There is also the issue of weight... When talking about a power unit, more weight is better... tractive effort is a function of weight... and when you're pulling 100 trailers that each weigh around 200,000# using steel wheels on steel rails, tractive effort is key.

When talking rubber on asphalt, more weight is not necessarily better. The Diesel guys already balk at their GVWR when they find that their pickup weighs about 9,000# with nothing but fuel and normal passengers... no room for cargo.


As far as shifting locomotives, it is necessary, but it isn't the same as in a pickup with a gearbox. In older power units like the GP38, the selector is notched to choose the circuit to use... low notches mean low wheel speed and high torque while higher notches mean greater wheel speed but lower available torque. On newer units the selector is continuous from torque to speed.

Then there is the dynamic braking... Watch a train come down a mountain some time and notice the awesome heat waves billowing out of the top... that isn't from the engine, it is from the impedance grid. Do the same thing to a pickup, and you have to find a nice airy place to put that grid so your dynamic braking doesn't burn your circuits up when towing.

Railroad power units are not Hybrid, they are Diesel/Electric. The difference is batteries. D/E Locomotives change stored energy in fuel into rotational motion and IMMEDIATELY into electrical energy...and then into rotational motion again. Any of that electrical energy which is not used right then is wasted. Hybrids use multiple sources of stored energy to produce rotational motion, and either can function without the other.

 

All of what you said is right. I will not argue with that. Which is why I said if we can get it to work in truck it would be great! (EDIT: I didnt actually say that, I meant to imply it)

In regards to the shifting, yes you shift the locomotive, but you arent moving gears. Thats what I was referring to. When you turn the **** you just change the current.. Electronically.

I know how diesel-electric locomotives are 90% of what are out there and are not hybrid, but there ARE true hybrid out there. Japan uses them for passenger trains I believe, I think I saw that on Modern Marvels. But there are some prototype freight locomotives being used by GE.

 

That didn't take long.

 

Thanks for the clarification on that, I did not know that

 

I think this is a good move by Ford. They will need to keep the design reasonably priced, something that is reliable and that will have a good return on your investment in the form of fuel mileage gain. I have faith that Ford has the engineers and management to pull off such a feat.

EDIT: I should have read the article first. Seems this is a retrofit and not an option Ford is designing. Still a good idea to offer it as a factory option from a company that specializes in this.

 

Batteries are very recyclable. There is no disposing, just reusing.

 

Funny you should say that, I actually just started at Nashville Auto-Diesel College and my first class is Basic Electricity. lol People are right, there will be issues, and the power may not even compare to good ol' combustion, but Ford is taking a step in the right direction. You can't run a marathon if you never learn to walk. I'm personally glad it's Ford grabbing their n**s and getting their feet wet in this technology. I just hope as it advances, they remember their roots on keeping new technology affordable like Mr. Henry Ford did with the Model T in its day. Congrats Ford!!Keep it coming!!!!!

 

So what will a loaded crew cab lariat cost now? 80 grand? Maybe 100?

 

And it will go at least 100miles between charges
Jim...& fat Monty

 

I note that the spokesman in the interview was Commercial Vehicle Chief Engineer Rob Stevens. Apparently Ford expects to turn a profit on a Hybrid truck in fleet sales. (??)

On a "off topic" note, there are some 75 "hybrid" locomotives working around North America. Railpower Tech builds them on first generation diesel switcher frames. These "Green Goats" are only used in yards where switching engines often sit idling.

Green Goats are sometimes confused with RT's genset locomotives ... switchers that have 3 diesel engines that independently start and stop according to power requirements. Both types of switchers were designed to save fuel.

GE's Evolution hybrid road engines are years away (though a prototype has been built and is being tested by GE). But, GE thinks they are the future .... GE invisions them in tugboats and other heavy industrial applications.

Jim

 

The evolution maybe be further along that most of us realize. In south Minneapolis there is a tractor trailer Coca Cola truck that is either all electric or possibly a hybrid, that carries Coke refill supplies in the area.

Now the driver says its pretty much a dog, but it is getting the job done. Its also impressive to me, that it is capable of operating in our Minnesota winters.

I'll pay more attention the next time I see it to determine whether its a hybrid, or pure electric.

Obviously its not hauling 50,000 pounds, but I do know its been in use at least a year so far.

 

How much more weight are these heavy haulers going to have to manage BESIDES hauling what ever pay load around . Motor Vehicle Department licence renewals are going to kill a person not with standing purchase price .

 

More info on the type of system they will be using here: http://www.azuredynamics.com/product...0985-B.pdf.pdf

 

Super laaaaaame!!!!!!

 

Just use the Ecoboost v6, with a healthy electric engine (100HP or so) and it would be a great combo for city delivery vehicles where the fuel economy completely sucks now. I could see that being a winner.