Gölsdorf axle

In the early days of the railway, locomotives were built with more and more axles in order the meet the increasingly heavy loads of goods trains.

As a result, a different avenue of development was pursued, whereby a degree of smooth curve running could be achieved using a long, rigid frame through the use, for example, of axles that had sufficient sideways play.

It was in effect an artifice enabling locomotives to retain a long, rigid frame (without articulation or bogies), yet whose individual axles could be better aligned when curve running.

In addition, the connecting and coupling rods, through which linear forces from the steam pistons are translated into rotation of the wheels via the crank pins, must also be able to move sideways.

One of the first companies in Germany to introduce Gölsdorf axles was the privately run Westphalian State Railway (Westfälische Landeseisenbahn), whose heavy goods trains between Belecke and Erwitte needed powerful, but nevertheless agile, locomotives in order to cross the Haarstrang hills.