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Diesel locomotive. The ČKD ČME3, a common example of a diesel shunting locomotive. The InterCity 125 set a speed record – 148 mph (238 km/h) – for a diesel-powered train in 1987. Capable of 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, the train consists of two power cars with either seven or eight carriages between them. [ 1 ]
Apr 14, 2022 · Diesel engines have a much slower operating speed than gasoline, and that goes double for the massive ones used in locomotives. The large displacement diesel engine tops out at about 2,100 rpm, or lower. With a speed range like this, a locomotive would need 20 or 30 gears to make it up to 110 mph.
A fuel tank is also essential. It is interesting to note that the modern diesel locomotive produces about 35% of the power of a electric locomotive of similar weight. Figure 1: A BNSF diesel electric locomotive a GE ES44C4 type, a typical US heavy haul locomotive. Photo: PorsHammer.
- “There Are Too Many names…”
- How Are Steam Locomotives Classified?
- What Doesn’T Fit Into The Simple System
- Adding to Whyte with A Letter Suffix
- And Now We Run Into Trouble
F.M. Whyte, a mechanical engineer with the New York Central, came up with a system to identify nearly any steam locomotive using the number of wheels and type of wheel used by the locomotive. It was as simple as it was (nearly) complete. It was adopted almost immediately in the United States. First by associations of railroad engineers and mechanic...
Steam locomotive classification is not difficult. Whyte Notation divides the wheels of a steam locomotive into three sets: the driving wheels, these are the large, powered by steam through cylinders, pistons and linkages, wheels directly under the boiler. And the smaller wheels (if any) in front of the driving wheels, then the smaller wheels (if an...
Garratt locomotives can be shoehorned into Whyte Notation, with a bit of a trick. A Garratt locomotive is another massive locomotive. It is an articulated locomotive – with a difference. A Garratt, or as some call it a Beyer-Garratt, is really two separate engines, bridged by a single boiler and cab. It’s difficult to describe, so here’s what we ar...
When a steam locomotive is not a traditional piston/rod locomotive with a tender, Whyte adds a suffix to the end of the numbers, to indicate the important difference. We’ve already seen a tank locomotive uses the “T” suffix. In fact, although rarely used, tank locomotives are assigned several suffixes that can expand on what time of tank is being u...
In the United States there were no Garratts built or used. In fact, there were very few used in the Western Hemisphere. The Garratt was designed for railroads that needed a lot of power, but didn’t have a lot of sturdy infrastructure. In the United States there was a need for that combination too. But not for long distances, and the need was for mu...
Mar 31, 2023 · In this video, we discuss how a diesel-electric locomotive gets power from the engine to the wheels. We also discuss a very special feature diesel-electric l...
- 6 min
- 125.2K
- Southern Plains Railfan
Oct 10, 2024 · Fairbanks-Morse was a bit of an outlier with a history tracing back to the 19th century. It became a leader of the opposed-piston marine engine and decided to enter the diesel market during the 1940's. Unfortunately, it couldn't establish a foothold after a decade and gave up (but is still in business today).
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Mar 5, 2023 · The Whyte classification, also known as the locomotive classification, was developed as a way to classify steam locomotives based on their wheel arrangements. The classification system is named after its creator, Frederick Methvan Whyte, who first proposed it in the early 20th century. The Whyte classification system uses a combination of ...
