How many horsepower does a locomotive have

Anyhow to resume it, I will repeat, it is the tractive effort that makes a locomotive powerful, by powerful I mean being able to pull heavy loads. An average freight locomotive engine outputs between 4, and 18, horsepower. Of course HXD1D has its advantages, it can get to mph in 5 minutes, while pulling 20 passenger cars. Well not everything is about the horsepower, I mentioned above, but for the sake of understanding let me give you another example.

So my favorite diesel-electric locomotive used for pulling passenger cars is Bombardier Acela Express, the fastest AmTrak locomotives. You may also be interested in how much do a locomotive cost? Short answer: between 4, , horsepower. Long answer? How much horsepower does a freight locomotive engine have? This particular freight locomotive has 4, horsepower. Remember what I was saying about the tractive effort and horsepower? It can take half a mile to panic-stop a loaded train. Since four-bar crossing gates that completely block the road are roughly twice as expensive as the standard two-bar gates, railroad companies are loath to install them.

And with increasing numbers of municipalities passing no-horn-blowing-after-midnight noise-pollution regulations, even this weapon is being disarmed. Granted, a train weighing thousands of tons is going to turn even a 4-ton dually pickup into shrapnel, but the front end of a locomotive is not a nice place to be when the blast goes off.

The Evolution driver sits in a kind of glass cockpit, behind two large CRT monitors upon which he can call up some 30 different graphic pages of instruments, gauges, graphs and information, with a separate monitor for the helper. The telemetry will spot a fault and transmit data to the closest service shop, telling the technicians what the problem is.

They will alert the crew to stop if the problem is urgent. Toughest duty for a crew is not a zillion-ton coal drag two miles long.

No, the worst kind of trip features a bunch of ungated crossings as well as car exchanges that require the drivers to constantly climb in and out of the train. Not really, says Schell. The only people who can hurt an engine are the railroads, by not doing the proper maintenance.

Still, between each of the alerter resets, humans are in control, and they can lose control. Larger tires should allow drivers to push their vehicles even harder. This is how Pirelli developed them. Audi has been exploring how V2X tech could warn both drivers and workers about collisions.

Starting a train is a little more complicated than starting your car. The engineer climbs an 8-foot 2. He or she engages a knife switch like the ones in old Frankenstein movies that connects the batteries to the starter circuit. Then the engineer flips about a hundred switches on a circuit-breaker panel, providing power to everything from the lights to the fuel pump. Next, the engineer walks down a corridor into the engine room.

He turns and holds a switch there, which primes the fuel system, making sure that all of the air is out of the system. He then turns the switch the other way and the starter motor engages. The engine cranks over and starts running. Next, he goes up to the cab to monitor the gauges and set the brakes once the compressor has pressurized the brake system. He can then head to the back of the train to release the hand brake. Finally he can head back up to the cab and take over control from there.

Once he has permission from the conductor of the train to move, he engages the bell , which rings continuously, and sounds the air horns twice indicating forward motion. The throttle control has eight positions, plus an idle position. Each of the throttle positions is called a " notch.

To get the train moving, the engineer releases the brakes and puts the throttle into notch 1. In this General Motors EMD series engine, putting the throttle into notch 1 engages a set of contactors giant electrical relays. These contactors hook the main generator to the traction motors. Each notch engages a different combination of contactors, producing a different voltage. Some combinations of contactors put certain parts of the generator winding into a series configuration that results in a higher voltage.

Others put certain parts in parallel, resulting in a lower voltage. The traction motors produce more power at higher voltages. As the contactors engage, the computerized engine controls adjust the fuel injectors to start producing more engine power.

The brake control varies the air pressure in the brake cylinders to apply pressure to the brake shoes. At the same time, it blends in the dynamic braking, using the motors to slow the train down as well. A computerized readout displays data from sensors all over the locomotive.

It can provide the engineer or mechanics with information that can help diagnose problems. For instance, if the pressure in the fuel lines is getting too high, this may mean that a fuel filter is clogged.

The accommodations inside a passenger train are quite plush. The seats on this train recline more than airline seats and have more leg room.

They also have footrests. Although taking the train might be slower than flying, it's definitely a lot more comfortable. There is plenty of room to walk around, and you can eat in a dining car or look at the view from the the top of the lounge car. Some trains even have private rooms for first-class passengers -- not a bad way to get from here to there.

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Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. How Diesel Locomotives Work. By: Karim Nice. Contents Why Hybrid? Why Diesel? Why Hybrid? Steel Wheels " ". Traction " ". The Layout: Cab and Trucks " ". The Layout: Power, Fuel and Batteries " ". The Engine and Generator " ". Number of cylinders : 12 Compression ratio : Displacement per cylinder : The Trucks: Braking " ". The brakes are similar to drum brakes on a car.

Driving a Locomotive " ". This computerized display can show the status of systems all over the locomotive. Riding the Train " ". The seats on this car can be turned around to face each other so four people can sit together. The train also has a kitchen that serves mostly sandwiches and light snacks. For first-class passengers on this train, there is an observation car that has a sunroom upstairs and a bar.

When diesel is ignited, it gives power to the pistons connected to an electric generator. The generator then produces energy to supply power to the motors that turn the wheels to run the locomotive. How many horsepower is a diesel locomotive? A locomotive's diesel engine is connected to an electric generator that is either DC or AC. In either case, the power produced is around 3, horsepower.

The generator uses this power to convert it into a massive amount of current, approximately 4, amperes.

What is the difference between a hybrid diesel locomotive and a traditional locomotive? A traditional locomotive simply relies on mechanical energy to drive the locomotive.