> Buff strength is a design term used in the certification of rail rolling stock. It refers to the required resistance to deformation or permanent damage due to loads applied at the car's ends, such as in a collision. Particular emphasis on buff strength is placed in the United States, with buff strength requirements there being higher than in Europe.
Really the worst-case scenario for a train crash is a collision on the side, because carriages are not built for it. This is the main reason why the Eschede train disaster [0] killed 101 people - the train "folded" because part of a broken wheel had flipped a railroad switch underneath the moving train. Then the folded carriages crashed sideways into a bridge.
Europe doesn't get quite the train length that you see in the US. Also automatic latching versus manual latching on train cars in the US. The US was first to bump latch cars smacking them into one another.
> Buff strength is a design term used in the certification of rail rolling stock. It refers to the required resistance to deformation or permanent damage due to loads applied at the car's ends, such as in a collision. Particular emphasis on buff strength is placed in the United States, with buff strength requirements there being higher than in Europe.
Never heard of it before either.