Steam (NW Mailing List)

[NW Mailing List]

Exactly; if you want a coal-powered railway today, build a coal-fired  
power plant with the requisite pollution-control equipment (which  
could never be accommodated on a loco anyway) and hang some wire.

I'm no expert, but I think that a lot could be done to come up with a  
more economical-to-build style of electrification for medium-speed  
heavy freight service.  Recent electrification design has been in the  
context of dense or high speed passenger operation which requires  
robust OH line construction and electrical infrastructure, running up  
the expense.

I understand that there is a variety of reasons (overall thermal  
efficiency, high but intermittant electrical loads and "unbalanced"  
AC loads) why electrification has been problematic in recent years  
for modern heavy-haul operations based on the concept of a small  
number of extremely heavy trains running at relatively low speeds,  
i.e., the Australian iron ore roads.  The high price and perhaps,  
future unavailability, of Diesel fuel should warrant some new  
thinking.  High voltage DC allowing for fewer OH line losses, lighter  
overhead line construction - maybe even simple trolley wire, etc.   
Think of the interurbans  of many years ago.  Also, you wouldn't have  
to buy new locos every ten or fifteen years!  However, one might have  
to go for more, lighter trains to spread out the electrical loads.

pete groom


On May 31, 2008, at 7:46 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:

. . .

The Virginian Ry. had the answer over half a century ago -  
electrics.  A large steam driven power plant can feed an electric  
locomotive much more efficiently than any self contained locomotive.   
The peak tractive effort is limited only by weight and factor of  
adhesion, and max power is limited by the size of the traction  
motors.  Dynamic braking becomes regenerative braking, feeding back  
into the grid.  And for those that complain of the high capital costs  
of an electric system, what will it cost to introduce a totally new  
type of locomotive, or to reintroduce reciprocating steam?

Kenneth Rickman

. . .
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