What is the relative speed of the narrow and the wide part of a train wheel?

Question

What is the relative speed of the narrow and the wide part of a train wheel?

Answer 1

You're correct the flange goes a different speed than the tread of the wheel.   Not a different RPM but a different linear speed.

How different?  Depends on the diameter of the wheel and the height of the flange (as it actually is, worn.)  Typically wheels are 30-36" in diameter, but they go as low as 24" on transit vehicles.  Work equipment has 14", 16" or 20" wheels.  Flanges are 1-1.5" tall, give or take - this varies with streetcar flanges being shorter and regular railroad flanges being taller.

Answer 2

depends on how fast/if the wheel is turning

Answer 3

the whole thing goes the same speed

the entire axle and wheel assembly is pressed together as one solid unit

I am not sure if you are meaning the outer vs the inner wheel on a curve or somethign else but it is the same speed.

Answer 4

Rango is right, unless, by speed, you mean RPM (revolutions per minute). A small wheel will, obviously, turn more times in a minute than a big wheel, to remain at the in sync with the big wheel. For instance, if the small wheel is a half a mile wide and the big wheel is a mile wide, the small wheel will have to turn 2 times, each time the big wheel turns 1 time. So, if both wheels are traveling at, say, 1 mph, the big wheel will turn once and the small wheel will turn twice, in one hour.