding to these benefits through additional capacity improvements, significant safety
improvements for operators and maintainers and optimized life cycle costs.
In this paper, Faiveley Transport will place particular emphasis on how the application of advanced bogie
brake systems can significantly improve:

Safety for rollingstock operators and maintainers

Operational efficiency

Reduced installation, maintenance and life cycle costs

Advanced bogie brake systems that incorporate automated parking brake equipment add to the operational
efficiency of the freight network, whilst simultaneously delivering considerable improvements in safety for
operation and maintenance personnel and reducing the weight of the wagon. Furthermore, such advanced
systems can be retro-fitted in to existing wagons as well as incorporated in to new wagons during the
manufacturing stage.

INTRODUCTION
Safety is a key concern for all rail operators.
However current freight operations generally still
require the manual application of park brakes,
necessitating the trackside exposure of individuals.
When park brakes are applied, indication of the
application is local to the bogie and difficult to
distinguish; other controls, such as flagging of
applied hand brakes are administrative and open
to human error. In a worst case scenario brakes
may be dragged due to park brakes not being
released1, or wagons runaway due to park brakes
2
not being sufficiently applied .
The aim of this paper is to introduce an alternative
for bogie brakes now available to the Australian
and New Zealand market which feature an
integrated spring park brake. This family of brake
equipment suitable for both freight wagons and

Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Freight train derailment at

Hatherley, near Cheltenham Spa, 18 October 2005, dated July
2006.
2
Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Runaway and collision at
Armathwaite, 28 January 2007, dated April 2008.

passenger cars, is based on the proven Faiveley

BFC actuator product.
NOTATION
AAR Association of American Railways
BFC Faiveley Transport tread brake unit
BFCB Faiveley Transport brake beam unit
incorporating BFC technology
BFCBF Faiveley Transport brake beam unit
incorporating a spring park brake
ECP electronically controlled pneumatic brakes
for freight applications, based on AAR
specifications.
UIC Union of International Railways
THE BFCB FAMILY OF BOGIE BRAKES
Faiveley Transports BFCB family of brake
equipment is based on the successful BFC
integrated tread brake unit used on many
Locomotives, EMUs and DMUs, with 127,000 units
delivered world wide since 1978. One of the most
recent new applications is on the motor car of the
Matangi fleet of trains.
Conference On Railway Engineering
Wellington, Sept 12-15, 2010

David Wynd and Matthew Connelly

Faiveley Transport Australia Limited

Advanced Bogie Brakes

Figure 1: BFCB Push Brake

The BFCB literally meaning BFC with Beam,
has been in service since 1999 with applications in
the UK, Finland, Sweden, South Africa, Germany,
Australia and New Zealand.
Functionally the BFCB replaces the brake cylinder,
slack adjuster and rigging system on the wagon
similarly to other products on the market, however
variants of the BFCB are installed on both single
axle wagons or in bogies, and in both retrofit of old
vehicles and new build vehicles.

overhauled AK cars. The brake consists of a

single BFC, with the beams connected via a clasp
passing over the wheel pair axle. The clasp brake
has an approximate mass of 190kg, and an
available block force of up to 25kN.

The BFCB family currently consist of three

variants:

Push Brake

Clasp Brake

Push Low Brake

The BFCB Push Brake, shown in Figure 1, is

intended for bogie installation. The brake consists
of two opposing BFC brake units connected by
push rods, applying compressive effort to the
wheel treads via the brake beams.
This
application is used on both UIC and AAR bogies,
having a total weight of approximately 200kg and
an available block force between 10-50 kN.
The BFCB Clasp Brake, shown in Figure 2, is
intended for single axle installations, with the most
recent example being introduced on KiwiRails

Figure 2: BFCB Clasp Brake

The BFCB Push Low, shown in Figure 3 is an
application designed for bogies without the
possibility for the push rods passing through the
bogie. Rather the beams are connected via a
second beam passing below the bogie. As this
application only allows for a single BFC, the
available block force is limited, like the Clasp
Brake, to 25kN. While this application exposes the
Conference On Railway Engineering
Wellington, Sept 12-15, 2010

David Wynd and Matthew Connelly

Faiveley Transport Australia Limited

Advanced Bogie Brakes

bottom of the brake to on track debris such as spilt

ores, the form for the beam means the unit easily
ploughs through with little problems reported with
this application.

eliminates the need for drivers and yard staff

to walk along track to apply and release park
brakes. The elimination of the hand wheel of
mechanical park brake also eliminates the
exposure to the chain, release handle and
locking device.
In maintenance, as the BFCB brake shoes are
replaced from outside the bogie, there is no
need for fitters to move between or
underneath wagons.
2. Weight
The integration of the BFCB family of bogie
brakes provides reduced total brake system
weight due to the elimination of brake hangers
and park brake operating equipment such as
the hand wheel, chains, release mechanism,
blocks and other items.
This reduction
translates to an increased yield capacity per
wagon.

Figure 3: BFCB Push Low Brake

FULLY INTEGRATED SPRING PARK BRAKE
THE BFCBF

3. Operational Benefits
The Spring Park Brake of the BFCBF
eliminates the need for a railway worker to be
present when the wagons are parked in
sidings or a yard to apply or remove the
manual handwheel park brake.

