TYPICAL CANE RAIL DUTY REQUIREMENTS FOR WILLISON COUPLINGS FITTED TO ‘BIG BINS’

TESTING OF automatic cane bin couplings (Bradken B38 and Bradken Trial Coupling 2013 [BTC]), undertaken in parallel with track assessment in the Proserpine and Herbert region has provided a valuable insight into coupling performance on typical sugar industry track. Wilmar Sugar has inherited approximately 1200 ten-tonne cane wagons with the recent acquisition of Proserpine Sugar Mill. These cane wagons use the link and pin coupling to connect the wagons together during haulage operations. The existing couplings have several disadvantages, with the main issues being manual uncoupling and recoupling operations with the associated safety risk and excessive maintenance. Measurements of operating variables (e.g. tractive loads, coupling movements) have provided the necessary data to compare the performance of the two candidate automatic coupling designs (B38 and BTC). This comparison enabled Wilmar to make an informed decision on which design automatic coupling to adopt at Proserpine Mill. The couplings were instrumented and tested on-site to evaluate individual performance and the cane wagons were instrumented to record the negotiated track conditions. To our knowledge, no detailed analysis has previously been conducted in the Australian sugar industry to compare the merits of a particular coupling type. The fundamental objective for the testing and data analyses was to: identify the most appropriate automatic coupling for the Proserpine region; better understand the tractive loading transferred through the couplings; understand the relationship between the track condition and coupling movement which contributes to coupling service life; evaluate the track conditions to assist with prioritising track repair activities to reduce cane wagon wear and increase coupling life. This paper presents coupling testing and track monitoring methods, measurement parameters used and data analysis conducted to compare coupling performance and assess track conditions.