how do trains turn in a tight tunnel without derailing?
In: Physics
It’s the same way they turn when there is no tunnel. They just need enough clearance for the train to drift on the rail a little out of the turn for the wheel radius to be right to make the curve.
Edit: Just to clarify, for a vehicle to turn the outer wheels have to go faster than the inner wheels, because the outside circle is larger than the inside circle. Trains have an insanely elegant solution of the wheels being cones, so when the train starts to turn the inertial force pulls the train over on the tracks and the inside of the cone of the outside wheels is smaller so has to move faster to go the same distance as the inside.
It’s weird to explain a graphic of it makes it crystal clear. It’s really kind of beautiful in how simple it is.
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