Railway Technical Web Pages

Links to rolling stock and equipment pages on this site

Auxiliary Equipment – how trains are provided with "hotel power", i.e. compressed air, heating, air conditioning, battery charging, controls etc. with diagrams

Pneumatic Auxiliaries on Trains – compressed air equipment on trains consists of systems like brakes, powered doors, horns, window wipers, traction equipment switches, suspension units and automatic couplers.

Electrical Auxiliaries on Trains – batteries, battery chargers, control systems, communications systems, lighting, heating, air conditioning and even sockets for laptops and mobile phones.

Bogie Parts – a photograph with all the bogie parts listed and expalined in links to the description.

Wheels and Bogies – how the wheels sit on the rails, bogie parts, suspension systems and the types of steering available for bogies.

Vehicle Suspension – how the vehicle sits on the wheels and the way used to provide a safe and smooth ride for the passengers or freight.

Brakes Glossary – part names for the brake system and a brief description of what they do.

PBL 90 Electro-Pneumatic Brake Control System – the standard European electro-pneumatic brake system

Brakes - How they work on North American Freight Trains – a description by Al Krug, who makes it all sound so easy.

How the basic air brake system works – a simple system description with even simpler schematics.

Brakes - ECP brake systems – an article by Randy Buchter on the system as originally developed in the US.

Electro-Pneumatic Brakes – a simple description of the principles of the UK designed system.

The Vacuum Brake – a simple description of the principles as formerly used on UK railways and now limited to preserved stock, steam locomotives and some overseas railways.

Coach Parts – A diagram of a standard UK locomotive–hauled railway coach with names of parts and equipment.

Electric Traction Pages – modern electric traction and how the power electronics revolution has affected train traction power systems.

Electric Traction Pages Glossary – a list of the terms used in electric traction and their meanings.

Electric Traction Pages Drives – The DC motor, how it drives the wheels, the differences between DC and AC motors, how the motors fit into the bogies and linear drives, all with diagrams.

Parts of the Modern AC Electric Locomotive – in a diagram linked to the glossary.

High Speed Trains – a page with links to a number of sites with specialist information in France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the UK. Diesel Locomotives – a page describing the development and design of diesel locomotives, both in Europe and the US, with diagrams and explanations of the principal parts of the diesel locomotive and links to other sites with technical information related to diesel locomotives.

Steam vs. Diesel – this article, written by US locomotive engineer Al Krug in a series of newsgroup posts, tries to explain the power questions that show how diesels are more efficient than steam locomotives.

US Railroad Fuel Consumption – a paper, by David S Lawyer, examining the fuel consumption characteristics in terms of passenger miles per gallon on US railroads between 1936 and 1963.

Rolling Stock Pages Manufacture – how railway rolling stock is designed, manufactured, assembled, tested and shipped.

Multiple Units – how one person in the cab controls the equipment on all the vehicles or locos in the train.  Plus, why two locomotives working in multiple but facing opposite directions will always move in the same direction!

Multiple Operation of North American Diesel Locomotives – a superb description of the standard AAR (Association of American Railroads) arrangements prepared by Jonathan Hollahan.  Much additional information on diesel locomotive operation is included.

Multi-Deck Trains – this page looks at railways which use vehicles with more than one level and show some examples of how they have evolved.  Both passenger and freight examples are included, with diagrams and links to photos.

Push Pull Trains – the Development of UK Push-Pull Train Operation, contributed by Chris Grace.

Steam Glossary – an explanation of its design, operation, maintenance and some history in glossary format.

Steam Locomotive Wheel Arrangements – this page contains a table of the various steam locomotive wheel arrangement classifications used in different countries

Train Maintenance – an essential ingredient in the successful running of a railway is a well maintained system.  Train maintenance is very important in this respect and this page outlines the methods and systems used in train maintenance.

Wheel Arrangements – a description, with diagrams, of the different notations used for steam and non-steam locomotives.