ABSTRACT
Every pulled passenger or freight rail vehicle requires a set of parts and devices for its movement: wheels, axles, bogies, springs, couplers and buffers.
19.2. Wheels
19.2.1. Geometrical characteristics and materials
On standard gauge tracks, wheel diameter of the pulled rolling stock ranges from 0.84m to 0.92m. As the continuing tendency is to increase per wheel load, one would expect wheel diameter to increase also. This, however, is not feasible beyond current wheel diameters, because larger wheels would on the one hand increase weight and therefore manufacturing and operating costs, and on the other hand result in a greater vehicle floor height from track level. This would be detrimental to both the stability and the space available in the vehicle, since the rolling stock gauge is fiXed and cannot be changed.
