Cannon bearing

Rails of this period were short pieces of cast iron rather than lengths of rolled steel and had frequent, often misaligned, joints.

The need for an alternative system spurred the development of the coupling rods,[1] where the drive was connected on the outside face of the wheels.

David Joy, designer of the eponymous valvegear, described encountering these axleboxes on Webb's Precedent class.

[5] The rigidity of the cannon box also allows the faces of the axleboxes which move up and down in the hornguides to only need a single horn flange.

[2] The thinner axlebox, without the external flange, can allow the hornguides and frames to be placed closer to the inner face of the wheel, giving better support for a heavily-loaded axle.

As light steam tractors developed from 1896 for road haulage though,[6] locomotives with solid rubber tyres and suspension became favoured.

Designs such as the Tasker Little Giant[7][8] used another compensated suspension, where the tube was suspended from a single transverse leaf spring.