Re: [VIC] Wooden cars at high speed (was: [VIC] Parallel run)

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Brown Family (pcc@ocean.com.au) won a Nobel Prize for literature by writing:
> >E cars were designed to ride rough track at 80mph. The bogies have 3 axles
> >not because of weight, but so there will always be at least 4 wheels on
> >the track at any given time over rough joints.
>
> C'mon David, with due respect mate. No rail bogie, this side of a
> logging tramway, has ever been designed to allow wheels to leave and
> rejoin the track.

You should watch them over rough joints some time.

> The V-class carriages, which pre-dated the E's, all had four-wheel
> bogies and ran at the same speeds and the same tracks as the E's,

Yes and no. The V cars were built for a different purpose. As early as
1886, VR recognised the need for improved passenger cars on secondary main
lines and principal branch lines. The original plan was for more AA and BB
dogbox cars. This plan eventually evolved into the V cars. There was a
plan in about 1905 to build 100 more V cars (25 AV, 25BV and 50 ABV), and
this eventually evolved into the W cars.

The E cars were designed for express main line use, and evolved from the
design of the Pioneer cars.

However, the speed limit at the time the V cars were built was 60mph (an
early plan for what became the A2 has the same driving wheels as the DD).
By the time the Es were running at 70mph, much of the track had been
improved, but it was still not perfect. The E cars certainly do ride much
better over rough joints than V or W cars, or even S cars. You can feel
the difference in E cars with Argentine bogies.

Cheers
David