Railway truck suspension design

A method for tuning a spring suspension of a railway truck supported by two laterally spaced sideframes and a bolster extending laterally between and coupled to the sideframes, wherein the sideframes each have an opening therein, the method comprising:

• determining a load of the railway truck;
• providing a suspension system for the railway truck comprising:
• a spring group on a bottom surface of the opening of the each of the sideframes, wherein the spring group comprises a plurality of outer springs, and a plurality of inner springs that are each sized to fit inside any of the plurality of outer springs, wherein the plurality of outer springs includes no more than 9 springs and the plurality of inner springs includes no more than 6 springs, and wherein a configuration of the spring group is such that a reserve capacity of the spring group is less than 1.50 based on the determined load of the railway truck;
• and
• removing at least one spring of the plurality of outer springs and the plurality of inner springs to further reduce the reserve capacity of the spring group.

A suspension design for a railway truck comprising:

• a first sideframe and a second sideframe, wherein the first sideframe and the second sideframe are laterally spaced with respect to each other;
• an opening in each of the first sideframe and the second sideframe;
• a bolster having two end sections and extending laterally between the first sideframe and the second sideframe, wherein one of the two end sections extends through the opening in the first sideframe and another of the two end sections extends through the opening in the second sideframe;
• and
• a first suspension system of the first sideframe and a second suspension system of the second sideframe, wherein the first suspension system and the second suspension system each comprise:
• a spring group on a bottom surface of the opening, wherein the spring group supports the bolster, the spring group comprises a plurality of outer springs, and a plurality of inner springs that are each sized to fit inside any of the plurality of outer springs, wherein the plurality of outer springs includes no more than 9 springs and the plurality of inner springs includes no more than 6 springs, and wherein the spring group is a tuned spring group having a reserve capacity less than 1.47;
• wherein when the railway truck has a weight capacity of 286,000 pounds, a maximum vertical acceleration of the railway truck at about 55 miles per hour is near 1.1 g.