wheelslip en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel Proto-West Germanic *slippjander. Old Saxon *slippiander. Middle Low German slippender.? Middle English slippen English slip English wheelslip From wheel + slip.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) A problem in starting or running a locomotive or train, where excess power supplied to the driven wheels causes them to turn against the rail, especially when the rails are slippery, without moving the train forward.
Daily diagramming involves the single-heading of 1400-tonne trains over the northern banks, where wheelslip can be experienced when the rails are wet.
2023 July 26, David Clough, “Technology progression defines Class 93”, in RAIL, number 988, page 54:Minor changes to control gear include the provision of automatic wheelslip protection, since these units will be operated on lines with ruling gradients of 1 in 60 or 1 in 80. Wheelslip automatically causes the main generator field excitation to be reduced; the load regulator is forced back to minimum excitation and, if operating in one of the two stages of traction motor field divert, causes reversion to full field.
1962 December, “The Oxted Line diesel-electric multiple-units”, in Modern Railways, page 385:Near-synonym: wheelspin
The traction motors are connected in three parallel groups of two in series, and the mid-points of each pair of motors are connected together; the mid-point connection is used in conjunction with relays to form a device which is sensitive to wheelslip, thus leading to an improvement in adhesion.
1960 April, “English Electric diesels for the Sudan Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 218: