What are the Wheels of a Freight Car?
With an air jack attached to the end of the boxcar, a crew slowly pulls the wheelset out from under the railcar for inspection and repairs. Many services, such as special equipment and training, provide quick diagnosis and repair of freight cars at Greenbrier Rail Services in Chehalis, Wash.
As railroads have built and adopted emerging technology, the design of railcar wheels has remained the same for centuries. The amount of engineering that went into the development of the wheelset ensures your daily safety.
Why is It Called a Freight Train?
The name “freight train” emerged in the 1840s. Freight as a verb evolved as “fraught” in the mid-1500s. It meant “to load.” In the 1530s, fraught became freight, meaning to carry or transport. In modern times, we do not refer to transporting passengers as freight.
Here are five interesting realities that you might not know how the wheels stay on the right side of the rails.
All About Angles
Most standard railcars used on North American railroads have wheels mounted on straight axles to allow them to move concurrently. Rail wheels have a unique design where the surface is not perfectly level. The wheel has a curved design and a wheel flange to keep the axle within the gauge of the tracks. Because of how the wheelset and rails are constructed, the wheels can self-center as they roll and change curves while maintaining rail adhesion and roadbed centering. Although some forms of transit might have a unique wheel, rail, and flange designs, those systems might not be interchangeable with North American freight railroads.
Small Surface Contact – Good and Bad
Any vehicle’s peristaltic wheel has a rail-to-rail contact point about the size of a dime or just under one square inch per wheel. That limited surface contact means that heavy trains move through rail contact with less friction or drag. This feature may also limit or affect braking and stopping.
Wheel Size and Overall Height
Wheelset diameters often vary depending on the size of the rail car. The International Union of Railways prescribes the size of 36 inches. Some railcars are fitted with smaller diameter wheels, such as the auto racks, which have 28-inch diameter wheels to reduce the overall height of the railcar.
Little Room for Wear and Defects
Breakdowns on railcars are common, and railroad officials conduct daily inspections to check for them. Some trackside detection units will send an alert message to the train if there is a problem with the hot wheel bearings. A wheel impact detector looks for flat spots from steel wheels sliding on rails.
Axles and load
A railroad “truck” is created by connecting two or three axles on larger load-capacity cars. The trucks are attached to the railcar by a kingpin fixed to the frame. In case of a derailment, modern railcars feature railroad trucks with the railcar’s identifying number written on them. These can be used to attach rail parts to the appropriate car.
FAQS
How Many Wheels Does a Freight Train Car Have?
Most trains will have eight 28-inch wheels per car in total, so the number of wheels on the entire train will depend on the number of cars in the train itself. Trains are typically between 65 and 200 cars in length, meaning they have anywhere from 520 to 1,600 wheels or more.
What are the Wheels on a Train Called?
A wheelset is a pair of railroad vehicles mounted rigidly on an axle so that both wheels rotate in unison. Wheelsets are often mounted in a bogie (“truck” in North America) – a pivoted frame assembly holding at least two wheelsets – at each end of the vehicle.
Do Freight Trains Run on Fuel?
Freight and passenger rail rely almost exclusively on diesel power. The latest diesel innovations contribute to cleaner air and reaching climate goals. According to the Association of American Railroads, in a typical year, US freight railroads move around 1.7 billion tons across nearly 140,000 miles of track.
How Do Train Wheels Move?
The wheels on each side of a train car are connected with a metal rod called an axle. This axle keeps the two train wheels moving together, turning at the same speed when the train moves.
How Long Do Freight Train Wheels Last?
Lots of miles. While many of us change our car tires every 50,000 miles, Metro rail wheels can travel as far as 700,000 miles before they need to be replaced.
Conclusion
Several methods railways employ to keep trains moving in the right direction have been around for over a century and are still used today, thanks to long-standing engineering and development. The rail cars can hold three to four freight truckloads, and one train can take more than 300 trucks off the road.