Bolster, as an important part of cast steel three-piece truck bogie, is to connect two side frames and to transfer the weight of the car body to the wheels and rails through the center plate or side bearings.
The bogie bolsters are generally made of cast steel by casting process, and are often equipped with wearing plate, lower center plate, and fulcrum seats, etc.
Railteco is capable of designing and manufacturing bolsters applied for all kinds of track gauges, different axle loads and running speeds. The design and manufacture standards we could comply with: American standards AAR m-201, AAR m-202, AAR m-210, Chinese railway standard TB/T 3012 and GOST standard.
The bolster is mainly casted by Class B and Class C steel and their chemical composition and mechanical properties as shown in below tables.
Chemical Composition of Cast Steel for Bolster:
| Material Grade | C ≤ | Si≤ | Mn≤ | P≤ | S≤ | Cu≤ | Ni≤ | Cr≤ | Mo≤ |
| Class B | 0.28 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.3 | 0.3 | - | - |
| Class C | 0.28 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.3 | 0.35 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Mechanical properties of Cast Steel for Bolster:
| Material Grade | Tensile strength | Yield Strength | Elongation Rate | Reduction rate in section | Impact absorption |
| Class B | ≥485 | ≥260 | ≥24 | ≥36 | ≥20(-7℃) |
| Class C | ≥620 | ≥415 | ≥22 | ≥45 | ≥20(-18℃) |
