CSR is pleased to provide this second part of a two-part series on locomotive balancing. This white paper provides an in-depth, yet approachable explanation of steam locomotive rail wheel dynamics. From defining dynamic augment to explaining how a Franklin Radial Buffer helps alleviate the need for overbalance, the Mechanical Balancing of Steam Locomotives white paper provides the fundamentals of steam locomotive balancing.
This paper attempts to distill important concepts into more understandable verbiage. Beginning with defining key terms, CSR presents equations relevant to the rail wheel dynamics of steam locomotives, takes a closer look at the techniques and technology introduced to facilitate high speed operation and concludes with a discussion of how advances in materials science, physics, computing, and machine design over the last 50 years provide additional tools for the modern locomotive design engineer – tools which may just help CSR relegate dynamic augment to the history books.