Buffer stops are supposed to prevent trains from rolling off the end of a track. There isn't much I can say about them really, except don't ram them with the 2.45 Bristol Express Train! Buffer stops are not designed to stop a train - OK?
However! If you are really bored ....and I mean REALLY bored, then there is a thrilling article for you to read at Wiley Interscience
I have stolen an extract from it to entice you:
........ application of multibody dynamics to the determination of global physical behavior patterns that mimic traditional empirical laws. The main idea is to sift out such patterns from virtual experiments carried out with a simulation package. The concrete investigation in this setting is the dynamics of trains colliding onto buffer stops. Using a rigid-body model with nonlinear couplers featuring hysteresis, it is shown that, for typical train constellations, the highest load at the buffer stops is almost independent of the number of coaches, and that the value and the location of the maximum force within the train does not increase from a particular train length on. These results are compared with traditional formulas for dimensioning of buffer stops used in rail-vehicle industry.
The author could fill an evening or two with riveting conversation, I am quite sure!
Wikipedia has the usual assortment of fact and fiction, but the following picture shows a Frenchman using buffer stops to stop his train:
There are some other interesting shots of buffers designed to stop trains travelling at speeds of 15km/h, but I wouldn't want to be holding a cup of British Rail coffee during impact!
Hornby Dublo designed some really nice buffers though, but if you try the 15km/h test, you will most likely find the buffer remains attached to the rail and the baseboard breaks away from the wall.
This set includes 8 buffer stops, 6 of which are boxed!
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Get Paid To Submit Photos To The Internet! No Experience Necessary
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The green box cost 1/4 for the pair of stops, but the blue box cost 2/2 (that's 2 shillings and tuppence for the newcomers....read earlier post about money). That's inflation for you. It must have been Harold Wilson at the helm!
Corrrrr! - Juicy boxes or what?
They have all been used and if you click on the images you can see a detailed view of the minute scars they bear. Nothing is missing from them though and they are all absolutely guaranteed to stop a train with ten carriages traveling at 15km/h within 3 feet.
