Draft gears allow locomotives to overcome static friction one car at a time, which is why a single locomotive can pull thousands of tons of rail cars as if it were nothing.

causalpending

Speaker

Unidentified Speaker — Why Locomotives Can Pull So Much [z60R7xktGRs]

Evidence Quote

since draft gears allow locomotives to gradually add weight one car at a time this also means that they're only overcoming the static friction of one car at a time given locomotives the ability to pull thousands of tons

Source

Why Locomotives Can Pull So MuchSouthern Plains Railfan
Created: 8/13/2026, 9:56:55 AM

My Notes

Loading notes...