Like competing products, the BFCB may also be

applied via a mechanical linkage, however unlike
all other applications the BFCB may also be
installed with a fully integrated spring park brake.
The spring park brake for BFCB is a modular
component which is added to the BFC. BFCB with
a spring park brake added is known as a BFCBF.
As the spring park brake of the BFCBF is applied
when the pressure to it is released, it is both
automatic and failsafe. As it is tied into the trains
pneumatics, it is also applied uniformly across the
entire rake of wagons, unlike the application of
manual park brakes where a minimum number of
wagons close to the Locomotive have their brakes
applied.

The spring park brake reduces the risk of

dragging wheels due to human error where a
manual hand park brake is not released.
Experience of previous installations of BFCB
equipment has shown that the way the system
is tuned to each wagon and bogie design,
gives very even brake block wear compared
with other types of brake beam and rigging.
4. Reliability, Maintenance and LCC
The BFCB brake beam equipment is designed
to be preventative maintenance free between
overhauls. The standard overhaul period for
the equipment is 6 years, but experience of
other similar installations of this equipment
indicates that it may be possible to extend this
period, further reducing the through life cost of
maintaining the equipment.

The spring park brake includes an in-built anticompounding valve which prevents both service
and
park
brake
forces
being
applied
simultaneously preventing damage to the
wagon.
While the BFCBF may be used with conventional
pneumatic only systems, with the inclusion of ECP
control, it will be possible to utilise the spring park
brake feature of the BFCBF to deliver a push
button application of parking brakes across an
entire train.

The low number of moving parts and joints in

the BFCB equipment reduces the complexity
of the brake system, leading to reduced failure
modes. This also eliminates the need for
preventative maintenance such as the
application of grease and lubricants.
In
particular the elimination of hand wheels,
chains and pulleys of manual park brakes
eliminates all fault modes associated with
these components, which are common and
3
have been the cause of accidents .

ADVANTAGES
The BFCB family provides significant advantages
over previous bogie brake systems in Safety,
Weight,
Operational
Benefits,
Reliability,
Maintenance and Life Cycle Costs (LCC).
1. Safety
The BFCBF bogie brake system with
integrated spring park brake is designed to
eliminate the need for manual application and
release of park brakes.
In doing so it

Office of Transport Safety Investigations, Rail Safety

Investigation Report, Runaway grain wagon, Temora, 28 July
2009, undated
Conference On Railway Engineering
Wellington, Sept 12-15, 2010

David Wynd and Matthew Connelly

Faiveley Transport Australia Limited

Based on usage estimates, over the course of

the 30 year life expectancy of the wagon, it is
anticipated that no more than 80 hours of
Overhaul time and 2 hours of Corrective
Maintenance are required per wagon. This
figure is from a preliminary calculation that is
to be reviewed, and is likely to be reduced,
with more detailed inputs.
No special tools are required for corrective or
preventative maintenance of the equipment.
ASSEMBLY AND OPERATION

Advanced Bogie Brakes

complete replacement of conventional units. This

greatly increases the overall availability of the
system with a minimum of spares required on
hand, reducing the time to repair compared to a
single piece welded unit.
The mechanical assembly is compatible with AAR
compliant bogies, with the actuator push rods
passing through the Bolster. Sufficient clearance
is available between the bolster and actuator rods
to enable full operational suspension travel in
crush and tare.

The BFC family of actuators have been

successfully deployed in the past in a range of
applications taking various mechanical forms. The
proposed solution detailed here is a brake beam
design with the force from two actuators
distributed over four wheels. The modular design
of the brake beam lends itself to customisation for
specific projects and application in various gauges.
Each assembly is unique to a project, as an
illustrative example of the brake beam form, the
BFCB DA 120 and BFCBF DA 120 used on the
QR Rail Grinder project are shown in Figure 1 and
Figure 4.

Figure 5: Brake block change

The design of the mechanical assembly enables
the changing of the brake blocks from the side of
the bogie, with no further disassembly required.
Taking full advantage of the integrated double
acting slack adjuster, the brake blocks may be
changed from the side of the bogie with the use of
a long bar, with no further disassembly required as
per the process shown in Figure 5.
Each brake block holder type is optimised
specifically for the project requirements; as a result
the brake blocks experience even, optimised wear,
as can be seen in Figure 6 a sample brake block
has been removed following 8 months of use, over
64,000km, with no noticeable tapered wear.
Figure 4: Brake Beam Section
The mechanical assembly includes vibration
resistant bolted connections well proven in similar
applications such as Heavy Haul AAR bogies,
providing the customer with an assurance of joint
quality while enabling full disassembly of the Brake
Beam if required. Each part of the brake beam
may be removed and replaced separately under
deep maintenance or repair; such as damage to
the brake block holder which would require

Figure 6: Used Brake Block from BFCB

application on coal train in South Africa

Conference On Railway Engineering

Wellington, Sept 12-15, 2010

David Wynd and Matthew Connelly

Faiveley Transport Australia Limited

Advanced Bogie Brakes

CONCLUSION
Like competing products, Faiveley Transports
BFCB integrates the brake cylinder, slack adjuster
and rigging system on the wagon, to a single bogie
mounted unit. Unlike competing products, the
BFCB may also integrate a modular spring park
brake. In doing so, the brake unit becomes both
automatic and fail safe providing the user with a
clear safety advantage.
With several applications in Europe and the UK
now exceeding eight years of service, the reliability
is being found to be very high indicating a
reduction in life cycle costs when compared to
other units. It is anticipated that further information
on this will be available in the near future.

Conference On Railway Engineering

Wellington, Sept 12-15, 2010