Krauss-Helmholtz bogie
Encyclopedia
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
(or other coupled-axle) 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...
, where a carrying axle is connected to a coupled axle via a lever such that when the carrying axle swings to the side on going round a curve, it causes the coupled axle to move sideways in the opposite direction. In this way the radial forces during curve running are more or less evened out on both axles, so that riding qualities similar to those of a normal 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...
are achieved and wear and tear reduced on wheel flanges and rails. The bogie is a type of pony truck
Pony truck
A pony truck, in railway terminology, is a leading truck with only two wheels.Its invention is generally credited to Levi Bissell, who devised one in 1857 and patented it the following year. Hence the term Bissel bogie or axle is used in continental Europe...
and was named after the locomotive firm of Krauss
Krauss-Maffei
The Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co KG or simply Krauss-Maffei is an injection molding machine manufacturer and defence company based in Munich, Germany...
and the engineer, Richard von Helmholtz.
By contrast a Bissel bogie
Bissel bogie
A Bissel truck is a very simple and commonly used way of designing a carrying axle on a steam locomotive to enable it to negotiate curves more easily. The design uses a single-axled bogie, usually known as a pony truck, whose pivot is towards the centre of the locomotive...
is independently installed in the frame, and sideways guidance of the locomotive is achieved by elastic forces. The distribution of these forces is not tightly defined and, in addition, they are dependent on the curve radius.
Because the advantages of a pony truck come into play particularly on tight curves, the Krauss-Helmholtz bogie initially appeared on branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
, Lokalbahn and narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
locomotives. One of the first locomotives of this type was the Bavarian D VIII
Bavarian D VIII
The Bavarian Class D VIII were saturated steam locomotives with the Royal Bavarian State Railways .- History :...
. On this tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
the bogie was located at the rear; however in the majority of cases it was at the front or - if the locomotive had to have equally good riding qualities in both directions - at both ends.
Later this pony truck arrangement was also adopted by the DRG standard locomotives (Einheitslokomotive
Einheitslokomotive
Einheitslokomotive was the name given to standard classes of German steam locomotives built from 1925 under the direction of the Deutsche Reichsbahn to certain common designs, and also to standard German electric locomotives produced after 1952 for the Deutsche Bundesbahn...
) of the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
, e.g. on the ten-coupled classes: 44
DRG Class 44
The Class 44 was a ten-coupled, heavy goods train steam locomotive built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn as a standard steam engine class . Its sub-class was G 56.20 and it had triple cylinders...
, 45
DRG Class 45
German Class 45 steam locomotives were standard locomotives designed by the Deutsche Reichsbahn for hauling goods trains.- History :...
, 50 and 85
DRG Class 85
The Class 85 was a German goods train tank engine and standard locomotive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn.- History :In 1931, the DRG ordered ten locomotives from the firm of Henschel that were taken into the fleet as numbers 85 001–010. The Class 85 was intended for hauling passenger and goods trains...
. An exception was the Class 84
DRG Class 84
The German DRG Class 84s were standard goods train tank locomotives with the Deutsche Reichsbahn. A total of twelve engines were placed into service by the Reichsbahn between 1935 and 1937. The machines were given operating numbers 84 001–012...
, that was fitted with Schwartzkopff-Eckhardt II bogie
Schwartzkopff-Eckhardt II bogie
A Schwartzkopff-Eckhardt II bogie is a mechanical device to improve the curve running of steam locomotives....
s or Luttermöller axle
Luttermöller axle
Steam locomotives with several axles or wheelsets connected to one another by coupling rods are not able to negotiate tight curves well. In order to assist such locomotives, the manager of the Orenstein & Koppel factory in Berlin, Dr...
drives.
The tender locomotives of classes 41
DRG Class 41
The German Class 41 steam locomotives were standard goods train engines operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn and built from 1937 - 1941.- History :...
and 45 only had a Krauss-Helmholtz bogie at the front; the trailing axle was housed in a Bissel bogie. The tank locomotives of Class 85, like some of the Class 64
DRG Class 64
The Deutsche Reichsbahn had a standard passenger train tank engine with a wheel arrangement of 1'C1' or 2-6-2 and a low axle load, which was designated in their classification system as the DRG Class 64 . The Class 64 was developed from 1926 onwards and it was built between 1928 and 1940...
and 86
DRG Class 86
The DRG Class 86 was a standard goods train tank locomotive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. It was intended for duties on branch lines and was delivered by almost all the locomotive building firms working for the Reichsbahn...
engines, had two Krauss-Helmholtz bogies.
Even the electric locomotives of Reichsbahn classes E 04, E 17, E 18
DRG Class E 18
The Deutsche Bundesbahn Baureihe E 18 is a class of electric locomotives in Germany, originally operated by Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft...
and E 19 were fitted with comparable pony trucks, known as AEG frames (AEG-Gestell). Because the axles had external bearings, the lever linkage also had to be on the outside, a characteristic detail of these locomotives.
See also
- BogieBogieA 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...
- List of DRG locomotives and railbuses
- List of Bavarian locomotives and railbuses
- List of Prussian locomotives and railcars
External links
- Photograph of the bogie on a South African NG 15 (610 mm gauge)
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany
