Improvements in or relating to railway vehicles

832,274. Rail vehicle undercarriages. METALASTIK Ltd. June 5. 1958 [June 26, 1957], No. 20192/57. Class 103(6) The underframe 7 of a railway vehicle having an uneven number of pairs of wheels, 11, 12, 13 is supported from the bogie frame by springs 16 arranged on opposite sides of a transverse vertical plane 17 containing the axis of rotation of the axle 14 of wheels 12, each spring being mounted on transoms 10 and adjacent solebars 9 and the springs being so arranged that all their compression axes C are directed downwardly to a common point of intersection P. Each spring 16 comprises rubber discs 27 with metal interleaves 28 and end plates 29 bonded thereto, which plates are secured to wedges 18, 30 having part cylindrical surfaces which engage the inner surfaces of cylindrical recesses 19, 20 in the body and bogie frame respectively when under compression to support the spring A platform 22 at the top of the wedge 18 has a spigot 23 which enters an aperture 24 in a plate 25 which closes the upper end of recess 19. Each solebar 9 has a rubber side bearer 50 connected to the underframe 7 to act in shear for horizontal loads both transversely and longitudinally. The bearers 50 are in compressive loading under all traction and braking forces and may have their compression axes inclined inwardly so that with relative transverse movements of the underframe and bogie frame they act slightly in compression but mainly in shear.