GB2153782A - Method and arrangement for loading and unloading railway goods ferry ships - Google Patents

Abstract

Method and arrangement for the loading and unloading of railway goods ferry ships having a plurality of decks, especially a two-deck railway goods ferry ship 1, with a railway track arrangement on the main deck 3 and the upper deck 4 wherein the loading and unloading operations take place horizontally by way of a multi-storey land ramp 5 arranged on land 12, the independently working lower 6 or upper 7 land ramp being firmly connected with the respective cargo deck 3 or 4. In the case of asymmetrical loading the ferry will carry out only a permissible list, due to guide equipment in the ferry harbour and list compensation installations. The loading and unloading operations take place by trains on the middle track, or on two tracks at the same time, in the order upper deck - main deck - upper deck. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Method and arrangement for loading and unloading railway goods ferry ships The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for loading and unloading railway goods ferry ships with a plurality of decks, especially a two-deck railway goods ferry ship, having a railway track arrangement on the main deck and the upper deck.

In the loading and unloading of railway goods ferry ships a series of influencing factors must be taken into account which must be considered in the execution of the land installations, that is land ramp or land bridge and in the conception of the ferry.

These are such influencing factors as: Selected height co-ordinates of the land ramp, limit inclination of the land ramp guaranteeing safe movement over the angle between land and land ramp, limit inclination at the land ramp ferry transition taking account of the occurring trim angle of the ferry, taking account of the angle of inclination in the transverse direction of the ship and of variations of draught, selected loading and unloading technology, realisable height of the decks of the ferry with selected stability conditions of the ship, influence of different water levels for high water and low water, and further influencing values such as wind, current, wave forces and the appreciable braking forces of a train.

The ferry-ramp connection is of particular importance. Fundamentally it is possible to secure the ramp to the ship. Since however railway trucks, in dependence upon their construction, can tolerate only very small angles (of about 2.5 ) at the ramp ferry transit, even slight height differences between ferry and pier necessitate very long ramps which are not realisable on the ferry. It is further important to ensure that the transit between the rails on the ferry and those on the ramp must be completed with equal height and with very small gaps. Furthermore the ferry must be connected as firmly as possible with the ramp in the longitudinal direction. Therefore ramps used in roll-on - roll-off traffic are not usable for this purpose, for the stated reasons.

Railway goods ferry ships with a plurality of decks on which railway trucks can be transported have been described in the most various constructions for the consideration of the above-stated influencing factors. It is common to those ferry ships that loading and unloading only ever take place by way of one deck, especially the main deck. This necessitates a single-storey, single-field or multi-field ramp on land. In this case the trucks are moved within the ferry ship vertically from one deck to the other by means of a lift, while horizontal transport within the ferry ship is carried out with small universal locomotives or the like.

These constructions require high technical expense on the ferry ships. On the land side singlestorey land ramps are provided which are firmly connected with the ferry in loading and unloading and must be adapted to the existing conditions, as for example the list and depth variation of the ferry and other influencing factors acting upon the ferry.

Therefore these railway goods ferry ships have the disadvantage that the turn-round times in the harbour are very long.

For a two-deck ferry there are advantages in designing the land ramp so that it can serve either the main deck or the upper deck. However such a ramp, taking consideration of the limit inclination angle at land - ramp and ramp - ferry will become very long, about 150 to 200 m., would have to be formed as a multi-field ramp and accordingly is not of universal utility.

The aim of the invention consists in keeping the turn-round time in harbour as short as possible and in guaranteeing friction-free co-operation of ferry ship and land installations.

It is the problem of the invention to develop a method and an arrangement for the loading and unloading of railway goods ferry ships with a plurality of decks rendering possible horizontal loading and unloading both on the land side and on the ship side. The problem is solved by a method for the loading and unloading of railway goods ferry ships with a plurality of decks, especially two-deck railway goods ferry ships with a railway track arrangement on the cargo decks, by way of a ramp arranged on land, in that the loading and unloading operation of the cargo decks takes place horizontally by way of a multi-storey land ramp arranged on the land side, where after the ferry has been floated into the ferry basin and into the region of effect of the land ramps the independently working upper or lower land ramp is successively firmly connected each with the respective cargo deck.At the same time guide devices arranged in the ferry basin region at the level of the respective cargo deck allocated to the loading operation guarantee horizontal nondisplaceability of the ship at this point, while in the case of the occurrence of asymmetric loading the ferry carries out a free list, which is largely compensated in effect however by existing list compensation installations. The ferry is here made fast to land in a manner known perse.

