CEE 408-14 Railcars 3 - Trucks-2020

Introduction to Railcars - 3
Railroad Trucks, Wheels and Axles
CEE 408
Fall 2020
© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved CEE 408 - Railcars - 3: Trucks
Nomenclature Three-piece truck
• The Three Piece Truck actually has many more pieces than that
• The name refers to the three major castings, bolster and two side frames
• Additional pieces include the: wheels & axles, bearings & adapters,
spring groups, center plate, friction wedges, side bearings
© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved 2 CEE 408 - Railcars - 3: Trucks
Exploded view of 3-piece truck
Roller
bearing
Solid or plain
bearing
• For illustration purposes, this diagram shows both roller and solid bearings
• Solid bearings are obsolete, outlawed for unrestricted interchange service
and rarely seen anymore
Wheel & Axle
Cross-sectional view of wheel, axle and journal
• Wheels are press fit onto

raised seat on axle
Railroad Wheelset
• Comprised of wheels and axle
• Proper wheel gauge is critical
– AAR interchange
standards specify
tolerances
Axle & Journal Size and Car Capacity
AAR Maximum Gross Nominal Car

Journal or Journal Rail Load (lbs.) Maximum Load Capacity
Axle Class Size* for a 4-Axle Car per Axle (lbs.) (4-axle car)
A 3 3/4 x 7 66,000 15,000 20 ton
B 4 1/4 x 8 103,000 24,000 30 ton
C 5 x 9 142,000 33,500 40 ton
D 5 1/2 x 9 177,000 42,000 50 ton
E 6 x 11 220,000 52,500 70 ton
F† 6 1/2 x 263,000 63,000 100 ton
12
G 7 x 12 315,000 76,000 125 ton
* Journal size dimensions refer to diameter x length
† Cars carrying 110 tons with a GRL of 286,000 lbs use the same journal size as 100 ton
(Entries in gray indicate obsolete sizes rarely used anymore)
August Wöhler, railroad axles and the

science of metal fatigue
• Broken axles, and the consequent

accidents became a problem in the
early days of railroads
• August Wöhler, a German engineer
conducted a study that led to the
development of the science of fatigue
and fracture
Railroad axles are • Imperfections in axles are stress
subjected to very high concentration points
loading/unloading cycles • These grow under the rapid cyclic

loading (note chevrons indicating
crack growth)
• These fatigue cracks can cause
catastrophic failure of axles
Initiation point
Discolored area from

oxidation due to exposure
to atmosphere and water
Note: this diagram shows loads applied to

Final fracture surface
the axle inside the wheels, as would occur
with inside suspension trucks. On a typical
three-piece truck, the loads would be
applied on the journals, outside the wheels.
Increase in axle failure-

caused derailments in
the early-2000s
• In the early 2000s there
was an unexpected
increase in broken-axle-
caused derailments in
the U.S.
• Investigation revealed that
this was largely due to
improper handling of axles
• This caused scratches and
gouges that became stress
risers when the axles were
placed in service
• 150-year old lesson was
relearned
Q: What do a dime and a railcar
wheel have in common?
A: The size of the contact area between

the wheel and the rail is roughly the
size of a dime (ca. 0.44 square inches)
• Steel is elastic and the wheel and rail deform slightly under the load
• This contact area is referred to as the contact patch
• Maximum static load is about 35,000 lbs, but dynamic loads can be twice this
• Calculate the maximum pressure in pounds per square inch (psi)
Three primary purposes

of a railcar wheel
• Support weight and transfer load to rail
Wheels must be very hard to withstand
the high contact stresses (160,000 psi)
• Guidance along track

Tapered wheel tread and wheel flange
guide vehicle along and through curves
and complex track configurations
• Accept and dissipate braking energy

Wheel tread can reach 1,000 F, while
wheel center may be much cooler leading
to large stresses between these areas of
the wheel (see pg 793 97 CLC)
Wrought steel wheel manufacturing process
• Wheels are forged from steel blooms analogous to the process of rolling rail
Railroad wheel production
• Watch YouTube video of railroad wheel, axle and wheelset production at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfmnsBDBvrE
New railroad wheels and wheelsets
Wheel size and GRL
Maximum Gross Rail Load (lbs.)

