A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, or electric multiple unit trains.
A ZQDR-410 traction motor (the large, dark component on the axle with small ventilation holes)
Swiss Rhaetian Railway Ge 6/6 I Krokodil locomotive, with a single large traction motor above each bogie, with drive by coupling rods.
Nose-suspended DC traction motor for a Czech ČD class 182 locomotive
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate force in the form of torque applied on the motor's shaft. An electric generator is mechanically identical to an electric motor, but operates in reverse, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Faraday's electromagnetic experiment, 1821, the first demonstration of the conversion of electrical energy into motion
Jedlik's "electromagnetic self-rotor", 1827 (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest). The historic motor still works perfectly today.
An electric motor presented to Kelvin by James Joule in 1842, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow
Rotor (left) and stator (right)
