Strato Long-Life Yokes – The Answer to Standard Yoke Stress Issues
Much has changed since the standard yoke was designed. The weight limit on freight cars has increased to 286,000 pounds and trains can be over a mile long. Standard yokes were not designed for these conditions. The increased stress on standard yokes lead to cracks, stretching and breaking, all of which contribute to greater cost and downtime.
THE SOLUTION: Strato’s Long-Life E and F Yokes
- New Patented Butt End
- Reinforced Ribs
- Wider Strap for our E-Yoke
- Improved Life
Our E-yoke and F-yoke have many changes to improve strength and address the critical weaknesses in current yokes.
The two most visible changes are a patented new butt with reinforced ribs and a wider transition from butt to strap for Strato’s E-Yoke. We have also redesigned the relief fillets dramatically, reducing stress on the locations that most frequently crack.
Using Association of American Railroads (AAR) criteria for fatigue stress calculations for new cars, we have increased the theoretical useful life one-hundred times.
Our yokes are cast with an investment casting / lost wax process which eliminates the porosity problems of traditional sand castings and provides a better finish with no parting line.
Better Material
Strato engineering has improved the metallurgy and heat treating process for our steel. This gives us a 20% increase in mechanical properties over M-201 minimums. It also adds to the overall strength and wear properties.
