An astute piece of technical planning allowed for the smooth fixing of our ARCOSYSTEM® rail cable troughing to a bridge during a testing trackside installation.
The job took place near the town of Gammertingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The engineering team was faced with the challenge of installing a fresh run of cable troughing for 588 metres, with an old dilapidated bridge along the route.
With minimal attachment options available along the bridge, it was decided to install a new solid railing to the side of the structure to serve as a holding. The Geiger und Schüle installation team then created a neat, purpose-built narrow channel running along the base of the railing for the sleek ARCOSYSTEM® troughing to slot into.
This acute and inventive solution allowed the troughing to be fixed securely to the bridge and ensured a clean cable run throughout the entirety of the route. The composite construction of ARCOSYSTEM®, made from pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymers (GRP/FRP), provides a sturdy yet lightweight design for enhanced on-site handling and positioning. This means that the troughing, in conjunction with its bespoke range of multi-angled laser-cut steel brackets, is flexible enough be fixed to a variety of trackside structures such as noise barriers, rock faces, railings, bridges, and even steep hillside slopes.
Meanwhile, just 17km south of Gammertingen, near the village of Jungnau, ARCOSYSTEM® was used as the cable containment system of choice for a 648m-long route. Expertly installed by Leonhard Weiss via posts driven into the ground, special attention was paid to the straight-line fitting of the elevated troughing. Both jobs were carried out on the SWEG (Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH) operational network.
ARCOSYSTEM® can span up to 6m between supports and carries cable loads of up to 90kg/m. Electrically insulating, it can withstand continuous freeze-thaw cycles and work in temperatures ranging between -40˚C and +80˚C. The troughing and lids are resistant to corrosion, heat, water, UV rays, and a wide range of chemicals.
For more information about your cable containment requirements, contact the experienced technical experts at Complete Composite Systems (CCS), ARCOSYSTEM®’s exclusive UK distributor. The product is manufactured in association with our Swiss partners Castioni Kabelführungssysteme GmbH, while the exclusive UK rail stockist is Scott Parnell.
Images of the successful ARCOSYSTEM® installations at both Gammertingen and Jungnau can be seen here: https://www.completecomposites.co.uk/creative-planning-ensures-neat-fixing-of-rail-cable-troughing/
This article was originally published by Complete Composite Systems.
