Articulated railway truck

Claim 1

Supporting and steering means for a railway vehicle, said means comprising two articulated truck assemblies disposed toward opposite ends of said railway vehicle, each of said truck assemblies comprising: a. a main truck b. two sub-trucks disposed toward opposite ends of said main truck; c. two pair of axially aligned flanged wheels, each pair rotatably mounted on one of said sub-trucks; d. a main pivotal connection joining said main truck with said railway vehicle, the main pivotal connection of the two truck assemblies located equidistant from a point intermediate points midway between the axial lines of the two pair of wheels in each truck assembly when the railway vehicle is on a straight track; e. two connecting means, each joining one of said sub-trucks with said main truck, said connecting means allowing said subtrucks to rotate with respect to said main truck about pivot points located, when the axial lines of said wheels are parallel, on a vertical longitudinal plane passing through said main pivotal connection and perpendicular to said parallel axis lines, said pivot points also located equidistant from a point intermediate said axial lines; f. means pivotally connecting said sub-trucks, whereby rotation of one of said sub-trucks about its pivot point causes the other sub-truck to rotate an equal amount in the opposite direction about its pivot point; g. means pivotally connecting said railway vehicle to one of said sub-trucks, said means not in contact with said main truck and pivotally joining said sub-truck at a particular point, said particular point located, when the axial lines of said wheels are parallel, on said vertical longitudinal plane, at a location such that the equation a/b c/d is satisfied; where: a horizontal measurement of the truck assembly''s wheel base; b horizontal distance between the two truck assemblies measured from points intermediate the axial lines of the two pair of wheels in each truck assembly; c horizontal distance between said particular point and said main pivotal connection; d horizontal distance between said particular point and the pivot point on the sub-truck joined to said railway vehicle by said pivotally connecting means; h. at least one flexible means integral with at least one of said connections joining one of said sub-trucks to said main truck, said means allowing controlled movement of said connection, thereby permitting rotation of said sub-trucks with respect to said main truck and said railway vehicle.