Springs – Principles and Experiences

Abstract: The traditional radial steering bogie with swing hanger links is known as track-friendly but heavy, expensive in investment- and maintenance-costs. Whereas the actual rigid axle bogies like Y25 cause severe wear on wheels and rails in curves and also need high traction forces in curves. Bogies with rubbers springs like DRRS, LEILA and Gigabox are a new feature with good behaviour in curves and on straight tracks. Good experiences over many years with DRRS and 35 t axle load on the German RWE coal line prove the benefits. For the new designs LEILA and Gigabox, which are in market introduction now, even higher benefits can be demonstrated. The principle design features and the benefits regarding lateral track forces, wear and traction resistance are evident