Transmission

Abstract

A highly important matter in connection with traction vehicles driven by a combustion engine is the manner of transmission from the engine shaft to the driving wheels.(With steam locomotives the steam power is simply transmitted direct to the cranks of the driving wheels by means of the piston, piston rod and connecting rod, which is the best solution, for even while the locomotive is at a standstill, the full steam pressure is available on the piston so that a great starting moment can be exerted on the driving wheels. A combustion engine, however, cannot be started with its own power, but requires a separate source of energy, the power of which for starting up under load has to be relatively large, so that for this reason it is more advantageous to start the engine unloaded and then gradually increase the load. For this purpose a certain transmission is needed between the engine and the driving wheels, adjustable according to the load in so far as this cannot be arranged in the engine itself.