Back to results
US 4,231,296 AGranted
Three-truck high adhesion locomotive
AssigneeGeneral Steel Industries, Inc.
InventorKeith L. Jackson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeGeneral Steel Industries, Inc.
InventorKeith L. Jackson
Estimating the term…
A railway locomotive has three power trucks with the end trucks each having a bolster resiliently supported on the truck frame and connected to the underframe by cooperating vertical axis pivot-forming means, the middle truck bolster being connected to the underframe by a Watts linkage arranged to directly transmit longitudinal forces from the bolster to the underframe while accommodating substantial excursions of the bolster and middle truck frame transversely of the locomotive underframe for operation of the locomotive on the curved track. To prevent substantial axle-to-axle load transference on each of the trucks, each of the bolsters supports the locomotive underframe by opposed sliding surfaces spaced apart a substantial distance lengthwise of the locomotive and each of the bolsters is connected to the respective truck frame by traction transmitting means constructed to transmit the longitudinal traction forces from the truck frame to the bolster and thence to the underframe effectively substantially at rail level.
In a railway locomotive, at least three load bearing trucks spaced apart lengthwise of the locomotive and comprising a pair of end trucks and at least one intermediate truck, each of said trucks having a pair of longitudinally spaced-apart wheeled axles, a truck frame resiliently supported on said axles, each of said end trucks having a bolster resiliently supported on its frame for vertical and transverse cushioning movements with respect thereto, said intermediate truck having bolster structure resiliently supported on its frame for vertical and transverse movements with respect thereto, each of said end trucks having a traction transmitting connection between its frame and its bolster, said intermediate truck having a traction transmitting connection between its frame and its bolster structure, all of said traction transmitting connections being effective substantially at rail level, elongated underframe structure, means supporting said underframe structure on said bolsters and said bolster structure and preventing longitudinal tiling of said bolsters and bolster structure relative to said underframe structure, said underframe structure and the bolsters of each of said end trucks having fixed cooperating vertical axis swivel bearings accommodating solely relative swiveling movements of said end truck bolsters with respect to said underframe structure, and transversely yieldable longitudinally unyielding means connecting said intermediate truck bolster structure and said underframe structure for transmitting longitudinal forces from said intermediate truck bolster structure to said underframe structure and accommodating substantial lateral excursions of said intermediate truck bolster structure with respect to said underframe structure as may be required for operation of the locomotive on curved track, said swivel bearings and said connecting means cooperating with said underframe structure supporting means and said traction transmitting connections to maintain the effective level of traction transmission from said trucks to said underframe structure substantially at rail level whereby to minimize axle-to-axle load transference in each of said trucks while minimizing development of lateral components of traction forces in any of said traction transmitting connections.
An intermediate truck for a railway locomotive having at least three swivel trucks comprising a pair of longitudinally spaced-apart wheeled axles and underframe structure supported thereon, a truck frame resiliently supported on said axles, bolster structure resiliently supported on said truck frame for vertical and transverse cushioning movements with respect thereto, traction transmitting connections between said truck frame and said bolster structure effective substantially at rail level, means for supporting said underframe structure on said bolster structure and preventing longitudinal tilting of said bolster structure relative to said underframe structure, and laterally yieldable but longitudinally unyielding means connecting said bolster structure and the underframe structure for transmitting longitudinal forces from said truck to the underframe structure and accommodating substantial lateral excursions of said bolster structure with respect to the underframe structure as may be required for operation of the locomotive on curved track, said connecting means cooperating with said underframe, structure supporting means and said traction transmitting connections to maintain the effective level of traction transmission from the truck to said underframe structure substantially at rail level whereby to minimize axle-to-axle load transference in the truck while minimizing development of lateral components of traction forces in said traction transmitting connections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.