The task of modernizing the wheel-motor blocks of locomotives with a wheel diameter of 1050 mm with asynchronous and collector traction motors is considered. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the design of the traverse suspension of the collector engines is outdated and contains wearing surfaces that are difficult to protect from contamination, while due to the limited dimensions the attempt to use a hinged suspension of the “Earring” type, the silent blocks on the axes were stuck. For drives with asynchronous motors, an increase in the rotational speed is limited by the cantilever location of the gear, at which the gear rotates and the end of the motor shaft can be turned. An engine suspension design with three spherical silent blocks, a liquid with ferromagnetic nanoparticles and a permanent magnet is proposed. It eliminates jamming of the silent blocks on the axes during transverse movements of the engine and ensures interchangeability of the wheel-motor blocks for upgraded and non-upgraded trolleys. To improve the reliability of traction transmission, it is proposed to position the gear between the rotary bearings. To reduce the wear of traction gear teeth, the design of an elastic gear wheel with chevron teeth was proposed. A patent for an invention and a patent for a utility model have been obtained for the proposed technical solutions.