Rubber Tires on Railways

Like that'd work under a 100+ ton ore wagon.
They've had some spectacular brain snaps over the years, like the newly appointed, diploma dripping manager who suggested that money may be saved on tarps by just using a really really long one to cover the whole coal train to keep the dust down through towns instead of separate ones on each wagon. That was met by stunned silence and blew my conviction at the time that women were smarter than men. She didn't think train tracks had curves obviously. She didn't know we were running coalies in strings of around 62 to 90 wagons either. I think Thomas the Tank engine was the sum total of her railroad experience.

I was sooo chuffed to have been included in that 'brainstorming' meeting to supply 'real time train movement reporting' input. I wouldn't have missed the expressions on the big boy's faces at her utterance for quids.
 

Maybe I'm just stupid, but that article didn't really explain to me just why the rubber tires didn't work. It wasn't as if they couldn't pull the weight, only that more of them would be required.

Changing them out couldn't be much harder than steel wheels, right?

Maybe some train buffs here can 'splain it to me, because from an outsider's view the gains in traction alone would save immensely on fuel costs ...

Maybe a more modern version could work?
 
Longevity = lower costs.

100+ton coal/ore carrier trucks used in the mines have tires that fit axles around 5ft off the ground. They cost a few thousand bucks each and have to be brought to the site on a low loader with a wide load escort. They are massive! ( I have a photo somewhere of my 5'11" cousin standing in the hub of one.)

A rail freight wagon with wheels that big wouldn't be all that stable on the bends. *See train wreck pictures.

Also, if you're thinking aha, the Saturn rocket trolley, lotsa littler wheels to hold the weight. How maneouverable is that thing again? Good on grades and bends is it? And how fast does it go?

Given that the railroad ones don't imply inflated tires, just a coating of rubber. How do you stick the rubber on? How long would the glue last on an ultra heavy ore wagon barreling along at 100kph for a full day on some runs, on a steel track you could fry an egg on? Which would disintegrate first? The glue or the rubber?

Tch, city folk. :playful:
 
Diwundrin said:
Longevity = lower costs.
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Would also equal lower profits for the tire manufacturers, so right there is a conflict of interest.

100+ton coal/ore carrier trucks used in the mines have tires that fit axles around 5ft off the ground. They cost a few thousand bucks each and have to be brought to the site on a low loader with a wide load escort. They are massive! ( I have a photo somewhere of my 5'11" cousin standing in the hub of one.)
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Those are purpose-built tires, specifically for their application. I wouldn't expect a train to sport those - it would look like something from R. Crumb's nightmares.

Also, if you're thinking aha, the Saturn rocket trolley, lotsa littler wheels to hold the weight. How maneouverable is that thing again? Good on grades and bends is it? And how fast does it go?
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Totally different application - all of the weight is centered over a very small surface area, versus a train which would be stretched out.

Given that the railroad ones don't imply inflated tires, just a coating of rubber. How do you stick the rubber on? How long would the glue last on an ultra heavy ore wagon barreling along at 100kph for a full day on some runs, on a steel track you could fry an egg on? Which would disintegrate first? The glue or the rubber?
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I don't know why it would have to be a coating, instead of solid rubber like on some bicycle tires.

As for adhesives, if they had to go that route - modern engineering has produced some remarkable adhesives, especially for the aforementioned space program. If they put their collective minds to it I'm sure they could develop something appropriate.

Tch, city folk. :playful:
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Hey, I've lait down on many a railroad track! ;)
 
YUP...I think Walt Disney at Disneyworld had the same idea for their parks monorail.
 

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