3 ms·

Reading around it seems the bulk goods wagons in the EU can move about 56tons each max, are about 13m long[1], and freight trains have a max length of 750m[2] b

Reading around it seems the bulk goods wagons in the EU can move about 56tons each max, are about 13m long[1], and freight trains have a max length of 750m[2] but normally need to be shorter. In total that means the maximum an EU freight train could theoretically move is only 3,100 tons[3]. So to move 20mil tons of wheat in 3 months (I don’t know the shelf life of wheat) would require about 70 full trains a day. Which I suspect might be beyond what’s possible. [1] https://railrent.com/en/wagon-overview/bulk-freight-wagon/ https://railrent.com/en/wagon-overview/bulk-freight-wagon/ [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Europe https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Europe [3] 750/13 = 57.6 wagons per train. Subtract one for an engine (but I suspect you need more than one engine) give you 56 wagons. 56 wagons at 56 tons each gives you a total of 3,135tons are cargo.

iggldiggl 4y ago
There are special wagons for transporting grain , e.g. [1] or [2], the main difference being that those are covered, whereas the standard bulk freight wagons are open and therefore not weatherproof. Before running into any length limits, the limiting factor at the moment will actually be the screwlink coupling, though. Using the wagon from [2], 720 m [3] would fit 48 wagons, which fully laden would weigh a total of 48 * (70.1 + 19.9 t) = 4320 t. A standard buffer and chain screwlink coupling is only good for around 4000 t on a level gradient, 2500 t at 12.5 ‰ (1:80), or in really mountainous terrain only 1400 t at 26 ‰ (1:38.4) [1] https://gueterwagenkatalog.dbcargo.com/katalog/nach-gattung/Tadgs-959-0-5851226 https://gueterwagenkatalog.dbcargo.com/katalog/nach-gattung/... [2] https://www.wascosa.ch/wagenpark/pdf/de/schuettgutwagen/getreidewagen-95m3_de_201910.pdf https://www.wascosa.ch/wagenpark/pdf/de/schuettgutwagen/getr... [3] In Germany the maximum length is 740 m, minus 20 m for the locomotive.

iggldiggl 4y ago

There are special wagons for transporting grain , e.g. [1] or [2], the main difference being that those are covered, whereas the standard bulk freight wagons are open and therefore not weatherproof. Before running into any length limits, the limiting factor at the moment will actually be the screwlink coupling, though. Using the wagon from [2], 720 m [3] would fit 48 wagons, which fully laden would weigh a total of 48 * (70.1 + 19.9 t) = 4320 t. A standard buffer and chain screwlink coupling is only good for around 4000 t on a level gradient, 2500 t at 12.5 ‰ (1:80), or in really mountainous terrain only 1400 t at 26 ‰ (1:38.4) [1] https://gueterwagenkatalog.dbcargo.com/katalog/nach-gattung/Tadgs-959-0-5851226 https://gueterwagenkatalog.dbcargo.com/katalog/nach-gattung/... [2] https://www.wascosa.ch/wagenpark/pdf/de/schuettgutwagen/getreidewagen-95m3_de_201910.pdf https://www.wascosa.ch/wagenpark/pdf/de/schuettgutwagen/getr... [3] In Germany the maximum length is 740 m, minus 20 m for the locomotive.