ABSTRACT
A lever mechanism, designed to steer a 3-piece rail freight truck by the carbody, is discussed in this paper. A new method for analyzing the steering system was developed. Lateral stability, steady state and dynamic curving behaviour and dynamic response to random track irregularities were predicted theoretically and partly validated by small scale model experiments. The results lead to an important conclusion which says that forced steering of the refered type improves curving, dynamic response and stability simultaneously. Designers may be liberated from the compromise between these requirements, which plagued them for years.
