A counterweight is a weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a mechanical system . The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves energy and causes less wear and tear on the lifting machine.
20-468: The São Paulo Railway Company ( SPR , nickname Ingleza , transl.: The English ) was a privately owned British railway company in Brazil, which operated the 1,600 mm ( 5 ft 3 in ) gauge railway from the seaport at Santos via São Paulo to Jundiaí . The company was nationalised in 1946 and became the Estrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí . The São Paulo Railway consists of three parts: Three different systems were used to climb
40-400: A grade of 8%. Two to three wagons were coupled to the rope with the help of small locomotives fitted with grip engaging with the cable. These locomotives were also able to handle the wagons in the terminal station and between the sections so that the operation of the incline system was facilitated. The locomotives have been called Locobreque (transl.: Brake locomotives ). In case the weight of
60-635: Is also a 5 ft 2 in ( 1,575 mm ) gauge. See: Track gauge in Ireland . Before the advent of diesel and electric traction, one of the advantages of the broader 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) Irish gauge compared to 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) was that more space between steam locomotive frames allows for a bigger firebox, enabling generation of more steam. Counterbalance Counterweights are often used in traction lifts (elevators), cranes and funfair rides. In these applications,
80-980: The Board of Trade (with the advice of engineers Charles Pasley and George Stephenson ) introduced the gauge as a compromise. The Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846 was passed to formalise the gauge used on the island of Ireland to 5 feet 3 inches (1600mm). As of 2013 the network totals over 2,730 km or 1,696 mi, 2,400 km or 1,491 mi in the Republic of Ireland and 330 km or 205 mi in Northern Ireland . Fun'Ambule Funicular in Neuchâtel, 330 m long, opened 27 April 2001. The Pennsylvania trolley gauges of 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,588 mm ) and 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 1,581 mm ) are similar to this gauge, but incompatible. There
100-678: The North East line, Victoria and the 125 km (77.7 mi) long Oaklands railway line , which runs into New South Wales from Victoria, were converted to standard gauge in 2008–2010. The Mildura and Murrayville railway lines were converted to standard gauge in 2018. Lines connecting the states of Rio de Janeiro , São Paulo and Minas Gerais ; E.F.Carajás in Pará and Maranhão states, and Ferronorte in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states. Used in older Metro systems. Although
120-592: The island of Ireland . Currently, the suburban rail networks in Adelaide , Melbourne , and most regional lines in Victoria (including some that cross the border into New South Wales ) use 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ). The 828 km (514.5 mi) long Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor linking South Australia and Victoria, and some associated branch lines, was converted to standard gauge in 1995. The final 200 km (124.3 mi) section of
140-605: The metre gauge network is almost five times longer, Irish gauge is considered the standard by ABNT . The current network is 4,057 km or 2,521 mi, 15% of the total Brazilian network. Following proposed projects of the Ulster Railway and Dublin and Drogheda Railway companies (using 6 ft 2 in ( 1,880 mm ) and 5 ft 2 in ( 1,575 mm ), respectively), and existing issues of competing gauges in Great Britain, in 1843
160-471: The date specified in the contract, which was eight years. The São Paulo Railway was opened on 1867-02-16. The part of the route climbing the Serra do Mar consisted of four 10.3% grade cable railway sections with the following length: At each section the wagons were attached to a steel wire rope with the help of a specially fitted brake van called Serrabreque ( transl. : Hill Brake ). The steel cable
180-587: The expected load multiplied by the distance that load will be spaced from the central support (called the "tipping point") must be equal to the counterweight's mass times its distance from the tipping point in order to prevent over-balancing either side. This distance times mass is called the load moment . By extension, a counterbalance force balances or offsets another force, as when two objects of equal weight, power, or influence are acting in opposition to each other. Metronome : A wind-up mechanical metronome has an adjustable weight and spring mechanism that allows
