An astute piece of technical planning allowed for the smooth fixing of our ARCOSYSTEM® rail cable troughing to a bridge during a testing trackside installation.
The job took place near the town of Gammertingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The engineering team was faced with the challenge of installing a fresh run of cable troughing for 588 metres, with an old dilapidated bridge along the route.
With minimal attachment options available along the bridge, it was decided to install a new solid railing to the side of the structure to serve as a holding. The Geiger und Schüle installation team then created a neat, purpose-built narrow channel running along the base of the railing for the sleek ARCOSYSTEM® troughing to slot into.
This acute and inventive solution allowed the troughing to be fixed securely to the bridge and ensured a clean cable run throughout the entirety of the route. The composite construction of ARCOSYSTEM®, made from pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymers (GRP/FRP), provides a sturdy yet lightweight design for enhanced on-site handling and positioning. This means that the troughing, in conjunction with its bespoke range of multi-angled laser-cut steel brackets, is flexible enough be fixed to a variety of trackside structures such as noise barriers, rock faces, railings, bridges, and even steep hillside slopes.
Meanwhile, just 17km south of Gammertingen, near the village of Jungnau, ARCOSYSTEM® was used as the cable containment system of choice for a 648m-long route. Expertly installed by Leonhard Weiss via posts driven into the ground, special attention was paid to the straight-line fitting of the elevated troughing. Both jobs were carried out on the SWEG (Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs-GmbH) operational network.
ARCOSYSTEM® can span up to 6m between supports and carries cable loads of up to 90kg/m. Electrically insulating, it can withstand continuous freeze-thaw cycles and work in temperatures ranging between -40˚C and +80˚C. The troughing and lids are resistant to corrosion, heat, water, UV rays, and a wide range of chemicals.
For more information about your cable containment requirements, contact the experienced technical experts at Complete Composite Systems (CCS), ARCOSYSTEM®’s exclusive UK distributor. The product is manufactured in association with our Swiss partners Castioni Kabelführungssysteme GmbH, while the exclusive UK rail stockist is Scott Parnell.
Images of the successful ARCOSYSTEM® installations at both Gammertingen and Jungnau can be seen below:
View from street level of the bridge at Gammertingen before the job
The condition of the top of the bridge at Gammertingen before the job
The new railing in place with the ARCOSYSTEM® rail cable troughing slotted within a purpose-built channel running along the base of the railing
Close-up view of the troughing in place within the base of the railing
How the sleek ARCOSYSTEM® cable troughing was routed through the narrow channel at the base of the new railing
A different angle showing how the new troughing was placed through the acute channel
View of the completed job from one side of the bridge
View from the other side of the bridge of the finished job
View showing the cable trough run exiting the narrow channel beneath the railing and continuing towards the town of Gammertingen
The continuation of the cable run, with the ARCOSYSTEM® troughing post mounted trackside
Another view of the extended cable run, with the ARCOSYSTEM® troughing installed beside the train track via ground-mounted posts
The long run of ARCOSYSTEM® cable troughing neatly installed at Jungnau
The ARCOSYSTEM® rail cable troughing installed trackside at Jungnau
The sleek, composite-made ARCOSYSTEM® cable containment system fitted alongside the train tracks at Jungnau