for a 4-Axle Car Wheel size diameter
66,000 --
103,000 --
142,000 33
177,000 33
220,000 33 *
263,000 36
315,000 38
* 28 wheels are used for certain low-height piggyback and auto rack cars for clearance reasons
• As with axles, wheel diameter requirements are also tied

to a cars maximum gross rail load (GRL)
Straight versus curved plate wheels
• Straight plate wheels were the

standard design for many years
• Research showed that curved
plate wheels had better
resistance to stress
• Better able to withstand higher
loads as railcars got heavier over
the past 20 years
• AAR research found they were 7
times less likely to experience
thermal failure
• Curved plate wheels made the
AAR standard
Wheel wear types
• Some wheels are designed for a

single use
• After they are worn out they
are scrapped (steel recycled)
• Referred to as one wear or
single wear wheels
• Others have enough tread thickness
that they can be turned on a lathe
and their proper profile restored
• Referred to as two wear or
multiple wear
• Single wear wheels are less
expensive and lighter in weight but
do not last as long
Railroad Wheel Wear
• By design, wheels are made of
softer steel than rail
• Easier and less expensive to
replace wheels than rail
• As wheels wear they loose their
proper contour (rail industry refers
to these as hollow worn wheels)
• AAR research has found that
these cause a variety of problems
– Increase fuel use
– Increase lateral forces
(due to hunting)
– Increase rail wear
– Increase damage to
special work
– Probably increase rail damage
Hollow-worn wheel on rail

• Hollow-worn wheels substantially alter the normal load path from
the wheel into the rail
• This alters the L /V ratio (lateral to vertical load) which in turn
destabilizes the rail
• Can cause rail-rollover
type of derailment
Load
applied
here
Frequency of
hollow-worn
wheels
Proper wheel profile compared to worn

wheel in switch points
• This increases switch point wear and can cause derailments

• The false flange causes other damage to turnout components
such as frogs and points
Examples of wheel defects
Tread Buildup Spalling Fatigue Cracking

Out-of-round Wheels
• Flat spots on wheels cause excessive dynamic loads that
damage wheel and track
• Formerly measured manually car inspectors and now detected
using Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD)
• AAR has instituted rules for when these are detected by WILDs
– Window of Opportunity 65 to <80 kip
– Opportunistic repair 80 to <90 kip
– Condemnable 90 to <139 kip
– Final alert ≥ 140 kip
WILD data wheel repair categories under ATSI
• Window of Opportunity (65 kips or greater) Car owner, lessor (or designated
agent) receives a Maintenance Advisory from the Equipment Health Management
System (EHMS). This notification opens the "Window of Opportunity." Theoretically
this allows enough time to schedule the car into a shop to change the wheel before
its condition deteriorates much further.
• Opportunistic Repair (80 kips to less than 90 kips) Maintenance Advisory from
EHMS. Wheels may be changed by the railroad if it is on a designated repair track
for any other reason.
• AAR Condemnable (90 kips or greater) The wheel is now Condemnable and
the railroad may send the car to a repair track and change the wheel at any time.
• Final Alert Level (140 kips or greater) At this point the railroad must change the
wheel. The charge for changing a wheel after final notification is not constrained by
regular AAR pricing. Each railroad is free to set its own charge.
Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD)
• Series of strain gauges attached to the rail measure vertical loads as each wheel
passes over
• Peak dynamic loads are recorded and compared to static load to identify wheels
Wheel Impact Load Data for One Car
Rate of high impact loads has declined as

WILD installations have increased
Wheel Impact Statistics
WILD Hits/1000 Wheels*
1000 Wheels (R)
5.0 70,000
4.5 63,000
Wheels tested (1,000s)
4.0 56,000
WILD hits per 1,000
wheels measured
3.5 49,000
3.0 42,000
2.5 90-140 kip loads per 35,000
2.0 1,000 wheels tested 28,000
1.5 21,000
1.0 14,000
0.5 7,000
0.0 0
O 05
O 06
O 07
O 08
O 09
O 10
O 11
O 12
O 13
O 14
15
Jac -04
Ap 05
Ju 5
Jac -05
Ap 06
Ju 6
Jac -06
Ap 07
Ju 7
Jac -07
Ap 08
Ju 8
Jac -08
Ap 09
Ju 9
Jac -09
Ap 10
Ju 0
Jac -10
Ap 11
Ju 1
Jac -11
Ap 12
Ju 2
Jac -12
Ap 13
Ju 3
Ja 13
Ap 14
Ju 4
Ja 14
n- 4
n- 5
n- 6
n- 7
n- 8
n- 9
n- 0
n- 1
n- 2
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

