Patent ID: 8371233

Claim:
A system for a rail vehicle configured to travel along a rail track, said system comprising: a truck comprising a non-powered axle and at least one powered axle, wherein each of the at least one powered axle comprises an axle, a traction motor, and a gear, wherein the gear is drivable by the motor, and wherein the axle is rotatable by the gear; a device coupled to the non-powered axle and the at least one powered axle for dynamically adjusting a weight distribution between the non-powered axle and the at least one powered axle, wherein the device is controllable to shift weight to the at least one powered axle from the non-powered axle, thereby decreasing a weight imparted by the non-powered axle on the rail track and increasing a weight imparted by the at least one powered axle on the rail track; and a controller operable according to a computer program to control the device for dynamically adjusting the weight distribution based on a static weight of each wheel of the rail vehicle on the rail track.