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Diesel locomotives became the dominant type of locomotive in rail transport in the mid 20th century in much of the world. Powered by diesel engines, they use a variety of transmissions to convey power to the wheels. Diesel locomotives, in contrast to electric locomotives, do not require catenary installations to run. Therefore, they offer more flexibility in various types of service and are generally predominant in countries which, for historical or economical reasons, have few electrified lines. Since the 1950s, however, they have been superseded by electric locomotives in terms of power, maximum speed, tractive effort, and acceleration. Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_browser. ...
Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_browser. ...
A locomotive (from Latin loco motivus) is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train, and has no payload capacity of its own; its sole purpose is to move the train along the tracks. ...
A railway yard in Portland, Oregon. ...
now. ...
Transmission is the following: Generally, transmission is the act of passing something on. ...
Modern three-phase AC locomotive (DBAG Class 152) A GG1 An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electric motors which draws current from an overhead wire (overhead lines), a third rail, or an on-board storage device such as a battery or a flywheel energy storage system. ...
Overhead wire in Coventry, England Overhead wire and its suspension system in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA A railway electrification system is a way of supplying electric power to electric locomotives and multiple units. ...
Determining the fastest railed veichle in the world is difficult, because of the wide variety of designs. ...
Tractive effort is the pulling force exerted, normally by a locomotive, though the term could also be used for anything else that hauls a load. ...
History
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Please remove this message once the section has been expanded. | Rudolf Diesel had suggested that his engine could be employed in railroad service, and in 1909 helped to construct an experimental locomotive. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ...
Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (March 18, 1858 – September 30, 1913) was a German inventor, famous for the invention of the Diesel engine. ...
In 1918 diesel electric switching locomotives were put in service in the United States. Sixteen years later, mainline engines began to be produced, at first for passenger service. Custom units were produced at at first for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Pioneer Zephyr and as a single unit for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Mass production of passenger and freight units soon followed. By 1960, diesel-electrics had displaced steam locomotives on every Class I railroad in the United States of America. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (AAR reporting mark CBQ) was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. ...
The Pioneer Zephyr as it appeared in 1934. ...
1876 map The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) is one of the oldest railroads in the United States, with an original line from the port of Baltimore, Maryland west to the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia and Parkersburg, West Virginia. ...
Scheme of steam locomotive. ...
A Class I railroad in the United States, or a Class I railway (also Class I rail carrier) in Canada, is one of the largest freight railroads, as classified based on operating revenue. ...
United Kingdom In the 1970s British Rail developed a high-speed diesel-electric train called the High Speed Train or HST. This train consists of two Class 43 locomotives (also known as power cars), one at each end, and a number of "Mark 3" carriages (usually 8). A complete HST set was originally designated as a Class 253 or 254 diesel multiple unit (DMU), but due to the frequent exchanges between sets the power cars were reclassified as locomotives and given class number 43. The unpowered carriages were simultaneously reclassified as individual coaches; the number of a DMU set should identify all its associated carriages as well. Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Two distinct types of locomotive have been allocated Class 43. ...
Mark 3 DVT at Norwich station British Rails third design of carriages was designated Mark 3. ...
Class 253 and Class 254 were the classifications allocated to the production High Speed Train units. ...
DMU, type SA108 of Great Poland Voivodship in Poznań, Poland German DMU of class 628 A diesel multiple unit (DMU) is a train whose carriages have their own motors powered by a diesel engine. ...
The HST holds the world speed record for diesel traction, having reached a speed of 148 mph, although the operating speed in service is 125 mph (200 km/h), hence the name "Inter-City 125".
Transmission types Unlike steam engines, diesel engines require a transmission to power the wheels. The engine must continue to idle when the locomotive is stopped.
Diesel-mechanical The simplest form of transmission is by means of a gearbox, in the same way as on road vehicles. Diesel trains or locomotives that use this are called diesel-mechanical and began to appear after World War I. Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 651 KB)BR Class 03, no. ...
Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 651 KB)BR Class 03, no. ...
The British Rail Class 03 locomotive is, together with Class 04, one of BRs most successful smaller 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters. ...
A switcher (the general United States usage; common British terminology is shunter, while the Pennsylvania Railroad used shifter) is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains any great distance but rather for assembling a train ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has...
A British Rail Class 04 switcher with a jackshaft under the cab. ...
A gearbox is an assembly of gears allowing the rotational speed of an input shaft to be changed to a different speed. ...
Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard...
