Cargosprinter

The CargoSprinter is a multiple unit (or articulated) freight car; it could also be thought of as a container lorry that runs on rails. Built by the German company Windhoff, it is in effect a self-propelled flatcar for containers. It is intended to recapture some of the freight market back from road trucks, by making it economically feasible to carry small amounts of freight to the individual sidings of warehouses and businesses, without the complications and overhead of conventional locomotive-hauled trains.

The unit consists of two driving and power units, each fitted with a full width cab and two Volvo truck engines for propulsion, which operate in a push pull mode, with up to seven trailers in between. The drive train is hydraulic via an automatic 5-speed gearbox, and has a maximum speed of 120 km/h.Windhoff - CRT CargoSprinter details The complete train has a total power output of 4 x 265 - 1060 kilowatts and weighs 118 tons.Windhoff - CargoSprinter Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany

Usage

• In Australia the CRT Group introduced the first CargoSprinter to Australia in February 2002.Peter Attenborough (February 2006). "Colin Rees Transport (CRT)". Australian Model Railway Magazine 22 (256): page 38.  After a number of promotional trips, the CargoSprinter operated a tri-weekly service from Melbourne to Wodonga in 2003, followed by a port shuttle from the Port of Melbourne to Altona from September 1 that year, before being put into storage.

• In Germany CargoSprinter units are operated by Deutsche Bahn.

• In the United Kingdom 25 two car units are operated by Railtrack as the British Rail MPV, grouped into five distinct types.

A \'Fire Fighting and Rescue Train\' concept vehicle has also been developed by Windhoff.Windhoff - Fire Fighting and Rescue Train

See also

• British Rail MPV
• M250 series (Similar Japanese train)

References

External links

• Windhoff GmbH
• Picture of a CargoSprinter train

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