Simplified Modelling and Static Validation of Railway Cantilever Structures

Railway cantilevers support the over-head line (OHL) and are essential to maintain the geometry of contact and messenger wires. Despite their mechanical importance, the cantilever structure is routinely excluded from pantograph-catenary dynamic simulations. In other cases, the support region may be represented through simple boundary conditions, lumped parameters or as a spring-damper. Integrating a detailed cantilever in those pantograph-catenary simulations is impractical and cost sensitive for repeated dynamic analysis. This paper evaluates whether simplified FEA models can represent the global quasi-static behaviour of Bonomi and single-insulator (SIC) cantilevers in both push-off and pull-off configurations. They were modelled in Abaqus using beam elements and validated with quasi-static experimental testing data under operational static loading derived from BS EN 50119, NR/L2/CIV/073 and NR/L2/CIV/072. Stiffness values were extracted from force-displacement data using linear regression, ranging from 49.90 N/mm to 900.9 N/mm across configurations. The SIC horizontal response was represented most successfully. The SIC vertical response and the Bonomi cases showed where connection flexibility and single-axis displacement measurement limit the simplified model. The results show that a single generic cantilever stiffness is inadequate. It also suggests a need for configuration-specific solutions to represent accurate cantilever behaviour through simplified FEA models.