For more than thirty years, the mechanic, Kurt Landau works at the transport company Frankfurt (VGF). As he had not to do much during the holidays, after he thought about a Problem, the operating company of metro and trams been working for some time: Hot sun, the rails can heat radiation in some Places in such a way that they extend this.
Actually, there is already a solution: employees ‘ stress at the vulnerable Places of the tracks just white. However, Kurt Landau, was bothered by the fact that his colleagues had to bend down when painting, always. So he decided to build a machine that simplifies the painting.
White color protects against Overheating
In strong sunlight, stretch out the tracks and the tracks begin to say waves, Tim Schwartz, an engineer in the technical service of the FGC. Some sections of Track can be up to 60 degrees. There is tension on the tracks, which are referred to by experts as “Track deformations”. This can lead in the worst case derailment. To avoid Overheating, will be applied to the white color, says Schwartz. The paint result is that the rails reflect the sunlight. Tests have shown that the white color is cool, the tracks of four to five degrees down, says Schwartz.
He had so far developed only a lid lifter, and on the work of some repair says the 54-year-old Landau. In the Christmas season last year, he started to draw the sketches for the painting machine. Landau, the drawings submitted to his superiors, who approved his project. A few months had subsequently taken the development, told Landau. But when he had put the draft finally finished, he had built with his colleagues for a period of only two weeks, the machine together.
climate-friendly, quiet and lightweight machine
The Deutsche Bahn and the Austrian Federal Railways painting in the high summer of their tracks already by machine with white color. The peculiarity of Landau’s machine, however, lies in its weight: it weighs only twenty kilograms. Thus, the device can be pushed like a lawn mower from a Person on the tracks. To second the machine can simply be from the tracks lift, says Landau. Other coating machines needed in addition, a power cable, while his over with a battery. The make the machine environment-friendly, and quieter.
Landau’s construction consists of a self-welded metal frame. A spray is installed in the device, with the white acrylic paint sprayed on a rail side. Of the rail head, i.e., the upper side of the Rail, remains free, because the trains would cover the journey of the white color waste. In the spray machine, one Liter of color yoke around, so that approximately 50 to 60 metres section of Track can be sprayed. How long the color holds, Landau and his colleagues experienced in the course of the summer.
