What is the number of wheels in a rail engine?
There are there types of wheel arrangements in Locomotives of Indian Railways. “ B,B”, “Bo,Bo” and “Co, Co”.Here is the picture for you to understand easily.
In “B B” type one traction motor driven the two axle. There are total 4 axle and two traction motors in this type Locomotive. Now this Locomotive ais obsolete in Indian Railway. WAG 1/4 was a this type Locomotive.
In “Bo, Bo” type each axle have his individual traction Motor. There are four axles and eight wheels in this type of Locomotive. WAP 5 is one of such Locomotive in Indian Railways. Here is a picture of WAP-5.
The difference between a Bo-Bo and a B-B is that the two axles in a B bogie are coupled together, either by a coupling rod (once common but now obsolete) or because they are both driven by the same motor.
The last type is “Co Co”. In this type there are six axles in a Locomotive. Each axle has two wheels so there are 12 wheels in this types of Locomotive. All axles are driven by separate traction motor. Now in Indian Railways most all locomotives use this type of wheel arrangement. Example are WAP 7, WAG 5, WAG 7, WAP 4. Here is a picture of WAP 7.
Written By – Ashar Jami.