For the dynamics of wheel/rail and car body, lightweighting of bogie frames is one of main concerns of designers. Lightweighting of the bogie frames may reduce the fatigue strength and life, especially in heavy haul and high-speed conditions. In this work, full-scale fatigue and fracture experiments are performed to meet the design requirements of bogie frame of a high-speed electrical locomotive. Multi-axial stress-states of some dangerous points are found both in service and numerical calculation. The Von-Mises equivalent stress criterion is used to evaluate the strength. Then crack initiation and propagation detected during the test are described. The reason why the crack growth rate may become slow in the weld structure of the bogie frame is explained using a residual stress concept. Miner’s accumulative damage rule and P-S-N curve are used to predict the life of the bogie frame under fatigue and fracture tests. The experimental approach and theoretical analysis give satisfactory results and design i For the dynamics of wheel / rail and car body, lightweighting of bogie frames is one of main concern of designers. Lightweighting of the bogie frames may reduce the fatigue strength and life, especially in heavy haul and high-speed conditions. In this work, full-scale fatigue and fracture experiments are performed to meet the design requirements of bogie frame of a high-speed electrical locomotive. Multi-axial stress-states of some dangerous points are found both in service and numerical calculation. The Von-Mises equivalent stress then crack initiation and propagation detected during the test are described. The reason why the crack growth rate may become slow in the weld structure of the bogie frame is explained using a residual stress concept. Miner’s accumulative damage rule and PSN curve are used to predict the life of the bogie frame under fatigue and fracture tests. The experimental approach and theoretical analysis give satisfactory r esults and design i