All Aboard: Flatbed cart design rated for railyard work capacity

DCI Engineers analyzed a 7.5’ wide x 18’ long flatbed cart (80,000-lbs gross vehicle weight [GVW]) with side bunks to allow railroad tie bundles to be placed on the cart. The cart is hard mounted to a pair of railroad wheels and axles and contains both hydraulic and pneumatic braking systems. A Pintle hitch is mounted to one end for towing and the flatbed has two openings to accommodate a grapple to lift an unloaded cart.

The engineering team analyzed the cart for its rated capacity when it is uniformly loaded on the deck in a vertically stacked condition. As part of the scope, they conducted a finite element analysis (FEA) of the flatbed cart. DCI produced documentation verifying the existing attachments had capacity for 80,000-lbs GVW.