200-502: The growth of the cities in the São Paulo region required more transport capacity. Therefore, the construction of a second incline system started in 1895. The new line ran parallel to the already existing one in about two miles (3.2 km) distance. It had five sections using continuous steel wire ropes which were moved by stationary 1,000 hp (750 kW) steam engines. Each section was about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) long and had
220-478: The help of SLM . They work with 3 kV DC supplied by overhead lines . Starting from 2012, the original Hitachi locomotives were replaced by seven new-built machines supplied by Stadler . 5 ft 3 in gauge railways Railways with a track gauge of 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) fall within the category of broad gauge railways . As of 2022 , they were extant in Australia , Brazil and on
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#1732790235731240-525: The project was feasible. He recommended engineer Daniel Makinson Fox to Barão de Mauá for the execution of the project. Fox was at that time only 26 years old but had already experience in the construction of railways through the mountains of northern Wales and the hillsides of the Pyrenees . He realised that the railway could only climb the slope in the Serra do Mar if a 5-mile (8 km) long incline system
260-693: The railroad was nationalised by the Brazilian government, and renamed the Estrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí , and on 1948-09-27, it was merged with most of the other Brazilian railways into the Rede Ferroviária Federal SA ( RFFSA ). In the 1970s (well after it had been renamed), the haulage system was replaced by an Abt rack system with a maximum gradient of 10.4 %, which was installed by Japanese firm Marubeni . The locomotives for this changeover were constructed by Hitachi with
280-403: The steep east slope of the 800-meter high Serra do Mar , which was considered to be nearly impracticable. Therefore, Barão de Mauá asked Britain to clarify the feasibility of a railway line for locomotive hauled trains within a budget limit of 200,000 £. The greatest technician for this subject was consulted: Scottish railroad engineer James Brunlees . Brunlees visited Brazil and considered that
300-518: The steep grade between Piaçaguera and Paranapiacaba: In 1859, a group of people led by the Barão de Mauá convinced the Brazilian government that it was important to construct a railroad connecting São Paulo to the seaport at Santos. The main purpose of the project was the transport of the coffee grown on the inland plateau to the Atlantic coast for export. The biggest difficulty was the task to overcome
320-518: The wagons to be lifted was too heavy compared to the wagons lowered at the same time, tank cars filled with water were used to counterbalance the system. The incline system was used in revenue service till 1982. In 1889, the first protests were made against the British monopoly over the route to Porto de Santos, which culminated in the construction of Mairinque–Santos in 1937, by the Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana [ pt ] . On 1946-09-13,
340-488: Was built. An adhesion railway would have used 26 miles (42 km) to overcome the slope and would have also overrun the 200,000 £ budget. Daniel Fox's proposal for the railway line from Santos to Jundiaí including the incline system was approved by Brunlees and the São Paulo Railway Company (SPR) was established to build the railway system and operate it for 90 years. Since the capital of the company
360-411: Was driven by a stationary steam winding engine at the top end of the section, where a 75 metres (246 ft) extension with a 1.3% grade was also fitted, so that the wagons could be led to the next section. The incline system was later called Serra Velha (transl.: Old Mountain ) to distinguish it from the later built second incline system called Serra Nova . The large volume of coffee shipments and
380-435: Was felt that the slopes were very unstable. The rock was excavated only with plug and feathers . Embankments of 3 to 20 m (9.8 to 65.6 ft) in height were constructed to protect the tracks from the frequent torrential rains in the area, which used about 230,000 cubic metres (300,000 cu yd) rocks. The line did not have any tunnels. In spite of all the difficulties, the construction finished 10 months ahead of
400-489: Was mainly British also the official company name was in English, not Portuguese. The railway company contracted with Robert Sharpe & Sons to acquire the land, execute the works and supply all rolling stock and plant. Construction on the 20 km (12 mi) long adhesion railway Santos – Piaçaguera began on 15 March 1860 and on the incline system in the year 1861. The road was constructed without explosives since it
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