Masking tape is an essential tool in scale modelling and the size you choose can significantly impact the quality and...
Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
Masking tape is an essential tool in scale modelling and the size you choose can significantly impact the quality and...
One of the headaches modelmakers and scratchbuilders face is how to keep files clear of accumulated metal filings and...
To achieve convincingly scorched, blackened textures on fire-damaged structures, the techniques involved can seem...
One of the most rewarding aspects of building a model railway is creating a realistic, living world in miniature....
The EM gauge refers to a specific track gauge that falls between the standard OO gauge and P4 standards. The term...
Bo-Bo is a common wheel arrangement for many medium sized diesel and most electric locomotives. It indicates that a locomotive has two bogies (one at each end), each bogie has two axles and each axle has 2 wheels giving the locomotive eight wheels in total (four at each end). To be classified as a Bo-Bo arrangement each one of the eight wheels must have its own traction-motor.
The requirement for all of the wheels to all have an independent traction motor means that diesels with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangements will by default be a diesel-electric. This is where a diesel engine powers an electrical generator that, in turn, powers the individual traction-motors, a set up that is not possible with diesel hydraulic locomotives which tend to have B'B arrangements when referring to locos with eight wheels.
Not many larger more powerful diesels have Bo-Bo wheel arrangements because such locos are simply too heavy and need their weight distributing across more wheels. This is a problem that electric locomotives don't suffer from as they are much lighter, so many electric locomotives even the bigger, more powerful ones have Bo-Bo wheel arrangements.
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