It is advantageous that the loading and unloading are effected by trains on one track (centre track) or on two tracks at the same time while the sequence of unloading and loading takes place in the order upper deck - main deck - upper deck. It is a further feature of the invention that the loading and unloading take place on the upper deck by way of a point variable in relation to the horizontal deck on the side facing the land ramp in loading and unloading.

The problem of the invention is solved by an arrangement for carrying out the method in which on the land side firstly a double-storey land ramp is arranged having a lower and an upper land ramp which are actuatable independently of one another by a hoisting carrier mechanism, and on the other hand movable fenders are provided which are in operative connection with the ferry at the level of the cargo deck allocated in each case to the loading operation, also a mooring line system known perse and in operative connection with corresponding on-board equipment, while aboard ship the two horizontal cargo decks are provided with a track arrangement with the outer edge of the upper deck on the side facing the loading ramp in the loading and unloading operation elevated above the usable deck width in comparison with the base of the upper deck by A H and on the other hand a list compensation installation is provided. It is further a feature of the invention that movable fenders are arranged on the land ramp side on both sides of the ferry and at the other end of the ship only on the pier side. It is further in accordance with the invention that the upper deck, elevated at the outer edge, is brought back from this height co-ordinate or a point on a parallel to the base of the upper deck with an angle of inclination p in the form of a decreasing deck sheer to the base of the upper deck.In this case the parallel to the base of the upper deck measures at least one truck length. The angle of inclination p is here less than or equal to the limit inclination angle G.

The further development of the invention provides that the position of the deck sheer is equal to a GP(F It is further expedient that the length of the deck sheer amounts to at least one truck length.

The invention has a series of advantages. Thus for the first time it is possible to carry out the operation of loading and unloading railway goods ferry ships with a plurality of cargo decks only in the horizontal direction and at the same time substantially to shorten the turn-round times in the harbour.

This horizontal transport further gives the possibility of operating with whole trains. Complicated equipment such as is required for vertical transport within the ferry is completely eliminated and better utilisation of space of the ferry is obtained.

On the basis of the solution in accordance with the invention the double-storey land ramp is realisable as a single-field ramp, which saves considerable investment costs.

The angle of inclination p of the deck sheer results in a full utilisation of the limit inclination angle a G of the upper land ramp in the lower ramp position. A further advantage consists in that the pumping around of ballast water in the ferry is reduced.

With the solution in accordance with the invention an optimum collaboration of railway ferry and land installation is guaranteed.

The invention will be explained in greater detail by reference to an example, wherein: Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a two-deck railway goods ferry ship in collaboration with a double-storey land ramp, Figure 2 shows a plan view of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic representation of the land ramp - ship connection, Figure 4 shows a diagrammatic representation of the stern view, Figure 5shows a diagrammatic representation of geometrical data of the co-operation of a two-deck railway goods ferry ship with a double-storey land ramp and Figure 6shows a diagrammatic representation of geometrical data including the modification of the upper deck.

The railway goods ferry ship 1 possesses two cargo decks for the transport of the railway trucks 2, namely the main deck 3 and the upper deck 4. Both decks are formed without deck sheer. The precise height co-ordinates of the rail upper edge on the main deck 3 and the upper deck 4 are ascertained from the position of the decks, from the draught and trim and taking consideration of the extreme high water and low water levels to be taken into account.

Loading and unloading take place generally in the horizontal direction by way of a double-storey land ramp 5 consisting essentially of a lower land ramp 6 and an upper land ramp 7.

The double-storey land ramp 5 is here made as a single-field construction.

For reasons of stability of the ferry and the achievement of minimum ship width the distance H between the upper deck and the keel is fixed as low as possible. Both on the main deck 3 and on the upper deck 4 there are arranged five railway tracks l-V.

The land side consists of the ferry basin 10, the pier 11 and the double-storey land ramp 5. The double-storey land ramp 5 is connected with firm land 12. Railway tracks in operative connection with those arranged on the land 12 and the ferry 1 are arranged on the lower and upper land ramps 6, 7.

The double-storey land ramp 5 is brought into the rest and working positions by means of a hoisting carrier mechanism 13. The construction of the hoisting carrier mechanism 13 was here selected so that both the lower and the upper land ramp 6 and 7 are independently movable. In the process of loading and unloading the railway goods ferry ship 1 only small tolerances are possible between ferry and double-storey land ramp 5. The connection in the longitudinal direction of the ship is produced by means of a locking technique known per se. The positioning of the ferry in relation to the doublestorey land ramp 5 and the making fast of the ferry are effected in known manner by heaving winches situated on board and bollards arranged on the pier 11.

