An independent wheel bogie for a railway vehicle comprising a central support structure, four independent arms carrying respective axles of the wheels and articulated to the support structure by resilient bushes, a suspension device for suspending a vehicle body, a center casting fixed to the support structure with the possibility of relative rotation about its vertical axis and adapted to be rigidly fixed to the vehicle body, and a steering control device for the axles comprising a pair of screw and nut linear actuators disposed longitudinally along the sides of the support structure and connected at their ends to the articulated arms on the corresponding side of the structure, and lever mechanisms for actuation of the linear actuators, activatable by a relative rotation between the bogie and the vehicle body.
The invention concerns an inter-axle shear stiffening apparatus for a self-steering rail bogie and a self-steering rail bogie equipped with such apparatus. The apparatus has axle structures including axles (16, 16.1) which are journalled in axle box bearings (20, 20.1). Radial arms (30, 30.1) are connected rigidly to respective axle structures of the bogie an extend towards one another in a fore and aft direction. A lateral force transmitting device (60) acts between the arms to transmit lateral forces between them while accommodating relative lateral movement between them. The design of this device is such that, irrespective of the extent of relative movement between the arms, the device can only transmit between them lateral forces of limited, predetermined magnitude. This value is chosen such that the bogie is provided with sufficient inter-axle shear stiffness to enhance its hunting stability without excessive force couples being applied to the axle box bearings.
A railroad car wheelset has an axle with one wheel rigidly attached as in conventional railroad practice. This wheel is permitted to rotate by journal bearings either on the extreme ends of the axle or inboard of each wheel location. At the location of the other wheel, the axle is provided with a smooth surface and a self-lubricating bearing is provided as a part of a hub on the axle. The axle shaft is provided with a boss for preventing the independently rotating wheel from migrating laterally out of proper alignment. A self-lubricating thrust bearing is located between this boss and the side of the wheel to eliminate any possible galling between the two moving surfaces. A removable retainer plate is located on the other side of the independently rotating wheel to prevent the wheel from moving laterally in that direction. Adjacent the removable retainer plate is an electrical contactor which can conduct an electrical current from the wheel to the axle shaft, to permit the wheelset to properly operate railway signals or other systems dependent on electrical continuity. In lieu of the self-lubricated bearings, the bearings can be comprised of a lubricant coating permanently bonded to the bearing surface of the hub adjacent the independently rotatable wheel.
A railroad car wheelset has an axle with one wheel rigidly attached as in conventional railroad practice. This wheel is permitted to rotate by journal bearings. At the other wheel, the axle is provided with a smooth surface and a self-lubricating bearing is provided as a part of a hub on the axle. The axle is provided with a boss for preventing the independently rotating wheel from migrating laterally out of proper alignment. A bearing is located between this boss and the side of the wheel. A removable retainer plate is located on the other side of the independently rotating wheel. Adjacent the removable retainer plate is an electrical contactor. The bearings can be comprised of a lubricant coating permanently bonded to the bearing surface of the hub. Latch elements are pivotally secured to the other wheel and engagable with locking elements operatively secured to the axle. A second wheelset has an independently rotatable wheel locked to the axle automatically in one direction.
A steerable truck apparatus for railroad cars for providing for the controlled and uniform yawing of the axles of the truck. The truck apparatus provides for a yawing response which is linear substantially throughout the range of movement of the axles. The truck is further configured with pivotably supported pedestals for equalized load distribution. An improved axle bearing construction accommodates pivoting of at least one of the axle ends. A damping apparatus provides stiffness in the steering response toward reducing hunting of the wheels during straight line travel.
A steerable truck apparatus for railroad cars for providing for the controlled and uniform yawing of the axles of the truck. The truck apparatus provides for a yawing response which is linear substantially throughout the range of movement of the axles. The truck is further configured with pivotably supported pedestals for equalized load distribution. An improved axle bearing construction accommodates pivoting of the axle ends. A damping apparatus provides stiffness in the steering response toward reducing hunting of the wheels during straight line travel.
