This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 66.31.67.154 (talk) at 01:51, 19 October 2004 (Modified "quill drive" cross reference). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 01:51, 19 October 2004 by 66.31.67.154 (talk) (Modified "quill drive" cross reference)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)"Traction motor" typically refers to those motors that are used to drive the driving wheels of a railroad locomotive.
Traditionally, these are large dc series motors usually running on approximately 600 volts. Nowadays, the availability of high-powered semiconductors (such as the IGBT transistor) has now made practical the use of much simpler, higher-reliability ac induction motors. In ancient days, a single large motor was used to drive multiple driving wheels through connecting rods but it is now standard practice to provide one (or occasionally two) traction motors driving each axle through a gear drive and possibly a quill drive. The traction motors are frequently suspended between the truck frame and the driven axle (the so-called "nose drive"). Because of the high power levels involved, traction motors are almost always cooled using forced air.