Arrangement of radial bogie

1. A radial bogie for a rail vehicle, comprising:

a frame having longitudinally extending side members laterally spaced by transoms, said side members defining a longitudinal axis and having leading and trailing ends;

leading and trailing wheelsets with axles supported on said frame;

first and second steering beams for pivotally guiding said wheelsets, said first steering beam being pivotably mounted on said frame behind said leading wheelset away from the leading end of the frame, and said second steering beam being pivotably mounted on said frame behind said trailing wheelset adjacent the trailing end of said frame, said steering beams including crank arms coupled thereto;

an inter-axle linkage connected between said crank arms to define a cooperative relationship between said steering beams; and

traction links connected between said wheelsets and said steering beams.

2. The radial bogie of claim 1 , further comprising a center wheelset with an axle supported on said frame between said leading and trailing wheelsets, said center wheelset being substantially unpivotably mounted on said frame and being movable laterally to said longitudinal axis.

3. The radial bogie of claim 2 , wherein said frame further includes side posts, and provided are additional traction links connecting said center wheelset to said side posts.

4. The radial bogie of claim 2 , wherein said frame further includes side posts, and provided is a carbody linkage which includes bell cranks pivotably supported on a respective one of said side posts, a cross link pivotably interconnecting first ends of said bell cranks, and side rods connected between a respective one of second ends of said bell cranks and a carbody of the rail vehicle.

5. The radial bogie of claim 1 , wherein said inter-axle linkage includes at least two links pivotably supported on said frame by a lever arm.

6. The radial bogie of claim 1 , wherein said inter-axle linkage is a single link which extends diagonally above at least one transom.

7. The radial bogie of claim 1 , wherein each of said axles is selected from a group of a powered axle, or an unpowered axle.

8. The radial bogie of claim 1 , wherein said steering beams further include torque tubes each pivotably mounted on a respective one of said transoms and which extend vertically upward about a pivot axes of a respective one of said steering beams and connect, at their upper ends, with a respective one of said crank arms.

9. A radial bogie for a rail vehicle, comprising:

a frame having longitudinally extending side members laterally spaced by transoms, said side members having side posts and defining a longitudinal axis;

two end wheelsets with axles supported on said frame, said two end wheelsets being pivotably mounted on said frame;

a center wheelset with an axle supported on said frame between said two end wheelsets, said center wheelset being substantially unpivotably connected to said side posts by traction links and being movable laterally to said longitudinal axis;

steering beams for pivotally guiding said end wheelsets, each one of said steering beams being pivotably mounted on said frame behind a respective one of said end wheelsets;

additional traction links connected between said end wheelsets and said steering beams; and

an inter-axle linkage connected between said steering beams.

10. The radial bogie of claim 9 , wherein said steering beams include crank arms having ends extending in laterally opposite directions, and said inter-axle linkage is connect to said crank arm ends.

11. The radial bogie of claim 9 , wherein said inter-axle linkage is a design selected from the group comprising a single link, and at least two links pivotably supported on said frame by a lever arm.

12. The radial bogie of claim 9 , wherein said inter-axle linkage extends diagonally above said center wheelset, one of said end wheelsets, and at least one of said transoms.

13. The radial bogie of claim 9 , wherein each of said axles is selected from the group of a powered axle, and an un-powered axle.

14. The radial bogie of claim 9 , wherein said steering beams further include torque tubes each pivotably mounted on a respective one of said transoms and which extend vertically upward about a pivot axes of a respective one of said steering beams and connect, at their upper ends, with a respective one of said crank arms.

15. The radial bogie of claim 9 , further comprising a carbody linkage rotatably connecting said frame to a carbody of the rail vehicle.

16. The radial bogie of claim 15 , wherein the carbody linkage includes bell cranks pivotably supported on a respective one of said side posts, a cross link pivotably interconnecting first ends of said bell cranks, and side rods connected between a respective one of second ends of said bell cranks and said carbody of the rail vehicle.

17. A radial bogie for rail vehicles, comprising:

a frame having a leading end and defining a longitudinal axis;

first, second, and third wheelsets having axles being elastically supported on said frame;

a pair of steering beams, one each located behind said first and third wheelsets away from said leading end of said frame;

traction links coupling said first and third wheelsets to said steering beams, and said second wheelset to said frame; and

an inter-axle link coupling rotary motions about vertical axes of said steering beams to provide opposite transverse movement of said first and third wheelsets upon traversing curves.

18. A railroad locomotive of the type comprising a carbody supported by at least one self steering radial bogie having a frame having longitudinally extending side members laterally spaced by transoms, said side members defining a longitudinal axis and having leading and trailing ends; leading and trailing driven wheelsets with axles supported on said frame; first and second steering beams for pivotally guiding said wheelsets, said first steering beam being pivotably mounted on said frame behind said leading wheelset away from the leading end of the frame, and said second steering beam being pivotably mounted on said frame behind said trailing wheelset adjacent the trailing end of said frame, wherein said steering beams include crank arms having ends extending in substantially lateral opposite directions; traction links connected between said wheelsets and said steering beams; and an inter-axle linkage connected between said steering beams through said crank arm ends.

19. The railroad locomotive of claim 18 , further comprising a center wheelset with an axle supported on said frame between said leading and trailing wheelsets, said center wheelset being substantially unpivotably mounted on said frame and being movable laterally to said longitudinal axis.

20. The railroad locomotive of claim 19 , wherein said frame further includes side posts, and provided are additional traction links connecting said center wheelset to said side posts.

21. The railroad locomotive of claim 18 , wherein said inter-axle linkage is a design selected from the group comprising a single link, and at least two links pivotably supported on said frame by a lever arm.

22. The railroad locomotive of claim 18 , wherein said inter-axle linkage extends diagonally above at least one of said transoms.

23. The railroad locomotive of claim 18 , wherein said frame further includes side posts, and provided is a carbody linkage which includes bell cranks pivotably supported on a respective one of said side posts, a cross link pivotably interconnecting first ends of said bell cranks, and side rods connected between a respective one of second ends of said bell cranks and the carbody.

24. The railroad locomotive of claim 18 , wherein said steering beams further include torque tubes each pivotably mounted on a respective one of said transoms and which extend vertically upward about a pivot axes of a respective one of said steering beams and connect, at their upper ends, with a respective one of said crank arms.