D ct-0
r-0
D t-0
r-0
D ct-0
r-0
D ct-0
r-0
D -0
r-0
D ct-0
r-1
D t-1
r-1
D ct-1
r-1
D ct-1
r-1
r-1
l-
l-
l-
l-
l-
l-
l-
l-
l-
l-
n'
-
n-
-
t
ct
ct
c
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e
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O
AAR Data
Year
Defect Detectors on North American Rail Network
14
25
N
180
20
28
14
0 1,000 2,000 3,000

03/14/2015
Impact on Derailment Rates of Advanced

Technology Safety Initiative (ATSI)
Before ATSI After ATSI

per Million Train Miles
Main-Track Accidents
AAR & FRA Data

Year
• Implementation of WILDs and other technologies
• Combined with integrated communication and action regarding detected
defects I correlated with reduced train accident rates over the past two decades
When wheels go really bad
Types of journal bearings - solid and roller

• End of the axle is called the journal
• Journal bearing at interface
between truck sideframe
and rotating journal
• Plain or solid bearings used until
1960s when roller bearings
economical enough for freight car use
introduced Obsolete in interchange
• Roller bearings have almost entirely

replaced solid bearings, which are no
longer permitted in unrestricted
interchange
• Roller bearings require an adaptor
between the truck side frame and the
roller bearing assembly
Close-up view of bearing adaptor
Plain bearings
• Plain bearings work well when
properly maintained
• But maintenance is labor
intensive
– Regular addition of
lubricating oil necessary
– Waste (a rough yarn
made of wool fibers) was
used to wick the oil from
the journal box to the
journal
– Waste periodically changed
• Bearing failures caused by
hotboxes were a major safety
concern in the 1950s
Types of
bearings
• Three common bearing types:
solid, roller and ball
• Roller bearings are the type
used rail vehicles
• Most common type are
tapered roller bearings
• Better resistance to high lateral
forces common in rail vehicles
Types of stressing in contact
area of roller bearings
1) Desired condition, lubricating film
actually separating contact surfaces
(elasto-hydrodynamic contact condition)
2) Mixed friction (inadequate lubricant

causing metal to metal contact)
3) Foreign particles (causes damage to

contact surfaces)
4) Wear (contact surfaces become

deformed because of extended
operation under conditions 2 & 3)
(a & b = rolling elements c = lubricant)

Bearing adaptor
• Modern railcars
commonly have an
adaptor between the
side frame and the
bearing assembly
Purpose of With Adaptor Without Adaptor
bearing adaptor
• Bearing adaptor spreads loads

more evenly across rollers
• Better distribution reduces
loads on individual rollers
• Better able to maintain proper
elasto-hydrodynamic condition
Distribution of Loads
• Safer performance and longer-
bearing life
Railroad roller bearing

assemblies
• Freight cars today virtually all use

tapered roller bearings
• No requirement for field lubrication
Exploded view of tapered roller bearing assembly
Wheelsets & journals with and without roller bearings applied
Bearing failure
• Although bearing failures are much less common with roller bearings
compared to plain bearings, they still occur
• When they do, the results can be catastrophic, often causing derailments
Bearing failure detection and prevention

• Hot bearing detectors (HBD) use infrared
sensors to monitor bearing temperature at
that pass by
• Algorithms compare temperature of all the
bearings on the car and train
• Bearings with abnormally high
temperatures identified
• Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) tag
uses Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
technology to provide car identity
• Car info is recorded on passive tags affixed
to railcar side
• Tags receive energy from radio
waves produced by wayside reader
as they pass by it
• Information transmitted to reader
and then communicated locally to train crew,
and to centralized network monitoring system
Truck rotational friction
• Affected by two factors: center plate/center bowl and side bearings
Center Bowl Side Bearing Locations
Center plate and center bowl Center Plate

• Cross sectional diagram of truck
centerplate and center bowl
• Center plate is on railcar body bolster
• Center bowl is on truck bolster
• Center plate rests in center bowl
Table of truck center plate capacities

and requisite dimensions
Center Bowl
Freight car center bowls rarely receive
adequate maintenance or even lubrication
• The one shown below is in excellent (new) condition
• But they receive little maintenance once in service
• Can become badly deteriorated
• As they become worn, fouled, dry
• The turning moment of truck increases
• Cause improper tracking in curves and can result in derailments
Side bearings
• Side bearings provide lateral support
for carbody when it tips from one side
to the other, such as when it goes
around a curve
• Simplest side bearings are just flat
surfaces, i.e. "solid block" side bearings
• Side bearings affect the rotational
friction of a truck swiveling as the car
travels through a curve
Solid block side bearings
• Simplest form of side bearing