In order to avoid movement of the ferry horizontally in the transverse direction, mcvable fenders 14 are provided on rigid supports on the land. These fenders 14 are arranged on both sides of the ferry at the land ramp end and only on the pier 11 at the other end of the ship. The movement of the fenders 14 into the working and rest positions takes place by means of a drive system which is protected by the provision of shock absorbers against sudden loadings. During the connection of the ferry and the land ramp the spring travel of the shock absorbers is limited. The fenders 14 come successively into operative connection with the ferry at the level of the two cargo decks, that is to say the level of the main deck 3 or of the upper deck 4 (whichever is just being loaded or unloaded). For this purpose appropriate support elements 15 are provided on the ferry which are made fast to associated external skin constructions. This described arrangement prevents horizontal movement of the ship in the cargo deck in operation and permits a vertical movement or listing movement of the ferry up to about 3 .

On the basis of the situation as described a compensation of listing of the ferry is possible by means of list compensation installations known per se. The loading and unloading operation are supported by a special arrangement of the upper deck 4 on the loading and unloading side of the ship.

From Figures 5 and 6 there may be seen the respective positions of the decks of the railway goods ferry ship 1 and the position of the lower and upper land ramps 6 and 7. On the right side of the illustrations there is illustrated the ship side and on the left side the land side. The overall length of the ship was here designated by LA and the land ramp length by LB.

The position of the main deck 3 at low water 3', at mid-water 3" and at high water 3"' and likewise the position of the upper deck 4 at low water 4', at mid-water 4" and at high water 4"' appear from the stated figures.

The chain line represents the position of the main deck 3 and the upper deck 4 in the loading and unloading operation, since a stern-loaded trim advantageously exists at this time, a representing the trim angle.

The occurring height co-ordinates of the rail upper edge are characterised for the main deck 3 with T lu as lowest point and T lo as highest point. The points T 2u and T 20 are analogous for the upper deck 4.

At the same time the possible positions of the double-storey land ramp 5 may be compared on the land side. The height co-ordinate A 1 of the lower land ramp 6 is fixed according to the existing terrain and the draughts of the ferry in the loading of the main deck 3. The height co-ordinate A 2 results from the passage height of the trucks including the overall height of the carrier construction for the execution of the upper land ramp 7. The distance from rail upper edge to rail upper edge in the two ramp planes was designated by A.For the seaward land ramp head the maximum and minimum achievable height co-ordinates K lu and K lo for the lower land ramp 6 and K 2u and K 20 for the upper land ramp 7 result from the limit inclination angle sxG, ,which is to be observed both between land and double-storey land ramp 5 and between double-storey land ramp 5 and railway goods ferry ship 1.

It can be seen here that due to the necessary fixing of the position of the main deck 3 and of the upper deck 4 and the already described fixing of the distance A between lower and upper land ramps 6, 7, the position of the upper deck 4 at mid-water level 4" does not conform with the height co-ordinate A 2 of the upper land ramp 7. Therefore it can be seen from Figure 6 that the side height of the upper deck 4 at the stern edge 8 of the ferry ship is made elevated by the amount A H over the full width of the ship. At the same time from the now achieved height co-ordinate point T 2u' or T20', the upper deck 4 is brought back with a decreasing deck sheer 9 to the normal position of the upper deck 4.The inclination angle then occurring is designated by p, where ss G The deck sheer 9 can be made decreasing either linearly or with curvature. The length of the deck sheer 9 should amount to at least one truck length.

The railway tracks are laid on the modified upper deck 4. The possibility also exists that firstly the upper deck 4 is conducted from the height coordinate point T 2u' or T 20' parallel to the base of the upper deck 4 and only then the decreasing deck sheer 9 is provided.

The length of this parallel guidance should however here amount to at least 1 truck length.

The value of the elevation of the upper deck 4 of A H is derived preferably from the lowest position of the upper land ramp 7 and the position of the ferry in the case of heaviest loading, taking account of the low water level, that is A H = K 2u - T 2u. With the conformity of the height co-ordinates of the upper land ramp 7 and the upper deck 4 a secure loading and unloading is rendered possible. The optimum position of the deck sheer 9 with stern-loaded trim of the upper deck 4 is determined in the extreme case as a G > ssç P The loading and unloading operation, which are carried out in the example of embodiment by way of the stern of the ferry, proceed as follows: The ferry floats into the double-storey land ramp 5 with stern gate opened.There the upper land ramp 7 is pivoted with the aid of the hoisting carrier mechanism 13 to the level of the upper deck 4 and locked fast with the ferry. In this operation the permitted tolerances between the railway both in height and in distance from one another must be observed. The displacement of the fenders 14 allocated to the upper deck 4 takes place until these are in operative connection with the ship's hull at the level of the upper deck 4 by way of the support elements 1 arranged on the ship and preclude horizontal movement of the ferry at deck level.

