A failure study of housing of the gearboxes of series 2600 locomotives of the Portuguese Railway Company

This paper presents the results obtained in the study of the cracking problems on the driving gearboxes of series 2600 locomotives. These components were under big vibration and severe fatigue conditions. The cracks in these components appear in two distinct parts: in the upper zone of the cover and in the frontal central zone of the body of the housing. The loading data was obtained in service, in two routine journeys: Lisboa–Porto intercity train, with maximum speed of 160 km/h and Entroncamento–Guarda freight train, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. Finally from a synthesis of all the data obtained a set of conclusions are presented to prevent further failures in the driving gearboxes.