This paper summarises the historical development of railway freight vehicles and how vehicle designers have tackled the difficult challenges of producing running gear which can accommodate the very high tare to laden mass of typical freight wagons whilst maintaining stable running at the maximum required speed and good curving performance. The most common current freight bogies are described in detail and recent improvements in techniques used to simulate the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles are summarised and examples of how these have been used to improve freight vehicle dynamic behaviour are included. A number of recent developments and innovative components and sub systems are outlined and finally two new developments are presented in more detail: the LEILA bogie and the SUSTRAIL bogie.

2011) Assessment of safety against derailment using simulations and vehicle acceptance tests: a worldwide comparison of state-of-the-art assessment methods,The assessment of derailment safety of new railway vehicle designs is a fundamental concern worldwide. Although the methods used for assessment in different countries and regions vary considerably, the fundamental mechanisms being addressed are the same. This paper provides a detailed review of the current state-of-the-art methods for derailment safety assessment in several regions and countries including Europe, UK, USA, and Russia. Brief overviews of the methods used in China, Korea, and Japan are also included. Similarities and differences are discussed, including testing and computer simulations. References are provided for the origins of the methods and safety performance criteria used in each region. Recommendations are made for improving the assessment methods, especially the use and validation of computer simulations.

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In many countries, including Russia, the three-piece bogies are essential for freight transportation. Their dynamic behavior includes many nonlinear effects and is strongly dependent on the realized parameters that are subject to change due to wear. Since the beginning of the 20th century, when the three-piece bogie was invented, there has been significant progress in its design. Actually, now the term three-piece bogie is applied to a variety of construction schemes that look similar, but have principal differences. This article investigates various construction schemes of the three-piece bogies from the point of view of stability, ride, and curving quality, using numerical simulation results as well as the results of natural experiments for the available bogies. Analysis of the dynamic behavior of traditional three-piece bogieThe traditional three-piece bogie (for example, model 18-100 in Russia, figure 1) is equipped with central suspension that consists of a set of springs and wedge friction dampers working in vertical and lateral directions and keeping the frame square. The side frames with their flat surfaces rest on the axle boxes (or bearing adapters). The size of the opening in the side frame provides clearances in longitudinal and lateral direction within which the axle box moves resisted by dry friction forces.In traditional three-piece bogies, the flanges of wheels are worn much faster than the tread. For instance, for gondola cars that are always operated in laden condition, the tread wear rate reaches 3.6 mm per 100 km, but the corresponding flange wear rate is up to 11.1 mm per 100 km, which actually means that the wheel has to be reprofiled (after 9 mm flange wear). This problem is especially sharp for wagons operated in Siberian regions, where 80% of track are curves less than 600 m radius.The main reason for flange wear is the unstable behavior of bogies in curves (rutting mode), reference [1], when the bogie is flanging with a two-point contact situation (figure 2) instead of passing the curves using the wheel conicity. Flanging is the result of bogie 'warping', which makes the angle of attack increase when compared to radial position.