What is a journal box?

: a metal housing used to support and protect a journal bearing. What’s in a journal box?
An axle box, also known as a journal box in North America, is the mechanical subassembly on each end of the axles under a railway wagon, coach or locomotive; it contains bearings and thus transfers the wagon, coach or locomotive weight to the wheels and rails; the bearing design is typically oil-bathed plain bearings …

What is a hotbox on a train?

A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. … When the oil leaked or dried out, the bearings overheated, often starting a fire that could destroy the entire railroad car (and cars coupled to it) if not detected early enough. What is axle train?
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, both turning at the same speed when the train is moving. … This is where the wheels’ geometry comes in. To help the wheels stay on the track their shape is usually slightly conical.

How does a journal bearing work?

In a journal bearing, the shaft rotates inside a loose-fitting bearing shell of softer, often porous, bearing material. Lubricant, such as oil, grease or a low-friction compound like PTFE or graphite is used between the surfaces. The shell is sometimes split into two halves. How train bogies are connected?

Each wheel is separately connected to the bogie by a swing-arm axle. There is dual suspension: Primary suspension via a coil spring and damper mounted on each axle. Secondary suspension via two air springs mounted on the pivot plank, this is connected to the bogie by pendulum links.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

How do you check for a hot axle?

Currently hot boxes are detected on running trains by station staff by listening to the whistling sound of bearings and visually due to discoloration of axle-boxes and grease oozing out. At station or in yards, when the trains stop, hot axle-boxes are detected by physically touching the axle-box cover.

Do train cars have wheel bearings?

Although it’s rare to find a car equipped with friction bearings on most U.S. freight trains, they are found on older equipment, including maintenance of way equipment and even some cabooses. … They also transmit the load from the journal bearings to the wheels.

Which bearing is used in railway axle boxes?

Cylindrical roller bearings are used mainly in Locomotives (Diesel or Electric) for Wagons wheel application. These bearings are used with axle box housing and end fittings.

How does a hot axle box detector work?

The Hot Axle Box Detection (HABD) systems are placed on the tracks. They measure the temperature of the axle box bearing boxes and often also wheels and brake discs (Hot Axle Box and Hot Wheel detection units, HABD/HWD) when the train passes over them.

How does a defect detector work?

Can trains go uphill?

As mentioned in my short answer, trains can definitely go uphill, however the way trains work, are making any gradients greater than 2% quite hard to climb. … There are few reasons why trains don’t perform well uphill, the main one however is the force of gravitation.

How do you steer a train?

How much of a train wheel touches the track?

The only part of a train wheel that actually touches the rail is around the size of a 10 cent/20pence coin. Think about that the next time you’re hurtling along at 125mph. Actually – the wheel flange very rarely touches the rail. What keeps the train on the track is the conical angle of the wheel profile.

Why is it called a journal bearing?

– Journal bearings support a load acting in the direction normal to the rotating shaft. It is called a journal bearing because the neck of the shaft (the part of the shaft inside the bearing) is called a journal. It is the most common bearing among sliding bearings.

What is the difference between journal bearing and ball bearing?

Journal bearings require less radial space than rolling-element bearings but need more length axially. Journal bearings are more capable of managing shock and overload compared with ball and roller bearings. … They can run quieter than rolling-element bearings, especially when the rolling-element bearings begin to wear.

What is the difference between journal bearing and thrust bearing?

Journal bearings support radial loads (perpendicular to the axis of rotation). Thrust bearings support axial loads (along the axis of rotation).

What is the space between train cars called?

A gangway connection, also known as a corridor connection, allows passengers to move from one coach to another without the risk of falling from the train.

Why buffers are used in trains?

Buffer is a part of buffer-and-chain coupling which is used in railway systems for attaching railway vehicles with one another. … Buffer increases the time of impact between the two bogies before they stop, hence, bump is reduced. Hope it helps.

Do trains have shock absorbers?

Although the buffers in the very earliest days of railways were rigid (dumb buffers), they soon came to be spring-loaded, while those fitted to modern locomotives and rolling stock incorporate oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers.

What is wild Railway?

WILD(Wheel Impect Load Detector) is a. technology that is widely used in Global Railways to. monitor the health of ensure safe operations, with. proven accuracy and reliability.

What is brake binding in railway?

Whenever brake block grips the wheel with excessive braking force, it is termed as brake binding. Flat places on tyre of wheel leading to bearing failure, weld failure/rail fracture etc. …

How long does a train wheel last?

While many of us change our car tires every 50,000 miles or so, Metro rail wheels can travel as far as 700,000 miles before they need to be replaced.

How heavy is a train wheel?

This ensures that they rotate at the same time together on the train tracks. An individual wheel that is not attached to an axle and another wheel weighs between 800 and 900 pounds (362 to 408 kg), while a wheelset weighs in at over 2,000 pounds (907 kg).

Why are train wheels made of steel?

The Steel Interstate Coalition says that a steel wheel in contact with a steel rail can reduce ground friction by 85-99%. … Rail represents the most efficient mode because of this significant reduction in ground friction.