To the estimation of the locomotive power

The article considers phenomenological and modelling approach to researching of interaction of a deformable wheel and a plane of support, their advantages and disadvantages are mentioned. In the context of phenomenological approach the five methods of locomotive tangent tractive force calculation were considered. There certainly must be pseudo-creeping to let locomotive tangent tractive force do work and change the kinetic energy of a train in the point of wheel and rail contact. Locomotive tractive force experts calculate the power as product of the locomotive tangent tractive force and the velocity of translational motion of a train, although in fact the velocity of the point of force application must be assumed. It is applied to a wheel pair, then the velocity of this point must be used to calculate the locomotive power. According to this fact the locomotive power is found several tens of times reduced.