The Adams axle is a form of radial axle

Radial axle

A radial axle is an axle on a railway locomotive or carriage which has been designed to move laterally when entering a curve in order to reduce the flange and rail wear....

 for rail locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s that enable them to negotiate curves more easily. It was invented by William Bridges Adams

William Bridges Adams

William Bridges Adams was an author, inventor and locomotive engineer.-Overview:He is best known for his patented Adams Axle — a successful radial axle design in use on railways in Britain until the end of steam traction in 1968 — and the railway fishplate...

 and patented in 1865. The invention uses axle boxes that slide on an arc in shaped horn blocks, so allowing the axle to slide out to either side. This is similar to the movement of a Bissell truck, but with the notional centre point of the curve being where the pivot of the truck would be. This design, using slide bearings, is more expensive than one employing a shaft, but takes up less space.

Trials

In 1865 the Society of Engineers

Society of Engineers UK

The Society of Engineers was a learned society that was integrated with the Institution of Incorporated Engineers in 2005, with both societies later beingincorporated into the Institution of Engineering and Technology....

, London, made direct comparison between the radial axle, invented by William Bridges Adams, and a bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

 design with an india-rubber central bearing invented by William Adams

William Adams (locomotive engineer)

William Adams was the Locomotive Superintendent of the North London Railway from 1858 to 1873; the Great Eastern Railway from 1873 until 1878 and the London and South Western Railway from then until his retirement in 1895...

: during trials on the North London Railway

North London Railway

The North London Railway was a railway company that opened lines connecting the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The main east to west route is now part the North London Line. Other lines operated by the company fell into disuse, but were later revived as part of the Docklands...

 the laterally sprung bogie was thought superior to the radial axle, but when William Adams moved from the NLR to the London and South Western Railway

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

 he adopted the design of his rival William Bridges Adams. The locomotives now known as Adams Radials are named after the LSWR Locomotive Superintendent, but are famous for the axle invented by William Bridges Adams.

Inventor

Notwithstanding the 1865 comparative trials of the two inventors' products, there is some confusion over the inventor of the axle. Lexicon der Eisenbahn cites William Adams (1823-1904) as the inventor, whereas the Wikipedia article indicates that William Bridges Adams (1797-1872) patented the invention.

Source

• Theodor Düring: Schnellzug-Dampflokomotiven der deutschen Länderbahnen 1907-1922 Frankh, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3440037959

External links

• Adams Axle (German)
• There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany