How do train wheels not skid or lose traction?

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Basically the title. Considering that train wheels are made of metals and run on metal tracks, how do they prevent wheelslip or loss of traction especially when starting with heavy loads or when going uphill? I’ve heard of sandboxes which can be used to provide more grip by spraying sand onto the track but I’m not sure if they’re still prevalent.

Thanks!

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12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

They can slip. The engines are powerful enough to spin the wheels in place. But that would damage the wheels and the rails, so they start in a low gear. There are engineering tables with friction coefficients for steel on steel, they know the calculations and new people are always mentored. They are called engineers for a reason

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