Shuttlewagon Inc.

Background

Shuttlewagon, Inc., a Nordco company, is a leading designer and manufacturer mobile railcar movers for industries including aggregate, mining and refining. Like mobile equipment manufacturers who serve other industries, Shuttlewagon focuses on keeping its customers running safely, efficiently and reliably. It carves out a reputation by providing value through technology and user-friendly, productive and reliable products and services.

The company offers nine models of railcar movers with various engine configurations to suit industry needs. The new Navigator Series boasts the highest capacity mobile railcar mover in the world, the NVX8040. All models are designed for high performance, reliability and ease of operation.

Challenge

Faced with a phase out of the pumps currently in use, Shuttlewagon looked to Eaton distributor Engineered Sales, Inc. for a replacement that would provide equivalent performance without increasing costs.

With harsh conditions as an operational norm, mobile railcar movers require pumps that withstand temperature extremes as well as corrosive and dirty environments without losing power or efficiency.

Shuttlewagon also needed pumps that could be used in tandem, allowing for two or sometimes three pumps to run on one drive. By using multiple pumps together, more power could be delivered, even with limited inputs.

Solution

From its X20 open circuit piston pump portfolio, Eaton brought the 420 series pumps to the table to maximize power density and work within the tough environment. These durable pumps are powerful, affordable and offer comparable displacements to the product Shuttlewagon needed to replace. With outstanding performance, quality, and reliability, the X20, 420 series pump was the perfect fit for the Shuttlewagon application.

Results

The 420 series pumps were chosen over the competition and are installed and operational on all the main hydraulic systems in Shuttlewagon’s mobile railcar movers. In addition to the performance of the pumps, the compact size creates valued space in the system and the 20% fewer parts make the units easier to install and maintain. Because of the success the units have also been implemented in a triple pump configuration to power the broom operation on these same vehicles.

“We chose Eaton’s 420 series pumps to replace phased-out products without losing performance or raising costs, and they have met and exceeded expectations,” said Don Crist, engineer, Shuttlewagon, Inc. “In addition to the units already installed and powering the railcar movers, we are testing the pumps for powering the hydraulically driven air compressor.”

“I have been distributing hydraulics products since 1979, and I truly believe this is one of the best pumps that I have ever sold,” said Merrill Gordon, sales representative, Engineered Sales, Inc. “With several hundred pumps in service, there have been no reported failures or malfunctions.”