Abstract
The British Railways Board (BRB) Class 91 is a 225 km/h, 25 kV locomotive for use on the East and West Coast main line routes. This paper details the design and manufacturing processes applied to the Class 91 locomotive wheelset. Reference is made to many unusual and novel aspects of the design and manufacture.
The principal design requirement was to achieve a low effective ‘unsprung’ mass of 1700 kg in order to limit damage to the track to acceptable maintenance levels. This was achieved by using a hollow axle, mounting the motors on the body, the gearbox on the bogie and by careful attention to the detail design of the component parts.
The specified requirement characteristics and design data are given along with the design processes used. Problems encountered during both the design and manufacturing phases are highlighted along with the measures adopted to overcome them.
The manufacture of the wheels and axle and the assembly of the complete wheelset are described in detail. Of particular note is the use of purpose-built assembly and handling jigs. Finally a brief account of the post build service experience is included.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.