# Rollbock > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rollbock > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rollbock.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollbock > Source revision: 1326678520 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Railway trucks that can carry a standard gauge wagon on a narrow-gauge line Standard gauge goods wagon (freight car) on *Rollbock*, [750 mm](/source/750_mm_gauge_railways) (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge ***Rollbocks***,[1] sometimes called **transporter trailers**, are **narrow gauge railway trucks** or [bogies](/source/Bogie) that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be automatically loaded or rolled onto Rollbocks, so that the train can then continue through a [change of gauge](/source/Break-of-gauge). The system uses a pair of [narrow gauge](/source/Narrow_gauge) (750 or 1,000 mm) rails laid in a pit that is built in the middle of a [standard gauge](/source/Standard_gauge) track, which is elevated by about 30 cm. It allows the *Rollbock* bogies to sit underneath the standard gauge tracks and as the *Rollbock* train is pulled out of the *Rollbock* siding each bogie picks up one axle of a standard gauge wagon as it rises out of the *Rollbock* pit. Thus two *Rollböcke* are needed for a twin-axle wagon. They were a development of the [transporter wagon](/source/Transporter_wagon) (*Rollwagen*), designed to keep cost and weight down by avoiding the need for a complete wagon. ## History The original invention goes back to the *[Rollwagen](/source/Rollwagen)* of the [Schweizer Maschinenfabrik Winterthur](/source/Schweizer_Maschinenfabrik_Winterthur) ([Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works](/source/Swiss_Locomotive_and_Machine_Works), [Winterthur](/source/Winterthur)) or SLM patented in 1880. It is a simple system for light loads that found applications even when the superior *Langbein* system was invented in 1881 by the [Maschinenfabrik Esslingen](/source/Maschinenfabrik_Esslingen) ([Esslingen](/source/Esslingen_am_Neckar) Engineering Works) named after Paul Langbein being the director of the facilities in [Saronno](/source/Saronno), Italy.[2] A similar design appeared on the [Paw Paw Railroad](/source/Paw_Paw_Railroad) in Michigan in the late 1870's as an improvement from the [Ramsey car-transfer apparatus](/source/Ramsey_car-transfer_apparatus), and it's inventor C.F. Allen also obtained a patent on his transfer truck in 1880, although the truck would ultimately see limited use in the United States compared to its European counterparts.[3] The *Langbein* system uses pairs of claws which are folded up laterally by hand, to form a yoke around the axles of the standard gauge bogies. When the bogies are pulled out of the pit the standard gauge wheels can sink onto the *Rollbock* to find support. This method enables the *Rollbock* wagons to traverse curves as sharp as 15 m (49.2 ft) radius and, when fully loaded, they could be moved over narrow gauge tracks at a safe speed of 13 mph or 21 km/h.[4] Vevey system Rollbock in Broc-fabrique, Switzerland In 1974 a refinement of the concept was developed for the [Yverdon–Ste-Croix railway](/source/Yverdon%E2%80%93Ste-Croix_railway) in Switzerland. Unlike the Langbein system, the Vevey system requires no manual intervention to fix the standard gauge axles over the narrow gauge bogies. In this system, rather than the axle being supported, the wheel flanges of the wagons are cradled in brackets projecting from the side of the *Rollbock*. This lowers the centre of gravity and increases stability. Many modern *Rollbock* users have converted to the Vevey System. They are used with a speed of up to 40 km/h, either loaded or empty. The [Vevey Technologies company](/source/Vevey_Technologies_company) was bought by Bombardier in 1998.[5] ## Use They are used extensively in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) and in [Spain](/source/Spain),[6] in the latter country to transport [standard gauge](/source/Standard_gauge) vehicles on [broad gauge](/source/Iberian_gauge) lines. They are also in use on the [Harz Narrow Gauge Railways](/source/Harz_Narrow_Gauge_Railways) to transport limestone from the Unterberg quarry to [Nordhausen](/source/Nordhausen%2C_Thuringia), where they are transferred to the DB system at a pit between the station and Hesseröderstraße. Trains are diesel-hauled and typically consist of 12 22 m3 (780 cu ft) Fccpps ballast hopper wagons from [Voestalpine](/source/Voestalpine) Railpro; the *Rollböcke* are painted bright pink. Until the 1990s the *Rollbock* sidings at [Wernigerode](/source/Wernigerode) were used every day to transport goods to and from the various metallurgical factories attached to the [Harz Narrow Gauge Railways](/source/Harz_Narrow_Gauge_Railways) in the immediate area. Similarly it was used