Principles
The aforementioned reciprocating balance on the wheels attempts to prevent the worst of the reciprocating forces at play on a locomotive, though as a compromise, this extra mass on the wheel causes it to be out of balance vertically, therefore creating hammer blow. Therefore, if reciprocating balancing is increased, it may appear that a locomotive is running smoothly, but at a high cost in hammer blow, especially at high speeds.
Locomotives are balanced to their individual cases, especially if several of the same design are constructed (a class). The normal operating speed is ascertained, resulting in each class member being balanced accordingly. Usually the reciprocating weight is balanced between 45 to 50% of total balance weight. High speed locomotives were the key recipients of such treatment due to the increased level of forces involved, and the exponential factor of stress on the track at these higher speeds.
Read more about this topic: Hammer Blow
Famous quotes containing the word principles:
“It is the genius of our Constitution that under its shelter of enduring institutions and rooted principles there is ample room for the rich fertility of American political invention.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“The chief lesson of the Depression should never be forgotten. Even our liberty-loving American people will sacrifice their freedom and their democratic principles if their security and their very lives are threatened by another breakdown of our free enterprise system. We can no more afford another general depression than we can afford another total war, if democracy is to survive.”
—Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)
“Magic is akin to science in that it always has a definite aim intimately associated with human instincts, needs, and pursuits. The magic art is directed towards the attainment of practical aims. Like other arts and crafts, it is also governed by a theory, by a system of principles which dictate the manner in which the act has to be performed in order to be effective.”
—Bronislaw Malinowski (1984–1942)