Then the ferry is made fast with the lines of the heaving winches arranged on board and possibly additional lines on the bollards of the pier 11. When this operation is concluded the unloading of the railway trucks 2 takes place in the form of trains, that is to say coupled railway trucks 2, the trains possessing a transport weight of about 1,600 tonnes. The discharge operation takes place firstly on track Ill, then simultaneously on tracks II and IV and in conclusion simultaneously on tracks I and V.

When the upper deck 4 is unloaded the fastenings with the upper land ramp 7 are released, the upper land ramp 7 is pivoted up and the fenders 14 of the upper deck 4 are released. Then the lower land ramp 6 is brought into the position of the main deck 3 by means of the hoisting carrier mechanism 13 and locked fast with the ferry, the fenders 14 in the main deck region are brought into the line of action with the securing elements of the main deck 3. Thus again horizontal movement of the ferry at deck level is precluded and the unloading operation can commence.

The unloading of the main deck 3 takes place analogously with the unloading operation on the upper deck 4, with trains in the above-mentioned sequence of tracks.

After conclusion of the unloading operation the loading of the ferry takes place in the converse sequence. In this operation firstly the main deck 3 is loaded and then the upper deck 4. This sequence guarantees favourable stability conditions for the ship.

In unloading and in loading a commencement of listing of the ferry is influenced by a list compensation installation arranged on the ferry and kept within a specific predetermined value.

After conclusion of the loading operation the separation of the ferry - double - storey land ramp 5 connection and of the ferry - fender connection takes place. After closure of the stern gate of the ferry the outward journey takes place. The double-storey land ramp 5 is brought into the rest position. The trim position of the ship resulting according to the actual loading, necessary in each case generally, is achieved by flooding of appropriate trim tanks.

Claims (12)

1. Methodforthe loading and unloading of railway goods ferry ships with a plurality of decks, especially of two-deck railway goods ferry ships, with a railway track arrangement on the cargo decks, by way of a ramp arranged on land, characterised in that the operation of loading or unloading the cargo decks takes place horizontally by way of a multistorey land ramp in a manner in which, afterthe ferry has floated into the ferry basin and into the region of action of the land ramp, the independently working upper and lower land ramps (7 and 6) are successively firmly connected with the respective cargo decks while at the same time guide devices arranged in the ferry basin region at the level of the respective cargo deck allocated to the loading operation in each case guarantee a horizontal nondisplaceability of the ferry in this region of action, while in the case of occurrence of asymmetric loading the ferry carries out a free listing inclination which however is adequately compensated in effect by an existing list compensation installation, the ferry being made fast to land in a manner known per se.

2. Method according to Claim 1, characterised in that the loading and unloading operation take place in the sequence upper deck(4)- main deck (3) - upper deck (4).

3. Method according to Claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the cargo decks are loaded in the sequence track (III) - track (II and IV) - track (I and V) and are loaded conversely.

4. Method according to Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the loading and unloading take place on the upper deck (4) by way of a point variable in relation to the horizontal deck, on the side facing the loading ramp, in the loading and unloading operations.

5. Arrangement for carrying out the method according to Claim 1, characterised in that on the land side, firstly a double-storey land ramp (5) is arranged having a lower and an upper land ramp (6, 7) which are actuatable independently of one another by a hoisting carrier mechanism (13) and next removable (14) are provided which are in operative connection with the ferry at the level of the cargo deck allocated in each case to the loading operation, also a mooring line system known perse in operative connection with corresponding onboard equipment, and on the ship firstly the two horizontal cargo decks are provided with a track arrangement the outer edge (8) of the upper deck (4) on the side facing the land ramp in the loading and unloading operation being elevated above the usable deck width in relation to the base of the upper deck by (AH) and nextly a list compensation installation is provided.

6. Arrangement according to Claim 5, characterised in that movable fenders (14) are arranged on the land ramp side on both sides of the ferry and at the other end of the ship only on the side of the pier (11).

7. Arrangement according to Claim 5, characterised in that the upper deck (4), elevated at the outer edge (8), is brought back from this height coordinate or a point on a parallel to the base of the upper deck (4) to the base of the upper deck (4) with an angle of inclination (P) in the form of a decreasing deck sheer (9).

8. Arrangement according to Claim 7, characterised in that the angle of inclination (p) is equal to or less than the limit inclination angle (t G).

9. Railway goods ferry ship according to Claims 5,7 and 8, characterised in that the position of the deck sheer (9) is ((x G - P 5 > ç)^

10. Railway goods ferry ship according to Claim 7, characterised in that the length of the deck sheer (9) and the parallel to the base of the upper deck (4) each amount to at least one truck length.

11. A method as claimed in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

12. An arrangement for loading and unloading goods, substantially as described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.