extensively on the Saxon narrow gauge system west of [Dresden](/source/Dresden) to transport [china clay](/source/Kaolinite) to [Meissen](/source/Meissen). Using rollbock technology requires that the narrower gauge network must be built to a [structure gauge](/source/Structure_gauge) large enough to accommodate the [loading gauge](/source/Loading_gauge) of standard gauge wagons, and that negates one of the cost advantages of narrower gauge construction. The system was tested for the [narrow gauge railways in Saxony](/source/Narrow_gauge_railways_in_Saxony) around 1900 but it found only rare application – tracks requiring higher transport capacity were [rebuilt](/source/Track_gauge_conversion) to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) [standard gauge](/source/Standard_gauge) instead. However it is also possible to use the wagons of the narrow gauge loading gauge type built with standard gauge axles which allows them to run at full speed on standard gauge tracks, piggybacking them on the short section in the mountains by *Rollbock* bogies. This application requires that the receiver of the freight is able to unload those wagons, so they have found only limited use. ## Gallery - Timber wagon on rollbocks - Rollbocks compared to [transporter wagons](/source/Transporter_wagon) - [Goods van](/source/Goods_van) on a *Rollbock* - *Rollbock* track 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge - Goods van raised above the pit ## See also - [Break of gauge](/source/Break_of_gauge) - [Dual gauge](/source/Dual_gauge) - [Bogie exchange](/source/Bogie_exchange) - [Transporter wagon](/source/Transporter_wagon) - [Narrow gauge railways in Saxony](/source/Narrow_gauge_railways_in_Saxony) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Jackson (2006), p. 290 - albeit Jackson uses the German plural here: *Rollböcke*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** C. S. Du Riche Preller, Rolling Cradles for Light Railways, [Engineering](https://books.google.com/books?id=bylKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA366), March 19, 1897; pages 366-369, includes scale drawings and photographs. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [States229072 United States 229072](https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=United), Chester F. Allen, "Transfer Truck for Cars", published June 22, 1880, issued June 22, 1880 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Jackson (2006), ibid. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Bombardier Transportation in der Schweiz - Geschichte"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130809221641/http://bombardier-transportation.ch/index.cfm?hmID=54&um1ID=73&um2ID=37&um3ID=30&contentID=53&action=hm54&content=um173&content2=um237&s=TmpStandard) (in German). Archived from [the original](http://www.bombardier-transportation.ch/index.cfm?hmID=54&um1ID=73&um2ID=37&um3ID=30&contentID=53&action=hm54&content=um173&content2=um237&s=TmpStandard) on 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2012-12-16. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Las Matas, base Talgo 21.05.2008"](https://www.flickr.com/photos/47704640@N02/27668331286). 21 May 2008. ## Bibliography - Jackson, Alan A. (2006). *The Railway Dictionary*, 4th ed., Sutton Publishing, Stroud. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-4218-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-4218-5). ## External links - [Video of *Rollböcke* in use between Unterberg and Nordhausen (detail of unloading at minute 20)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CBdZdcGpmI) v t e Rail transport freight rolling stock Enclosed equipment Autorack Boxcar (US) British railway milk tank wagon Cattle wagon Coil car Intermodal car Covered goods wagon (EU) Covered hopper Livestock wagon Milk car Refrigerator car (US) Refrigerated van (EU) RoadRailer Stock car Tank car Wagon with opening roof Open equipment Bogie bolster wagon Chauldron wagon Class U special wagon Conflat Double-stack car Flatcar (US) Flat wagon (EU) Gondola (US) Hopper car Kangourou wagon Lowmac Minecart Mineral wagon Modalohr Open wagon (EU) Pocket wagon Quarry tub Rollbock Rotary car dumper Schnabel car Slate wagon Specialized flatcars Transporter wagon Non-revenue equipment Ballast cleaner Ballast regulator Brake van Caboose Clearance car Crane Crew car Excavator Flanger Rail adhesion car Revenue collection car Power shovel Rotary snowplow Scale test car Stoneblower Tamping machine Track geometry car Work trains Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Rollbock](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Rollbock). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rollbock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollbock) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollbock?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.