I was just checking out some locomotives. The Union Pacific #844 Northern Class (4-8-4 wheel configuration) makes 63,800lbs. of tractive effort (equivalent of torque in truck terms).

The Challenger class #3985 (4-6-6-4 wheel configuration) makes 97,350lbs. of tractive effort.

You think your big rig has some torque??

 

keep in mind that most "trains" run multiple locomotives- I have seen as many as 7 engines on them around here- and enough cars full of coal to load down each and every one! Stay out of their way for sure! That is about 5 mins at 35-40 mph.
Scott

 

I forgot to clarify. Those locomotives I just listed were old steamers made in the early '40's. The Challenger and Big Boy class locomotives could pull a train 5 miles long at 50mph up a 3% grade--that's what I call POWER!

 

For sure- fully understood, just forgot to mention. I am kind of a train buff myself. Upon further research I have found that one of the common diesel locomotives(General Electric Class 35) produces 201 Kn of tractive effort or roughly 150,000 ft/lbs per transmission- there are two engines and transmissions per locomotive.
Scott

 

Is that an old U-36 or a new AC6000?

 

I believe the older U36 not for sure though.
Scott

 

Well, the bad thing is, every one of those cargo containers you see on a train is one more job that an OTR truck driver won't get. And another dollar he can't make.

On the other side of the coin, I know personally, having lived within a few hundred feet of a major freight rail track, it's no more annoying than having some hot-shot driver lay on the Jake for 2 miles through town just to be obnoxious. But man, can you feel the ground shake, the house rattle, and the glass flex when an extremely heavy train comes by. Not too often, but you'll know when it happens. Other than that, it's usually no more than a little vibration and noise. Amtrack makes more noise than a freighter, due to the whistles, which they apparently sound for about 10 miles in either direction of any township they come through.

 

I'm not much of as train buff, just a fan. But arent locomotives powered by diesel, but driven by electric motor? As to say the diesel plants drive electric motors to power the wheels because traditional transmissions would be short lived.

 

Yes--the diesel drives a big alternator, which in turn drives motors geared to the axles. This also gives them a form of braking without dumping air--they can reverse the polarity on those motors to make them generate current, and feed the current to banks of resistors.

Kinda of an interesting tidbit--most freight locomotives have a final gear ratio of around 4.1:1.

 

Close. The diesel engine (two stroke turbo and non turbo) drives electric generators (DC or AC) whose output is used by the traction motors on the trucks (wheel sets) to move the train. Additionally, when the train must stop or slow down, if the engine has dynamic braking, the traction motors function as generators and supply electric energy to large resistor banks that dissipate the energy as heat. This load on the traction motors slows the engine and train. Saves on mechanical brakes.

I understand that a transmission capable of the torque and speeds required of a locomotive would be prohibitively expensive, large and heavy.

 

I'm sure to get "feedback" over this one, but here is how I see it:

In essence, trucking does pay for all of this through the federal, state, and in some cases, local fuel taxes. The federal tax rate at the moment is 24.4 cents per gallon, and here in FL the state tax on on diesel is another 28.77 cents per gallon, making it 53.17 cents of tax on every gallon of fuel! So in the average 125,000 miles a year I drove (as an owner/operator) with an average fuel mileage of 6mi/gal., I paid roughly $10,000 in road taxes. That was a full 8% of gross revenue at an avg. of 1.00/mile just in fuel taxes!

Railroad diesel fuel on the other hand is taxed at a rate of 4.4 cents per gallon on the federal level, and does not get taxed at the state level. That in itself is a subsidy, in my opinion.

I agree on the Jake issue. There were a few times it was a good thing I didn't have a firearm when some low-life with 8" straight pipes repeatedly laid on the Jake in a truck stop parking lot at 4 in the morning.... It had gotten so bad with the strainght pipes when I left the industry 5 years ago that even some areas on I-70 near Vail had "No Jake Brakes" signs on 7% downgrades. Must be easier to put up a sign than enforce the law against modifying noise control systems on rigs.

 

Most locomotives only run between 500-900rpms. They also have huge radiators and fans on top of the body. If you look at the top and see huge fans, each one is cooling a radiator.

For locomotives such as the 567 series GM-EMD, that number is how many cubes is in each cylinder. They used to have a 16-637 diesel engine, 16 cylinders, 637 cubic inches each.

As far as fuel consumption, I do know that CSX schedules trains so extended idling is not an issue. They are trying to limit the amount of idling with their locomotives.

 

Our rail technology is stuck in the last century, anything new will come from Europe or Japan.
Dono

 

[QUOTE=DainBramage]Well, the bad thing is, every one of those cargo containers you see on a train is one more job that an OTR truck driver won't get. And another dollar he can't make.

That's the point. And it's another rig you don't get stuck behind, doesn't swerve into your lane, block the hills and or blow a tire next to you. Not to mention tailgate you if you're too slow for him, or cut over in front of you on a hill if he's 1/2 mph faster than the rig ahead of him.

As for hogwash on work or union rules, I admit that does not tell the whole story. But what a story it is. How in the world do we get along without a caboose these days? It would be safer if the two guys were still back there sleeping and reading girly magazines. And I'm sure a Fireman should still be on the job up front. Featherbedding was a big part of it.

Sorry OTR fellas, caboosemen and firemen, but that's the way it is......

 

The caboose was replaced with a computer module, either the EOTD (End of Train Device) or the FRED (Flashing Rear End Device). It detects brake air pressure, train continuity, speed, and also for hot bearings and axles.