ROLLING STOCK

DEFINITION OF RAILWAY
ROLLING STOCK
 Rolling stock used on railways in the earliest days evolved from
carriages and wagons which ran on highways to carry both
people and bulk materials.
EARLY FLANGED WHEELS ON
IRON RAILS
As railway experience was gained, the design of rolling
stock also evolved. Springing, body structure, wheels and
axles all are subject to varying loads and stresses, when
comparing slower speeds on rough roads to much faster
speeds on railways, with a comparatively smoother ride.
THE RANGE OF RAILWAY
ROLLING STOCK
The range of railway rolling stock Today there is a very wide range of rolling stock used throughout the
world on different railways. This range includes the following basic types:
 • Locomotives
 • Freight wagons
 • Passenger coaches
 • Multiple units (with motive power in-built)
 • Metro cars (usually multiple units)
 • Light rail/Trams (usually articulated units)
 • Railbome machines (cranes, tampers etc)
 • Inspection and maintenance trolleys
THE EVOLUTION OF STEAM
MOTIVE POWER
 The first steam hauled train was operated by Richard Trevithick's steam locomotive in South
Wales in 1804. While this locomotive seems to have worked quite well on a mine tramway, the
cast iron plates that formed the track proved to be inadequate for the heavier loads and impacts.
 Hard on its heals, William Hedley's 'Puffing Billy built in 1813, ran on a tramway near
Newcastle-on-Tyne giving successful service for over forty years.
 The first use of steam for a passenger train was George Stephenson's "Locomotion' on the
Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.
 first public railway to use steam motive power exclusively and to run a regular passenger
service was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which commenced operations in 1829
 fourteen short years later Daniel Gooch, locomotive superintendent of the Great Western
Railway, drove Prince Albert home from Bristol to London in about the same time, a distance of
about 118 miles!
 railways continued to develop and spread to all parts of the civilised world.
 Steam power dominated traction on most of the worlds railways in the first hundred years or
so.
 at the time of George Stephenson's 'Rocket', boilers were fitted with multiple tubes, water
space round a fire box and a fire which was drawn by the exhaust steam blasted up the
chimney.
 The design and evolution of valve gear, slides, pumps and pistons which all added to both the
efficiency and the complexity of steam locomotives.
 The invention of 'super-heating of steam in the late nineteenth century led to adoption of this
feature in later steam locomotives giving rise to higher efficiency but also a need for better
maintenance, particularly of boilers and tubes.
 The first underground railway in the world was opened by the Metropolitan Railway Company
in 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon, London.
ROLLING STOCK
 When the line was opened, it was found that conventional locomotives caused distress to
passengers and staff due to the discharge of carbonic oxide gases.

The Advent of Electric

Traction
 The first 'Tube line to be built in London was the City and South London Railway between
King William Street and Stockwell in 1890 using electric traction.
 Most of these early tube lines followed the main line practice of a single locomotive pulling
non-powered carriages or cars
 During the first decade of the twentieth century, all of the London tube lines departed from the
principle of single locomotive hauling to using a number of motorcars along the length of the
train.
DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC
TRACTION
The suburban and underground railways that were
built or electrified in the early part of the twentieth
century adopted a medium voltage direct current
supply system which involved fairly costly fixed
equipment but kept the locomotives relatively simple
and cheap.
High voltage AC electrification was not introduced to
British Railways until after the Second World War.

High speed AC electric locomotives have a high

power/weight ratio as they carry no heavy fuel.
DIESEL TRACTION
 This alternative form of motive power was invented by a certain Doctor Diesel of Berlin in
about 1893.
 Because of this drawback, the diesel engine was relatively late in coming to the railway scene.
 Two main methods of coupling the diesel engines to the driving wheels were evolved and still
remain today.
 The first involved hydraulic drive which had modest success. Most of this type of locomotive
originated from Germany and many are still running today.
 the standard diesel locomotive today throughout the world is the diesel-electric
 The solution of the drive problem is complicated and therefore expensive.
 The diesel locomotive has immediate push button power and has a much lower
requirement for down-time' for regular maintenance.
THE EVOLUTION OF WHEEL
LAYOUT
 The earliest steam locomotives had two or three axles, one or more of which carried the
driving wheels.
 Richard Trevithick's locomotive had an ingenious arrangement which connected the two
driving axles to the driving pistons by means of a series of large cog wheels.
 The introduction of electric and diesel multiple units has allowed the use of many more
driving wheels along the length of a train, thus reducing the adhesion, acceleration and braking
problem.
CHANGES IN LOCOMOTIVE
MAINTENANCE PRACTICE
 Steam traction involved the procurement of many extra locomotives
 This resulted in all engines spending a considerable proportion of their life in the shops or
sheds instead of out on the railway pulling trains.
 Diesel and electrical power has also enabled designers to dispense with large driving wheels
and to introduce power driven bogies.
 both locomotives and multiple units have been designed with motive power packages and self
contained units that can be removed or replaced for maintenance.
FROM PASSENGER
‘CARRIEGES’ TO THE
MODERN CARBODIES
 Early sketches show that the Liverpool and Manchester Railway started operations in 1829
 Third class passengers were often carried in simple wagons.
 The carriages on suburban stopping trains on BR retained an element of the same layout with
individual unconnected compartments and single 'slam' side doors for well over a hundred
years.
 this quickly evolved for 'express' trains, with the introduction of a side corridor, to the basic
carriage layout which remained normal for main line railways in the UK to the 1960's.
 Many of the world's railways have now adopted the open
plan for both main line and suburban services with doors at
carriage ends and walk.

