CEN 307

Railway Engineering and

Airport Planning
Wheels, Axles, Train Resistances

Dr. Indrajit Ghosh

Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
 Units of a train
 Train consists of two units
 Locomotives
 Trailing unit
 Traction
 Source through which locomotive derives power
 Sources
 Steam
 Diesel
 Electric supply (AC/DC)
 Comparison of Tractions
 Source influences
 Design
 Speed
 Others
 Speed/Acceleration rate
 Cost
 Reversing
 Flexibility in haulage
 Life
 Working hour/kilometrage
Wheels and Axles

 LOCOMOTIVE TYPES
 Steam
 Diesel
 Electric
Whyte Notation

 Classification of steam locomotives

 By wheel arrangement
Whyte Notation
 Classification of steam locomotives
 # of leading wheels
 Non-powered
 # of driving wheels
 Usually coupled
 # of trailing wheels
 Non-powered
 Groups of numbers being separated by
dashes
 Indian practice (following the UK) was to count
wheels and not just the axles
Wheels and Axles
 E.g. 2-4-2
 Front wheels (2 Nos. i.e. 1 axle)
 Central wheels (4 Nos. i.e. 2 axles) – Driving or powered
wheels
 Trailing wheels (2 Nos. i.e. 1 axle)
 Suffix is also used to indicate the type of tank
provided
 ‘T’ indicates a tank engine
 ‘ST’ for saddle tank
 ‘WT’ for well tank
 ‘PT’ for pannier tank, etc.
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Wheels and Axles
 Wheel arrangement of compound loco
 E.g. 2-8-2 + 2-8-4
 A loco may have two or three sets of coupled
powered driving axles
 E.g. 2-8-8-2 indicating two sets of 4 driving
axles each
 2-6-6-6-2 for three sets of 3 driving axles each
 European arrangement
 European practice is to count axles than
wheels
 E.g. 121 (or 1-2-1)
Wheels and Axles
 Wheel arrangement of Diesel and Electric
loco
 Powered axles are described using letters and
the unpowered axles (if any) are indicated by
digits
 ‘A’: Single powered axle on a bogie
 ‘Bo’: A set of two independently powered axles on a
bogie
 ‘Co’: A set of three independently powered axles on
a bogie
 ‘Do’ or ‘D’: A set of 4 powered axles
Wheels and Axles

 Bogie
 Other names
 A railroad truck/wheel truck/truck
 A structure underneath a railway vehicle
(wagon, coach or locomotive) to which axles
(and, hence, wheels) are attached through
bearings
Wheels and Axles

 Wheel arrangement of Diesel and Electric

loco - Notations
 ‘Bo-Bo’: A loco with two bogies, each having
two separately powered axles
 ‘Bo-Bo-Bo’: A loco with three such bogies
 ‘Co-Co’: A loco with two bogies each with
three powered axles
 ‘B-B’: Indicate that the axles are not
independent, but coupled mechanically – the
same motor drives all axles in a bogie
Wheels and Axles
Wheels and Axles
Wheels and Axles
Wheels and Axles

 Multiple unit locos are indicated by

parenthesizing the unit specifications and
prefixing a number corresponding to the
number of units
 E.g., 2(1-D-1) for a 2-unit loco, each unit
having one unpowered leading axle, 4 coupled
powered axles, and one unpowered trailing
axle.
Other Classification of Locomotives

 Based on
 Track gauge
 Source of power
 Work they are suited for
 Their power/model number
 Class name includes this information about
locomotive
 4-5 letters

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Other Classification of Locomotives

 The first letter (gauge)

 W-Broad gauge
 Y-Metre gauge
 Z-Narrow gauge (2.5 ft)
 N-Narrow gauge (2 ft)
 The second letter (motive power)
 D-Diesel
 C-DC electric
 A-AC electric
 CA-Both DC and AC
 B-Battery (rare)
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Classification of Locomotives

 The third letter (job type/purpose)

 G-Goods
 P-Passenger
 M-Mixed: both goods and passenger
 S-Shunters
 U-Electric Multiple Units
 …

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Classification of Locomotives

