Articulated locomotive

The steam locomotives a joint locomotive is a locomotive with one or two steam bogies. The electric locomotives (or diesel locomotives ) the term a vehicle with multi- car body, which is connected by one or more joints.

Steam locomotives

Because of the good curve- joint locomotives were often faced with narrow gauge, field and forest paths. Your rough running at higher speeds played a minor role there. In the United States, was built as a joint locomotives with the " Big Boy ," one of the largest ever built steam locomotives. A disadvantage of the joint locomotives was the difficult sealing of moving steam lines.

Known designs are the types Mallet, Garratt, Meyer, Fairlie and single Fairlie. Also Supports tender locomotives and transmission locomotives are counted as articulated locomotives.

Electric locomotives

A similar approach as in the Garratt steam locomotives was applied to the so-called Crocodile locomotives. On two movable motor bogies a bridge with the cabs is placed in the middle. A similar locomotive was at the same time developed in the U.S. with the EP -2 of the Milwaukee Road.

In another design, the two car bodies store on an intermediate Jakobs truck. It was used in the New Zealand EW class and in Italy at the E.636, E.646 and E.656. The RhB Ge 6/6 II in Switzerland differs from this type because their box joint between the two locomotive parts allows only vertical movements.

Not to be confused with the articulated locomotives are locomotives double, consisting of two structurally separate half locomotives.