ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the fundamental knowledge of rail traction vehicle and locomotive design and contains information regarding various locomotive types and their components. The classification for all types of rail traction vehicles, including light rail, passenger, high-speed, freight and heavy-haul traction rolling stock, is described as a part of engineering and system analysis for existing design variants. The main components of rail traction vehicles, including car bodies, running gears, power traction systems, traction drives and braking systems, as well as their key elements, are described in detail. In addition, major design characteristics and parameters for rail traction vehicles are classified and discussed in terms of their application and proper usage in vehicle system dynamics studies.