 The fourth/fifth letter (Power/Model

number)
 WDM 3A
 3A means the locomotive's power is 3,100 hp
 3 stands for 3000 hp
 A stands for 100 hp more
 WAP 5
 Chronologically the fifth electric locomotive model
used by the railways for passenger service

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Classification of Locomotives

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Classification of Locomotives

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Classification of Locomotives

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Classification of Locomotives

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Classification of Locomotives

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Tractive Resistances

 Various forces offer resistance to movement

of train on track
 Impede speed of train
 Tractive forces employed by locomotives
should be adequate enough to overcome
these resistances
 Haul train at a specified speed
Resistances to Traction
 Resistance due to friction
 Resistance due to wave action, track
irregularities, and speed
 Resistance due to wind/atmospheric resistance
 Resistance due to track profile
 Due to gradient
 Due to curve
 Resistance due to starting and acceleration
 Due to starting
 Due to acceleration
Resistance due to friction
 Resistance offered by friction between
 Internal parts of locomotives and
wagons/compartments
 Metal surfaces of rail and wheel
 When moving at a constant speed
 Can be broken into different categories
A. Journal friction
 Friction of locomotive, wagons and compartment itself
 Depends on
 Bearing type/Lubricant used/Temp and condition of
bearing
 For Roller bearing, it varies between 0.5-1.0 kg per ton
Resistance due to friction

B. Internal resistances
 Related to movement of various parts of
locomotives and wagons
C. Rolling resistances
 Due to rail-wheel interaction
 On account of movement of steel wheels on steel
rails

 Total frictional resistance

R1 = 0.0016W
‘W’ is weight of train in tonnes
 Resistance due to wave action, track
irregularities, and speed
 Caused due to
 Wave action in rail
 When trains move with speed
 Track irregularities
 Resistance due to improper maintenance of tracks
 Longitudinal unevenness and differences in cross
levels
 Resistance due to wave action, track
irregularities, and speed
 Total train resistances due to wave action,
track irregularities, and speed
R2 = 0.00008 WV
where
‘W’ is weight of train in tonnes
‘V’ is speed of train in kmph
 Resistance due to Wind
 Wind resistance depends on
 Exposed area of vehicle
 Velocity and direction of wind
 Speed of train

R3 = 0.000017 AVwind2
R3 = 0.0000006 WVtrain2

A = Exposed area of train in m2

V = Speed in kmph
 Resistance due to track profile

 Resistance due to Gradient (Rg)

 When a train has to move along a rising
gradient
 W = Weight of train acting at CG
 N = Normal pressure on rails

 Computed as - G

R = (W x g) N
W
Θ Rg
Resistance due to track profile
 Resistance due to curves
 Factors controlling are:
 Rigidity of wheel base
 Wear on inner side of outer rail due to flange of
leading axle and inner side of inner rail due to
flange of trailing axle, cause mount on rail
 In other two cases it tends to derail
Train Resistances

Which Axle?
 Train Resistances
 Resistance due to curves
 Factors controlling are:
 Slippage of wheel
 Longitudinal
 Transverse
 Super-elevation
 Insufficient super-elevation
 Extra super-elevation
 Poor maintenance of track and components
 Improper gauge, poor alignment, worn out rails, high
or low joint, etc.
 Train Resistances
 Resistance due to curves (Rc)
 Recommended values:
 Broad gauge Rc = 0.0004WD
 Meter gauge Rc = 0.0003WD
 Narrow gauge Rc = 0.0002WD
 Resistances due to Tractive Effort
 Get induced due to
 Starting operation
 Acceleration given to a locomotive
 Resistances due to Tractive Effort
 Resistance due to starting (RS)
 Varies according to type of object
 For locomotives RS1 = 0.15 W1
 For vehicles RS2 = 0.005 W2
where
W1 is weight of locomotive in tonnes
W2 is weight of a vehicle in tonnes
 Resistances due to Tractive Effort
 Resistance due to acceleration
 Caused due to change in speed with respect
to time
 RA = 0.028 W (V2 – V1) / t
Where
V1 = Velocity at beginning (kmph)
V2 = Velocity at end (kmph)
t = Time taken (seconds) for achieving speed from V2 to
V1
W = total weight of train (tonnes)