Adhesive weight
Encyclopedia
Adhesive weight is the amount of a locomotive's
weight that is applied to the driving wheel
s and so capable of delivering traction
. The more weight applied to the driving wheels, the greater the locomotive's ability to haul a load. But if the weight on the driving wheels exceeds the axle load
of the line, the railway infrastructure
will be damaged.
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
weight that is applied to the driving wheel
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
s and so capable of delivering traction
Rail adhesion
The term adhesion railway or adhesion traction describes the most common type of railway, where power is applied by driving some or all of the wheels of the locomotive. Thus, it relies on the friction between a steel wheel and a steel rail. Note that steam locomotives of old were driven only by...
. The more weight applied to the driving wheels, the greater the locomotive's ability to haul a load. But if the weight on the driving wheels exceeds the axle load
Axle load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Viewed another way, it is the fraction of total vehicle weight resting on a given axle...
of the line, the railway infrastructure
Permanent way
The permanent way is the elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on the sleepers embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway...
will be damaged.