The Rear Draft Stop for The Safe Operation of Rail Vehicles

Introduction of The Rear Draft Stop

In rail vehicles such as trains, subways, and freight trains, the rear draft stop is a seemingly ordinary but extremely important casting component. It is installed at the rear of the bogie (the “chassis” structure of the vehicle) and closely cooperates with the draft stop buffer device, undertaking multiple functions to ensure the safe operation of the train. For those new to the casting industry, it can be simply understood as a “transfer station connecting the car body and the bogie”.

The Features of The Rear Draft Stop

During operation, rail vehicles frequently experience traction (acceleration) and braking (deceleration), generating significant longitudinal forces (forces in the front-to-back direction) between the car body and the bogie.
During traction: The locomotive pulls the carriages, and the draft stop transmits the traction force to the rear draft stop, which then transfers it to the bogie and ultimately to the wheels, propelling the train forward.
During braking: The reverse force generated by the brakes is also distributed through the rear draft stop to the bogie and the car body, preventing excessive local stress.
Key Role: the rear draft stop acts as a “force transfer station”, ensuring a stable and uniform force transmission path and preventing deformation or damage to the car body structure due to uneven force distribution.

The Material Requirement of The Rear Draft Stop

The rear draft stop is exposed to harsh conditions such as moisture, vibration, and temperature fluctuations for long periods. Its casting materials and processes endow it with special properties:
Fatigue Resistance: Made of ductile iron or cast steel, it can withstand the high-frequency alternating loads during decades of train operation.
Corrosion Resistance: Some alloy castings undergo surface treatments (such as anti-rust coating) to extend their service life in rain, snow, and salt spray environments.

The Functions of The Rear Draft Stop

(1)When starting, stopping, or passing over track joints, trains experience severe shocks. The rear draft stop, in conjunction with the buffer (such as rubber pads, springs, or hydraulic devices), jointly absorbs these shock energies.
Principle: When the draft stop is impacted, the buffer is compressed, and the rear draft stop, through its rigid structure, supports the buffer and gradually releases the shock energy to the bogie and the car body.
Effect: Reduces the jolts felt by passengers and protects the car body, cargo (in freight trains), and track equipment from high-frequency shock damage.

(2)The rear draft stop is the core component connecting carriages, and its position must be precisely aligned; otherwise, it may lead to uncoupling or collisions.
Positioning Function: The rear draft stop is fixed to the car body or bogie through bolt holes and contact surfaces, ensuring that the draft stop remains in the designed position and preventing displacement due to vibration during operation.
Stability Assurance: The cast structure of the rear draft stop has high rigidity and dimensional accuracy, maintaining the stable alignment of the draft stop device over the long term.

(3)In addition to longitudinal forces, the rear draft stop also needs to bear complex loads in the lateral (left-right) and vertical (up-down) directions:
Lateral Forces: During turns, centrifugal force is transmitted through the draft stop to the rear draft stop, which, with its reinforcing ribs and casting structure, resists lateral deformation.
Vertical Forces: The weight of the carriages (such as the cargo weight in freight trains) is transferred from the car body to the bogie, and the rear draft stop needs to assist in sharing part of the load.
Casting Advantage: Through an integrated casting design, the rear draft stop can evenly distribute multi-directional loads, avoiding the risk of fracture due to stress concentration.

The Mechanical Properties of The Rear Draft Stop

	Mechanical Properties
Product category	Yield Strength	Tensile Strength	Elongation (50mm)	Reduction Of area	Hardness	Impact	Heat Treatment
						V-Notch （-18℃）
	(MPA)	(MPA)	%	%	(HB)	(J)
Rear Draft Stop	≥415	≥620	≥22	≥45	179～241	≥20	Normalizing and Tempering

The Package of The Rear Draft Stop

Polybag+ Carton box+Export Wooden case/Pallet, according to customer’s request

Company Profile

Luoyang Fenyo Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. was founded in 1998, covers an area of 72,600㎡, with more than 300 employees, 32 technicians, including 5 senior engineers, 11 assistant engineers, and 16 technicians. It has been rated as Luoyang Engineering Technology Center, Luoyang Technology R&D Center, and National High-tech Enterprise for many times.

Our production capacity is 30,000 tons per year. Currently, we mainly produce cast steel, cast iron (gray iron, ductile iron, etc.), processing of finished product and component assembly. The company mainly produces parts and railcar gearbox component assemblies for high-speed rail, railcars, locomotives, passenger cars, subways, mines, coal machines, petroleum machinery, wind power, water conservancy, ceramics, engineering machinery and other equipment. At the same time, the products have been exported to Russia, the United States, Germany, Argentina, Japan, France, South Africa, Italy and other countries.

FAQS

Q1: Are you a manufacturer or trading company?
A:Yes,our company was founded in 1998, with nearly 30 years in casting industry, a total area of 72,600㎡, with a factory building area of 51,000㎡.
Q2. What are your main products?
A: We primarily focus on steel casting, iron casting, finished product machining, and component assembly production.
Q3: How precision can you produce casting parts?
A: We have the capability of producing casting parts with different casting processes. The production is strictly comply with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO45001,EN15085, IRIS.
Q4. Can you produce according to the samples?
 Yes, we can produce by your samples or technical drawings. We can build drawings for you after we get your samples too.
Q5: How do you do Quality Control before delivery?
A: Quality inspection is a very important factor to guarantee the quality of steel casting parts. We follow 3 times of inspection during the whole production process. And we will provide material testing report, dimensional testing report, and mechanical properties testing report to our clients before delivery.

It you are interested in any products,please feel free to contact us.
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