BOGIE

BOGIE – WHAT?

• Bogie is the part on which the coach rests and due to which the coach runs on the rail line. That’s why it is manufacture under strict precision so that the dimensions do not vary too much from drawing
• It is an independent unit used under a long vehicle, usually mounted on two pairs of wheels (except some special purpose stocks).
• Each bogie is provided with a bolster for engagement with its male counterpart provided underneath the vehicle under frame.
• The bogie trucks can swivel and adjust it’s position with case and without restraining the vehicle body while negotiating a curved track. 

Factors for Designing A Bogie

• Sturdy construction to withstand vertical, longitudinal and lateral shocks.
• Suitable suspension gear.
• Satisfactory damping devices.
•  Sturdy running gears to give trouble free service.
• Easy negotiability on curved track without restraining body structure.

Versions of Coaching Bogie

• IRS Bogie

• SCHLIEREN Bogie (ICF Laminated Bogie)

• MAN-HAL Bogie (BEML Bogie)

• ICF All Coiled Bogie

• IRY/IR-20 Bogie

• Fiat Bogie (Similar to IR-20 Bogie)

VACUUM BRAKE SYSTEM ( obsolete these days )

Introduction

Vacuum Brakes were used for many years before the use of the standard in place of the standard 

Air Brakes or E-P Brakes. These brakes used the vacuum in the brake chamber for release or apply of the brakes. Here is the short discription of the Vaccum Brakes.

Basics

A moving train contains energy, known as kinetic energy, which needs to be removed from the train in order to cause it to stop.  The simplest way of doing this is to convert the energy into heat.  The conversion is usually done by applying a contact material to the rotating wheels or to discs attached to the axles.  The material creates friction and converts the kinetic energy into heat.  The wheels slow down and eventually the train stops.  The material used for braking is normally in the form of a block or pad.

The vast majority of the world's trains are equipped with braking systems which use compressed air as the force used to push blocks on to wheels or pads on to discs.  These systems are known as "air brakes" or "pneumatic brakes".  The compressed air is transmitted along the train through a "brake pipe".  Changing the level of air pressure in the pipe causes a change in the state of the brake on each vehicle.  It can apply the brake, release it or hold it "on" after a partial application.  The system is in widespread use throughout the world.

INDIAN RAILWAYS - INTRODUCTION

Indian Railways (reporting mark IR / भा. रे) is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways.

Indian Railways is the world's seventh largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.307 million employees as of last published figures in 2013 . As for rolling stock, IR holds over 239,281 Freight Wagons, 62,924 Passenger Coaches and 9,013 Locomotives (43 steam, 5,345 diesel and 4,568 electric locomotives). The trains have a 5 digit numbering system and runs 12,617 passenger trains and 7421 freight trains daily. As of 31 March 2013, 20,884 km (12,977 mi) (31.9%) of the total 65,436 km (40,660 mi) route length was electrified. Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR use 25,000 Volt AC traction through overhead catenary delivery.

Railway zones

Indian Railways is divided into 17 zones,which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952 and seventeen in 2003. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-eight divisions.

Each zone is headed by a general manager, who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions, under the control of divisional railway managers (DRM). The divisional officers, of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial, security and safety branches, report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the station masters, who control individual stations and train movements through the track territory under their stations' administration.

AIR BRAKE SYSTEM ( I.R )

AIR BRAKE SYSTEM

            In Air Brake system compressed air is used for operating the brake system. The locomotive compressor charges the feed pipe and the brake pipes throughout the length of the train. The feed pipe is connected to the auxiliary reservoirs and the brake pipe is connected to the brake cylinders through the distributor valve. Brake application takes place by dropping the pressure in the brake pipe. The schematic arrangement of the brake equipment is shown as Fig 1.

Types of Air Brake System:-

1) Direct Release System :- (100% creation & drop of pressure)

In direct release system, the brake cylinder pressure cannot be reduced in steps by increasing the brake pipe pressure in steps during release. The brakes are released immediately, as soon as releasing of brakes is initiated.

2) Graduated Release System:-

In this system the brake cylinder pressure can be reduced gradually in steps in proportion to the increase in brake pipe pressure.

One and only train of Indian Railways with IRY/IR-20 type Coaches

In the late 1990's RCF, under the auspices of a UN-assisted program, came out with some prototype coaches of new designs, classified IRX/IR15 (IRW?), IRY/IR20, and IRZ/IR30. The first part of the code (e.g., IRY) refers to the shell design, and the second part (e.g. IR20) to the bogie design.) The IR20 bogies are based on the Eurofima design (in fact, they are said to be more or less an exact copy of the design).

The IRW coach is said to have had a variety of passenger-friendly and track-friendly features such as chemical toilets. As its production costs were projected to be too high, this design never entered serial production. The sole coach of this design made by RCF never entered service with IR (and is still [12/04] at RCF). The IRZ coach is said to have encountered various design problems and was abandoned after a few trials.

The IRY/IR20 coach, which was designed for a max. speed of 140km/h, did enter serial production in small numbers (more below). One or two isolated examples of other RCF-built coaches with features different from the normal ICF coaches have been spotted on rare occasions (e.g., there is a report of one 3A coach used with the Grand Trunk Express in 2001), although information about these experiments (which is presumably what they were) is very sparse.

Some of the IRY/IR20 coaches, with a ribbed or corrugated shell design for strength, were used for a while ([2/02] and are still used occasionally) with the Amritsar Swarna Shatabdi. Another rake of IRY/IR20 coaches was being used for the Bareilly Shatabdi. Apart from that these coaches do not seem to be in use elsewhere [5/01]. Update [12/04]:One of the IRY/IR20 rakes is no longer in service, being cannibalized as a source of spare parts for the second. Improvements in these IRY/IR20 coaches include better ride quality, larger windows, improved noise reduction, improvements in the air-conditioning system and ducts, and modified pantry equipment including trolleys, drink dispensers, etc. The bogies for these (IR-20) will continue to be manufactured for use with MG coaches with service speeds of 100km/h, besides also being exported (Vietnam, some African countries). Meanwhile for coach bodies/shells, RCF has switched to production of the LHB coaches (see below).

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING AT R.C.F ( Rail Coach Factory )

Taking into account country’s large population, a proper system of transportation is inevitable. No doubt that the country’s Railway is taking care of this problem.

The demand of more and more passenger trains is the result of the country’s ever increasing prosperity and population. The decision to set up a Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala, Punjab In August’85 was a timely step towards making good shortfall and complementing the coach manufacturing capacity of Railway’s other manufacturing units.

ICF BOGIE