It has been found impractical to inexpensively build a gearbox which can cope with a power output of more than 400 horsepower (300 kW) without failure, despite a number of attempts to do so. Therefore this type of transmission is only suitable for low-powered shunting locomotives, or lightweight multiple units or railcars. The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ...
A modern US switcher, an EMD SW1500. ...
A classic Belgian multiple unit of type 74 A multiple unit (MU) is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive, and can be coupled with other similar units to operate together, in...
Not to be confused with railroad car. ...
For more powerful locomotives, other types of transmission have to be used.
Diesel-electric The most common form of transmission is electric; a locomotive using electric transmission is known as a diesel-electric locomotive. With this system, the diesel engine drives a generator or alternator; the electrical power produced then drives the wheels using electric motors. This is effectively an electric locomotive with its own generating station. Union Pacific (UP) Railroad diesels refueling at Dunsmuir, California photographed on April 29, 2004 by Eric Guinther. ...
Union Pacific (UP) Railroad diesels refueling at Dunsmuir, California photographed on April 29, 2004 by Eric Guinther. ...
Categories: Rail stubs | EMD locomotives ...
The Union Pacific Railroad (NYSE: UNP) is the largest railroad in the United States. ...
Dunsmuir is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ...
Power transmission is the movement of energy from its place of generation to a location where it is applied to performing useful work. ...
A number of vehicles use a diesel-electric powerplant for providing locomotion. ...
Generator redirects here. ...
Early 20th century Alternator made in Budapest, Hungary, in the power generating hall of a hydroelectric station. ...
Rotating magnetic field as a sum of magnetic vectors from 3 phase coils. ...
For the first decades the motors were direct current. More recently alternating current has come to be preferred. In either case, a common option is the use of dynamic braking, in which the motors are switched to perform as generators, thus converting the motion of the locomotive into electrical energy, which is then dissipated through heating elements usually mounted on the top of the locomotive. Dynamic braking reduces brake usage in mountainous areas, though it is ineffective at low speeds. Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ...
City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ...
Electro-diesel -
Main article: Electro-diesel locomotive These are special locomotives that can either operate as an electric locomotive or a diesel locomotive. Dual-mode diesel-electric/third-rail locomotives are operated by the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad between non-electrified territory and New York City because of a local law banning diesel-powered locomotives in Manhattan tunnels. For the same reason, Amtrak operates a fleet of dual-mode locomotives in the New York area. British Rail operated dual diesel-electric/electric locomotives designed to run primarily as electric locomotives. This allowed railway yards to remain un-electrified as the third-rail power system is extremely hazardous in a yard area. An Electro-diesel locomotive is a special type of locomotive that can be powered either from an external electricity supply (i. ...
Modern three-phase AC locomotive (DBAG Class 152) A GG1 An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electric motors which draws current from an overhead wire (overhead lines), a third rail, or an on-board storage device such as a battery or a flywheel energy storage system. ...
Third rail at the West Falls Church Metro stop in the Washington, D.C. area, electrified to 750 volts. ...
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR (often referred to as the L-I-double-R) is a railroad that serves the length of Long Island, New York. ...
Marble Hill station The Metro-North Railroad (officially the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and usually abbreviated as Metro-North) is a suburban commuter railroad service between New York City to its northern suburbs in New York State and Connecticut. ...
Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area - City 1,214. ...
The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ...
Acela Express in West Windsor, NJ Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle, Washington Amtrak train in downtown Orlando, Florida For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation). ...
Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ...
Third rail at the West Falls Church Metro stop in the Washington, D.C. area, electrified to 750 volts. ...
Diesel-hydraulic Alternatively, diesel-hydraulic locomotives use hydraulic transmission to convey the power from the diesel engine to the wheels. On this type of locomotive, the power is transmitted to the wheels by means of a device called a torque converter. A torque converter consists of three main parts, two of which rotate, and one which is fixed. All three main parts are sealed in a housing filled with oil. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 185 KB) Description Licensing List of references and voucher please send to kj@uue. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 185 KB) Description Licensing List of references and voucher please send to kj@uue. ...
Plaque commemorating 5,000 kilometers of electrification. ...
Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks. ...
A torque converter is a hydraulic fluid coupling that is used to transmit power from one or more engines or electric motors to a driveshaft or other output shaft. ...
The inner rotating part of a torque converter is called a centrifugal pump (or impeller), the outer part is called a turbine wheel (or driven wheel), and between them is a fixed guide wheel. All of these parts have specially shaped blades to control the flow of oil.
