WHEN STEAM locomotives were little more than giant kettles on wheels, and not much faster, cornering ability was not a major issue. If the radius to negotiate could be kept large, a small clearance between wheel flange and rail prevented the wheels binding. But as locos gained more wheels and more weight, and railways ventured into territory where curves had to be tighter, the problem became more acute.
The freewheeling swivelling bogie, or ‘truck’, invented in America in 1830, helped to guide ever-larger locomotives around bends but, as ever-more pulling power was sought, so engineers looked for a way to articulate locos by powering the bogies. Many articulated locomotives emerged in the latter half of the 1800s with varying degrees of success, most notable being the Meyer, the Fairlie and the…
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Octane (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 1, 2015