An arrangement including a guide system and a carrier vehicle. The guide system includes a route guide extending along a path for the carrier vehicle. To provide a flexible and rapid material flow in a production, the guide system has vehicle guide elements on the carrier vehicle. The guide system further includes vehicle guide elements on the carrier vehicle. The guide system is configured in such a way that a guide function of the guide system limits the degree of freedom of the translational movability of the carrier vehicle during the interaction of the route guide with the vehicle guide elements apart from a limited movement play to a translational movability along the path. The guide function may be cancelled at least in portions along the path by a movability of the route guide out of a guide position and may be activated by a movability of the route guide into the guide position.

A traction system is provided for a rail draft vehicle including an engine with a driveshaft, at least a pair of rubber-tired traction wheels, and at least one rail guide wheel pressurized relative to the vehicle by at least one fluid-powered cylinder. Included in the system are a programmable processor connected to a driveshaft speed sensor, a rail guide wheel speed sensor, an engine throttle controller, a fluid-powered cylinder controller and a vehicle control panel. The processor is constructed and arranged for automatically adjusting the engine throttle controller in coordination with the fluid-powered cylinder controller for achieving movement of the rail draft vehicle from a dead stop position by increasing applied vehicle weight upon the traction wheels by the at least one fluid-powered cylinder and adjusting engine RPM's until the vehicle begins movement as detected by the rail guide wheel speed sensor.

A traction system is provided for a rail draft vehicle including an engine with a driveshaft, at least a pair of rubber-tired traction wheels, and at least one rail guide wheel pressurized relative to the vehicle by at least one fluid-powered cylinder. Included in the system are a programmable processor connected to a driveshaft speed sensor, a rail guide wheel speed sensor, an engine throttle controller, a fluid-powered cylinder controller and a vehicle control panel. The processor is constructed and arranged for automatically adjusting the engine throttle controller in coordination with the fluid-powered cylinder controller for achieving movement of the rail draft vehicle from a dead stop position by increasing applied vehicle weight upon the traction wheels by the at least one fluid-powered cylinder and adjusting engine RPM's until the vehicle begins movement as detected by the rail guide wheel speed sensor.

Railway traction vehicle with eight traction wheels, provided with two bogies each with a rubber wheel axle with two rubber wheels and a rail wheel axle with two steel rail wheels each pivoting around a swing axle fixed to a supporting framework, whereby the swing axle is positioned asymmetrically on the connecting line between the rail wheel axle and the rubber wheel axle with the ratio between the downward force on the rail wheel axle and the rubber wheel axle being actively controlled by increasing or decreasing the downward force on the rubber wheel axle and decreasing or increasing the downward force on the rail wheel axle.

Railway traction vehicle with eight traction wheels, provided with two bogies each with a rubber wheel axle with two rubber wheels and a rail wheel axle with two steel rail wheels each pivoting around a swing axle fixed to a supporting framework, whereby the swing axle is positioned asymmetrically on the connecting line between the rail wheel axle and the rubber wheel axle with the ratio between the downward force on the rail wheel axle and the rubber wheel axle being actively controlled by increasing or decreasing the downward force on the rubber wheel axle and decreasing or increasing the downward force on the rail wheel axle.

A movement device for moving a load provided with wheels and rolling on railway rails, including at least: a geared motor of which the shaft has a horizontal axis of rotation, a drive roller rotated by the shaft of the geared motor, and two support rollers rotated by adhesion by the drive roller. The movement device includes at least: an arm secured by one of its ends to the shaft of the geared motor and extending horizontally and perpendicularly to the axis of rotation, and a brake shoe secured to the free end of the arm and configured so as to be placed in the vicinity of the wheel of the load to be moved on the side opposite to the drive roller.

A movement device for moving a load provided with wheels and rolling on railway rails, including at least: a geared motor of which the shaft has a horizontal axis of rotation, a drive roller rotated by the shaft of the geared motor, and two support rollers rotated by adhesion by the drive roller. The movement device includes at least: an arm secured by one of its ends to the shaft of the geared motor and extending horizontally and perpendicularly to the axis of rotation, and a brake shoe secured to the free end of the arm and configured so as to be placed in the vicinity of the wheel of the load to be moved on the side opposite to the drive roller.

A rail vehicle including a wheel assembly having wheels configured to traverse rails of a railroad track, a controller having a processor in communication with the wheel assembly, and a non-transitory computer readable medium, disposed on the vehicle, and containing instructions, which, cause the following steps in real-time as the vehicle traverses the rails: determine a rail pressure of the wheels on the rails, determine a degree of curvature of the rails as the vehicle moves along the railroad track, determine a minimum rail pressure of the wheels on the rails based on the degree of curvature, determine if the rail pressure is equal to or greater than the minimum rail pressure and adjust the rail pressure of the wheels on the rails to be the minimum rail pressure when the rail pressure is less than the minimum rail pressure to maintain stability of the vehicle on the railroad track.

A rail vehicle including a wheel assembly having wheels configured to traverse rails of a railroad track, a controller having a processor in communication with the wheel assembly, and a non-transitory computer readable medium, disposed on the vehicle, and containing instructions, which, cause the following steps in real-time as the vehicle traverses the rails: determine a rail pressure of the wheels on the rails, determine a degree of curvature of the rails as the vehicle moves along the railroad track, determine a minimum rail pressure of the wheels on the rails based on the degree of curvature, determine if the rail pressure is equal to or greater than the minimum rail pressure and adjust the rail pressure of the wheels on the rails to be the minimum rail pressure when the rail pressure is less than the minimum rail pressure to maintain stability of the vehicle on the railroad track.

A system and method are provided for spacing railcars of a train apart from each other with a predetermined gap in between. Embodiments include a railcar spacing tool having a hydraulic cylinder with brackets at opposing ends for contacting the frame of each of a pair of adjoined adjacent railcars to be spaced from each other, and a cylinder support frame attached to the cylinder and movably attached to a support vehicle such that the support frame is movable from a retracted position to an extended position where the brackets are between the frames of the pair of railcars. After moving the cylinder support frame to the extended position, the brackets are positioned in contact with the railcar frames, and the cylinder is engaged to create the predetermined gap between the railcars. The railcars' brakes are applied to preserve the gap, and the spacing tool is then removed.