• Merely a solid block on the truck bolster that contacts its counterpart
on the body bolster when the car tips to the side a sufficient amount
Roller side bearings

reduce curving
resistance
• Solid side-bearings have more friction
and trucks cannot curve as easily
• Causes more flange friction in curves
• Adolph Stucki developed the roller
side bearing and conducted tests
• Tests showed that cars equipped with
his side bearings had lower resistance
in curves
• Reduced fuel consumption, wheel
wear and rail wear
• But there is another feature to wheels
that is MUCH more important to
reduce curve resistance
Wheel diameter and wheelset rolling direction
WHEEL DIAMETERS EQUAL

A Which way will this
wheelset roll?
WHEEL DIAMETERS UNEQUAL

B Which way will this
wheelset roll?
Consider the radius of two rails in a curve
• The inner rail has a smaller radius and consequently a shorter arc
than the outer rail*
• Unlike motor vehicles, railroad wheels are affixed to a solid axle
and rotate at the same rate
• Consider what happens when they go around a curve?
• Wheel on outer rail has farther to go than wheel on inner wheel
2πdI
* Difference in rail lengths in a curve =
360
d = distance between points of wheel-rail contact ≈ gauge +2”
I = Internal or deflection angle of the curve
Physics Review:
Rotation, Translation and Rolling
• Pure Translation
– Wheel moves with respect to
surface but does not rotate
• Pure Rotation
– Wheel rotates but does
not move
• Rolling
– Wheel rotates and moves
– If rolling occurs, must the rate of
rotation equal the rate of
translation at the interface between
the wheel and the surface?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1qJrNfOCHs
Wheelsets with differently sized wheels for

curves of different radii
• In principle, one could match a
wheelset with different diameter
wheels to particular curves
• Might be practical in certain
very limited fixed installations
• Obviously impractical for
railroads with extensive straight
(tangent) and widely varying
curve radii
• We want to avoid slippage
between the wheel and surface
under a broad range of curving
and tangent conditions
• What is the solution?
Is a wheelset with multiple diameters on
each wheel feasible?
• “Dumbell” approach might work

“DUMBELLS?”
in very narrow circumstances,
but thoroughly impractical for
easily changing from one curve
radius to another
• But if the change in diameter is
continuous, i.e. we “taper” the
wheel, the result is quite
different TAPERED or
CONICAL WHEELS
• Now the wheelset can easily
and automatically adapt to
curves of different radii
Cylindical Wheels
Conical Wheels
Tapered wheelset improves performance in curves
• Varying diameter of tapered wheel in curves enables the

wheelset to adapt to different radii of inner and outer rails
• But what about on tangent track?
How does a railroad wheelset travel along the track?
Tinker Toys and Track Toys
Taper of wheel causes the wheelset to oscillate
Biconic shape of wheel causes natural oscillation
Theory developed by Klingel in 1883: If a wheelset with conical profiles is
displaced from the centerline, the displacement will be counteracted due to
the different rolling radii of the wheels.
γ = conicity of wheel
r = radius at center
R = curve radius of Klingel
movement path
s = track width i.e. gauge
y = lateral displacement of Klingel path
v = speed
x = longitudinal distance along track
Kinematic behavior of this object will
be to oscillate back and forth as it travels
along the track
Klingel Movement
INSERT VIDEO
Klingel movement video.wmv
• Play movie file: 0_Klingel_movement.wmv

Oscillating wheelset causes truck to hunt
• Can induce violent oscillating lateral motion in car
• Damaging to track, car, lading and potentially can cause derailments
• Occurrence and severity of hunting is directly related to speed and
inversely related to car weight and truck rotational friction
Constant-contact
side bearings
• Although reduced rotational
friction of trucks is beneficial in
curves, it can be problematic
under other circumstances
• On tangent track at speeds
above 50 mph, trucks under
empty, or lightly loaded, cars
may "hunt" (rapid side to side
motion)
• Constant contact between side
bearing helps reduce incidence
of harmonic effects
• Various designs
– combination of rollers and
elastomeric inserts
– all-metal sprung design
Roller and solid block side bearings
• Proper clearance in side-bearings must be maintained
Constant contact side bearings
Unusual view of CCSBs on a derailed car
Contact surface
of CCSB on body
bolster
CCSBs
Spring group and friction wedges
• Springs act to cushion shocks

