Shocks…putting a damper on them

We are all facing unexpected shocks in these uncertain times. Oil shocks. Climate shocks. War and political shocks of all kinds. Even words from the world’s most powerful people shock. These are things we can’t control. We simply absorb them as they come, usually from the media, the social or traditional varieties. Some are just digital noise, but we still absorb them, consciously or not. However, and thankfully in our day-to-day lives, there are some that are absorbed for us.

These are shock absorbers that you know intuitively are there, but you have forgotten about because you don’t see them, read or hear about them.

Take trains. When you start travelling on a French TGV some 80 to 100 shock absorbers spring to action that are designed to make you forget they’re there. They are not even called shock absorbers because there are VERY few bumps on the entire length of the average steel rail. So, no shocks — but lots of vibrations. Understandable for a 450-ton train hurtling along at 300 km/hour loaded with fidgeting passengers. The vibrations are smoothed out, or damped, as you travel. That’s why these shock absorbers are called dampers.

These dampers need to be robust and able to function safely and reliably for many hundreds of thousands of cycles in all weather conditions. Even the ones making sure the pantograph always connects the train to the overhead power line. They (like the mailman, but a bit speedier) have to deliver in sleet and snow. Or in dessert areas where intense heat and friction (and timetables) must be respected.

One company is very good at producing dampers for trains operating in exceptional conditions. Perhaps because the country where they’re made is used to these conditions. Long cold winters and intense hot saunas. No extra points for guessing where this is. SV-Shocks has been on the rails for over 50 years and in as many countries. From steamy India to parched Arabia, from the Yankee States to frosty Canada, your shockless rail journey is probably being smoothed by SV. If you want to know more, call us — or contact directly the industry leader.