Most metros and light rail systems have open plan layouts in
the cars.

The levels and curvature of platforms also has an effect on

the design of cars and this varies considerably around the
world.

Typical “slam door” compartment stock

CARBODY STRUCTURES
 Since the earliest days of railways, carbody structures have evolved and become considerably stronger,
lighter and more economic
 As early as 1840, in the UK, the Railway Inspectorate was set up to inspect newly constructed railways and to
certify fitness for public travel.
 The first stage was to introduce a wrought iron and later steel underframe which fully supported the wooden
superstructure.
 The next stage was the use of a steel underframe with steel or aluminium framing to the superstructure.

 Modern cars and coaches are designed on the 'Monocoque' principle.

 The final form is usually a composite of aluminium extrusions and welded stainless steel with a 'stressed
skin'.
 Summarising, these developments of carbody design over the last almost two centuries are characterised by:

Lower mass • Higher stiffness • Higher strength

ROLLING STOCK
 These rolling stock characteristics lead to

• Lower energy consumption

• Greater crashworthiness
• Higher passenger comfort
• Higher passenger/carbody mass ratio
MAIN LINE TRAIN
PERFORMANCE ISSUES
 When considering the engineering of a railway from the rolling stock point of view, train performance demands and issues need to be
fully considered
 The performance issues on Main Line railways for consideration are as follows:

- Is the traffic mainly one type (e.g., high speed express passenger) or mixed speed and type?
-What will be the impact on the long distance passenger carrying capacity of the railway of slow freight and stopping trains!
-What capacity will the signalling allow!
-Are there many passing loops or 'slow line platforms at stations of secondary importance, to allow expresses to pass?
-What acceleration, braking characteristics and tractive effort is required to ensure that trains can work to desirable timetables?
- What are the maximum gradients on the line?
-How many speed restrictions are likely and what recovery will be required of time lost?
TRAIN PERFORMANCE ISSUES
ON METROS AND LIGHT RAIL
 The mains issues are:
-What capacity is required at various times?
-What are the achievable acceleration and deceleration rates?
-What dwell time' is required at stations?
-What top speed is necessary?
-How can energy be conserved in normal running conditions e.g., by coasting?
-How much scope is required for recovering lost time in the peak due to delay?
-For light railways only, what additional factors need to be taken into consideration for any
lengths of track which are incorporated into the highway and where 'shared running takes place?

(Once all these considerations have been fully investigated, decisions can be made on the type and number
of different units of rolling stock that is required to run the railway)
FREIGHT ROLLING STOCK
 Freight rolling stock Early railways were characterised by 'goods' trains of a very mixed
variety.
 Economic considerations have caused such operations now to be a thing of the past.
 Freight wagons in recent years have tended to become specialised to the material they are
handling.
SPECIALIZED ENGINEERING
ROLLING STOCK
 Railways were originally very labour intensive. This applied particularly to the civil
engineering activities involved in both laying and maintaining the permanent way and its
supporting earthworks.
 Early etchings of railway building activities show that a great deal was achieved by sheer
weight of manpower assisted only by hand tools, wheelbarrows and the trusty horse.
 All specialised engineering rolling stock has to comply with all the safety, signalling and
operational requirements on the railway.
 Specialised vehicles included the following:
• Ballast Tamping Machines • Ballast Cleaners • Ballast Hopper Wagons • Stone B lowers •
Mobile Rail Cranes • Long Welded Rail Cars • Cleaning Trains • Inspection cars/trolleys • Snow and
Leaf clearing vehicles • Concreting trains • Drain/sump cleaners. • Battery cars/Ballast
locomotives • Tunnel cleaners • Platelayers' trolleys • Personnel carriers • Track Recording Cars • Rail
Grinders • Special flat cars/bolster wagons for track
MANUFACTURING METHODS
 Originally railway rolling stock was manufactured using simple engineering skills with most components
being 'bespoke'. Manufacture was labour intensive which was relatively cheap.
 Additionally there have been a number of major changes in manufacturing technology. These changes
include the following:
• Riveting has been replaced by welding
• There is an increase in the use of aluminium and stainless steel
• Plastics have been introduced
• There is a greater use of jigs and fixtures
• Computerised manufacture and production control
• Introduction of Quality Assurance
Apart from the obvious economic considerations, lack or deterioration of adequate maintenance
of rolling stock will have a progressively adverse effect on the following:
• Safety
• Customer satisfaction and co-operation
• Customer perception of reliability
• Availability - this will influence the total number of trains that are necessary in the fleet for a
given level of service
• Morale and 'pride' of operating staff
ROLLING STOCK AND
MAINTENANCE CONDITION
Generally speaking, maintenance of rolling stock can be divided into two main categories, planned and unplanned or
more usually known as routine and casualty. In the area of planned routine maintenance activity the following can be
included:
• Preparation for service
• Routine examination
• Cleaning
• Renewal of consumables (such as brake pads, light bulbs, upholstery cushions etc)
• unit exchange
• major mechanical overhaul
In the routine completion of all these activities, operators and engineers need to co-operate to establish the best
layout, sequence of events and frequency for every activity involved.