due to iregularities as vehicle
travels along the track
• But springs are elastic and will
tend to oscillate
• Need some kind of damping
system to absorb the energy
• Friction wedges serve this
purpose
• They also help stiffen the
bolster in relationship to the
truck sideframe, thereby
preventing truck warp
Close-up views of friction wedge and friction plate
Two basic designs of truck-damping systems
Constant versus load variable snubbing systems
Constant Load Variable
Diagram of truck showing location of friction wedges
Ride Control
Truck
Truck curving
• Conventional three-piece trucks do not
negotiate curves very well
• Ideally both wheelsets in the truck
would conform to track curvature
ANGLE OF
ATTACK = 0
• Instead, trucks tend to “warp” or

“tram” in curves
ANGLE OF
ATTACK > 0
• Higher the angle of attack, the greater

the friction and consequent wear on
wheel and rail, and lateral forces on rail
Frame-braced truck designs to enhance
resistance to tramming
Comparison of gauge
spreading and flange wear
for conventional versus Effect of E-Clip
frame-braced truck Effect of

Improved
Truck
Premium truck designs
• Eliminates some of
the problems of the
3-piece truck design
• Higher initial cost
• Lower operating
cost (reduced wear
& tear on track
structure)
• Benefits primarily
accrue to the track
owner (reduced
track wear, fewer
derailments)
• Costs borne by car owner
• More than half the railcars in North America are owned by private
car owners, i.e. not railroads
• Little incentive for them to purchase premium trucks
Monitoring the wheel rail interface by integrating

visual and laser measurement technology
http://www.rail-
vision.co.uk/track_diagnostics/rail_wh
eel_interface
Video and diagram produced by Rail Vision Europe Ltd.
INSERT VIDEO
RailVision video of Rail Vision Rail-Wheel Video.mp4
Summary
• Three-piece truck nomenclature
• Axles & wheels, function & malfunction
• Journal bearings and adapters
• Truck rotation, center bowl & side bearings
• Tapered wheel profile and curving
• Truck springs and suspension
• Friction wedges
• Truck warp and curving

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Introduction to Railcars - 3

Railroad Trucks, Wheels and Axles

Nomenclature Three-piece truck

Wheel & Axle

• Wheels are press fit onto

AAR Maximum Gross Nominal Car

August Wöhler, railroad axles and the

• Broken axles, and the consequent

loading/unloading cycles • These grow under the rapid cyclic

Discolored area from

Note: this diagram shows loads applied to

Increase in axle failure-

A: The size of the contact area between

Three primary purposes

• Guidance along track

• Accept and dissipate braking energy

Railroad wheel production

Wheel size and GRL

Maximum Gross Rail Load (lbs.)

• As with axles, wheel diameter requirements are also tied

• Straight plate wheels were the

Wheel wear types

• Some wheels are designed for a

Hollow-worn wheel on rail

Proper wheel profile compared to worn

• This increases switch point wear and can cause derailments

Tread Buildup Spalling Fatigue Cracking

Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD)

Rate of high impact loads has declined as

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

0 1,000 2,000 3,000

Impact on Derailment Rates of Advanced

Before ATSI After ATSI

AAR & FRA Data

Types of journal bearings - solid and roller

• Roller bearings have almost entirely

2) Mixed friction (inadequate lubricant

3) Foreign particles (causes damage to

4) Wear (contact surfaces become

(a & b = rolling elements c = lubricant)

• Bearing adaptor spreads loads

Railroad roller bearing

• Freight cars today virtually all use

Wheelsets & journals with and without roller bearings applied

Bearing failure detection and prevention

Center Bowl Side Bearing Locations

Center plate and center bowl Center Plate

Table of truck center plate capacities

• Simplest form of side bearing

Roller side bearings

WHEEL DIAMETERS EQUAL

WHEEL DIAMETERS UNEQUAL

Consider the radius of two rails in a curve

Wheelsets with differently sized wheels for

• “Dumbell” approach might work

• Varying diameter of tapered wheel in curves enables the

How does a railroad wheelset travel along the track?

Taper of wheel causes the wheelset to oscillate

• Play movie file: 0_Klingel_movement.wmv

• Proper clearance in side-bearings must be maintained

Constant contact side bearings

Spring group and friction wedges

• Springs act to cushion shocks

Two basic designs of truck-damping systems