Hmmm EggBert
This has been bothering me all night about his "Theory" of why railcar wheels are tapered. That they are, and the side to side play of a wheelset is probobly @ an inch. But that small amount of taper to the wheelset, combined with the side to side play...it is very doubtfull that this alone allows a wheelset to turn without the outer, or inner wheel skidding.
I think he is way off...and that one wheel skids around curves...more than likely the inner wheel. As the center of gravity of the traincar is pushing harder on the outside curve wheel, virtually raising the inner wheelset off the track. Banking curves inward helps to keep this outward centrifical force under control and to a minimum. It is true that, wheels are coned, to some extent, but not enough to overcome one wheel skidding around curves.
I would think that the major reason for tapering the wheels is to keep the wheel and truck from "Hunting" for the railhead, (violently swerving or shaking from rail to rail, slamming the flanges against the railhead).
And I think that his theory of coned tapered wheels on a curved track: allows one wheel to skid more easily than the other wheel.
