Failures of bearings and axles in railway freight wagons

The article deals with two cases of failures in freight wagon cylindrical roller bearings and axles. In the first case, the failure caused a major destruction of the railway line. Determining the cause of the failure was a difficult task, as the material was rather deformed by the damage and modified due to high temperatures. Therefore only a most probable explanation of this case was given at first for lack of an exact answer. A few months later the bearing of another wagon failed. This failure was detected on time, so that no axle failure or major damage occurred. Here the material was not that much deformed and modified due to high temperature, so it was possible to determine the cause of failure. Based on this, the circumstances governing the first case could later be fully explained.