What is this pipe/metal piece?

[ashums]

Hello!

Every time I see the front of these I always wonder what this part is that sticks out of the nose that covers the coupling system, could someone explain to this dumb dumb what it is please?

thank you!

 

[Nottingham59]

No idea, but welcome to the forum. Someone who knows will surely be along soon...

 

[hexagon789]

View attachment 154643Hello!

Every time I see the front of these I always wonder what this part is that sticks out of the nose that covers the coupling system, could someone explain to this dumb dumb what it is please?

thank you!

Its a guiding horn for the coupler - helps to line up two coupler faces when coupling.

 

[ashums]

Its a guiding horn for the coupler - helps to line up two coupler faces when coupling.

thank you for this! I just watched this video,

... How does it help line things up with the coupling? It doesn't seem to touch, slide or slot into anything which is interesting, could be the angle in the video though

 

[swt_passenger]

thank you for this! I just watched this video,

... How does it help line things up with the coupling? It doesn't seem to touch, slide or slot into anything which is interesting, could be the angle in the video though

I think it might have more to do with getting the vertical alignment within tolerance. In another similar video, with a view from the side, it looked as if one of the half couplings was moved vertically just before they met.

 

[edwin_m]

I think the guiding horns from the two couplers come into contact first as one train approaches the other, and this helps steer the couplers themselves into alignment.

 

[stuving]

I think the guiding horns from the two couplers come into contact first as one train approaches the other, and this helps steer the couplers themselves into alignment.

Dellner themselves don't say much about those guide horns, but by looking at all their models you can pick up the general idea. It is indeed about "gathering range", but again they don't quote values for the Coupler Type 10 (on the 800s). They only give that for their similar-looking freight coupler (Digital Automatic Coupler): vertical +/-140mm, horizontal -275/+370mm.

That asymmetry looks odd, but think about it this way. For vertical offset, the lower coupler main plate hits the guide horn and is guided upwards. For a large horizontal offset to the right, the cones miss the holes and the plates would just bump into each other. In that case the two guide horns meet and push the two couplers into line enough for the cones to find their holes. Offset to the left takes the guide horns away from each other, but now two the cones clash, and I think that will provide guidance into line - but with a strict offset limit set by the shape of the cones.

 

[ashums]

Thank you all this has solved one mystery! Now I wonder why they didn't build the nose to completely cover that system, I wonder if it's the extra material cost vs how much of a performance impact it has

 

[Chorley Cake]

View attachment 154643Hello!

Every time I see the front of these I always wonder what this part is that sticks out of the nose that covers the coupling system, could someone explain to this dumb dumb what it is please?

thank you!

It’s to shoo cows away. Gives them a gentle prod warning before the rest of the train arrives.

 

[najaB]

Now I wonder why they didn't build the nose to completely cover that system, I wonder if it's the extra material cost vs how much of a performance impact it has

That will be exactly what it is. There's almost certainly no negative performance impact by having it stick out like that, and it may even have some small performance benefit - compare to the aerospike found on Trident nuclear missiles.

 

[DaveyJones]

Thank you all this has solved one mystery! Now I wonder why they didn't build the nose to completely cover that system, I wonder if it's the extra material cost vs how much of a performance impact it has

I always assumed the CAD model didn't have the Gathering Horn