IN 2009 THE AAR ADOPTED SPECIFICATION M-216, WHICH OUTLINES A FATIGUE LOADING TEST TO QUALIFY THE MANUFACTURING OF THE DIFFERENT KNUCKLES SUPPLIED FOR NORTH AMERICAN RAILROAD INTERCHANGE FREIGHT SERVICE.

AAR specification M-216 requires that after the fatigue load testing of four knuckles of the same part number, the average cycle count is greater than 600,000 and that no single knuckle has a cycle count less than 400,000.

The M&T E50BEV knuckle was designed and manufactured to meet the standards outlined in AAR specification M-216, while also passing the standard knuckle AAR specifications M-201 and M-211.  M&T initially passed this test in 2017 and is required to requalify to this standard every 3 years.

In December 2020, McConway and Torley ran four E50BEV knuckles through the fatigue test loading as describe in American Association of Railroads (AAR) specification M-216. The four knuckles passed with flying colors, meeting the 600,000 cycle threshold as required by the M-216 standard without breaking or even a small crack.

This was a true team effort by the Pittsburgh plant personnel from manufacturing, operations support, engineering and others. The team followed extensive product development protocols to ensure that our production processes deliver knuckles that not only exceed M-216 requirements but are the best in the industry.

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McConway and Torley passes the AAR M-216 Fatigue Test →