The centrifugal pump is connected directly to the diesel engine, and the turbine wheel is connected to an axle, which drives the wheels. An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. ...
As the diesel engine rotates the centrifugal pump, oil is forced outwards at high pressure. The oil is forced through the blades of the fixed guide wheel and then through the blades of the turbine wheel, which causes it to rotate and thus turn the axle and the wheels. The oil is then pumped around the circuit again and again.
The disposition of the guide vanes allows the torque converter to act as a "gearbox" with continuously variable ratio. If the output shaft is loaded so as to reduce its rotational speed, the torque applied to the shaft increases, so the power transmitted by the torque converter remains more or less constant.
However, the range of variability is not sufficient to match engine speed to load speed over the entire speed range of a locomotive, so some additional method is required to give sufficient range. One method is to follow the torque converter with a mechanical gearbox which switches ratios automatically, similar to an automatic transmission on a car. Another method is to provide several torque converters each with a range of variability covering part of the total required; all the torque converters are mechanically connected all the time, and the appropriate one for the speed range required is selected by filling it with oil and draining the others. The filling and draining is carried out with the transmission under load, and results in very smooth range changes with no break in the transmitted power.
Diesel-hydraulic multiple units, a less arduous duty, often use a simplification of this system, with a torque converter for the lower speed ranges and a fluid coupling for the high speed range. A fluid coupling is similar to a torque converter but the ratio of input to output speed is fixed; loading the output shaft results not in torque multiplication and constant power throughput but in reduction of the input speed with consequent lower power throughput. (In car terms, the fluid coupling provides top gear and the torque converter provides all the lower gears.) The result is that the power available at the rail is reduced when operating in the lower speed part of the fluid coupling range, but the less arduous duty of a passenger multiple unit compared to a locomotive makes this an acceptable tradeoff for reduced mechanical complexity.
Diesel-hydraulic locomotives are slightly more efficient than diesel-electrics, but were found in many countries to be mechanically more complicated and more likely to break down. In Germany, however, diesel-hydraulic systems achieved extremely high reliability in operation. Persistent argument continues over the relative reliability of hydraulic systems, with continuing questions over whether data was manipulated politically to favour local suppliers over German ones. In the US and Canada, they are now greatly outnumbered by diesel-electric locomotives, while they remain dominant in some European countries. The most famous diesel-hydraulic locomotive is the German V200 which were built from 1953 in a total number of 136. The only diesel-electric locomotives of the Deutsche Bundesbahn were BR 288 (V 188), of which 12 were built in 1939 by the DRG. Plaque commemorating 5,000 kilometers of electrification. ...
1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft was the German State Railway Company between 1920 and 1945. ...
The high reliability of the German locomotives was paralleled by higher reliability of non-German locomotives built with German-made parts compared to that of the same designs built using parts made locally to German patterns under licence. Much of the unreliability experienced outside Germany was due to poor quality control in the local manufacture of engines and transmissions. Another contributing factor was poor maintenance due to staff accustomed to steam locomotives now working on unfamiliar and much more complex designs in unsuitable conditions, and failing to follow the unit-replacement maintenance methods which were part of the German success. It is notable that diesel-hydraulic multiple units, with the advantages of modern manufacturing techniques and improved maintenance procedures, are now extremely successful in widespread use, achieving excellent reliability.
In the 1960s, more than 15 diesel-hydraulic locomotives were purchased by the Denver & Rio Grande and Southern Pacific Railroads on a trial basis from the Kraus-Maffei company. Only the outer shell of one of these (converted into a camera car by SP in the 1970s) exists today, the others having all been scrapped. Categories: Rail stubs | Defunct railroad companies of the United States | Colorado railroads | New Mexico railroads | Utah railroads ...
The Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting mark SP) was an American railroad. ...
Diesel-steam Diesel-steam locomotives can use diesel or steam power, as needed. Scheme of steam locomotive. ...
Multiple unit operation When mainline diesels were mass produced in the United States, they were initially sold as multiple unit sets. The engines and traction motors of the day were not capable of the power output needed to pull an entire train with a single unit. These units were controlled through the same type of multiple unit system already in use for electric locomotives. The "American Association of Railroads" standard for multiple-unit control remains the basis for US operation. The Kraus-Maffei diesel-hydraulic units were also equipped with this system. See also Multiple working for UK locomotives. Categories: Organization stubs | Rail transport | Industry trade groups ...
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