Reduction of the force interaction between vehicle and track is strongly desirable for many reasons. Because conventional methods of reduction of wheel-rail contact forces, based on tuning of vehicle suspension parameters or utilising several mechanisms acting between wheelsets, bogie-frames and car-body, reach their limits, active controlled systems are becoming a promising solution of the problem. The paper is created within the project which aim is to design a system of active wheelset steering for an electric four-axle locomotive. The project consists of three main stages: multibody simulations, scaled roller rig experiments and field tests. The first stage of the project is described in the paper in detail. It focuses on the composing and verification and the simulation results of the MBS model including vehicle, sensors, actuator model, and controller.