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Originally Posted by EricH
Physics--There's a reason for it (to keep the train on the track, in this case). I forget the name of the principle. Here's a quick demo of how it works: attach the bottoms of two styrofoam cups (you know, those little white ones that come in huge packages) together, set up two rulers/metersticks (or something similar) parallel to each other and roll the cups down from one end to the other. That's what keeps the trains on the track (the flanges are backup).
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its more that that. The train wheels are welded to the same axle, so as the train goes around a bend the centripetal force causes the outside wheel to ride up on its inside (larger diameter) and the wheel on the inside of the curve is on the smaller part of its diameter. This allows the wheels to stay in contact with the rails without slipping, because the outside rail is longer than the inside rail on a curve.