Locomotive Generations

[raymac46]

This is a post for train buffs. You have been warned.

From the time steam motive power was introduced (around 1830) up until it disappeared in North America (by 1960) there was no talk of generations of locomotives. Of course locomotives got bigger and more powerful, and there were innovations but the basic idea didn't change for a century or more.

With the advent of diesel electric power in the US and Canada, there were reasons to think of generations of locos:

First generation - these were built in the 1940s and 50s and replaced steam locomotives. They weren't particularly powerful but you could string 3-4 of them together and replace one steam locomotive.

Second generation - these had significantly more power and technical sophistication and they replaced the first generation of diesels. They were built in the 60s and 70s.

Third Generation - These started to appear in the 80s and were very powerful. One locomotive could now match an old steam locomotive in horespower. By now the historic locomotive builders were out of business, and there were really only two makers left - General Motors and General Electric.

Fourth Generation - appeared around 2000 and still in production. The two major manufacturers are still around but they have been sold to other companies - both GM and GE are out of the business now.

The third and fourth generation are muddled up because the locomotive manufacturers have a lucrative business of rebuilding older models - even some second generation stuff has been brought up to date.

Now we may be getting the fifth generation of battery powered locomotive. These are not strong enough to totally replace diesels but electric units can be added to diesel ones to help get trains rolling and then be recharged by braking or when the train is moving fast and does not need as much power. I guess sort of a hybrid situation.

Some shorter passenger lines have been totally electrified in the US but there's no substitute yet for diesel power on long haul freight.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I had a Choo-Choo when I was a wee lad. Dad had tacked down the tracks in a figure 8 on a 4' X 8' piece of plywood. He stored it out in the workshop up against a wall when I wasn't playing with it, but when I asked, he would take it out and I'd set everything up on out in our carport. Mom and dad couldn't park in the carport for a few days after that because my little neighborhood friends and I would be playing with the train every day. Once we got bored (or distracted by something else), dad would put the board back out in the workshop till next time.

 

Funny thing, though... this was about 1965 or so. We never had a thought about anyone coming up on the carport to steal or vandalize the little town and train out there. Of course, back then we also slept with windows all open and the doors were never closed or locked until bedtime; even then that wasn't necessary, but dad was anal about it having grown up in a slightly different environment (NYC) from the time he was about 5 years old till he went off to the Navy in '44.

 

I had a lot of fun with that ol' train set.

 

This one is a lot fancier than mine was...

 

[raymac46]

Me too. My uncle was a woodworker and he made me a set with a tunnel, a trestle, couple of grades, a switching yard. I didn't have the gold standard Lionel set though. Mine was the B grade Marx trainset.

 

[abarbarian]

This article is more than 1 year old ‘Dramatically more powerful’: world’s first battery-electric freight train unveiled

 

Quote

Wabtec, the Pittsburgh-based rail freight company, showed off its locomotive at Carnegie Mellon University as part of a new venture between the two organizations to develop zero emissions technology to help move the 1.7bn tons of goods that are shipped on American railroads each year.

 

The New Frontier In Electric Vehicles: Trains With Batteries Big Enough To Power Small Towns

 

Quote

Since its initial California test last year, Wabtec has quickly received orders for 18 battery-powered locomotives. Gebhardt won’t discuss how much pricing, though based on Union Pacific’s order, the 2.5 mwh trains may cost about $4 million each. “The mining companies in Australia are purchasing these for their own tracks and then we have another unit with Canadian National, so it’s picking up steam. We ran the original unit in early 2021, got results in the middle of 2021. And now the orders are starting to come in, which we’re very excited about.”

 

 

GB Railfreight begins testing battery powered shunting locomotive

 

Quote

The class 18 is a modular design equipped with 282 lead-acid battery cells, housed in separate modules, which provide traction. There is also a small JCB Ecomax Stage V diesel engine fitted to the locomotive, but this acts purely as a generator to assist with battery charging rather than to provide power. The batteries are charged via regenerative braking and the locomotive can be charged from a shore supply when not in use. The life expectancy of the batteries is seven to eight years.

 

As usual the Baltics are at the front of the pack when it comes to new ideas and go all in.

 

Rail Baltica – Project of the Century

 

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• The largest Baltic-region infrastructure project in the last 100 years
• A 10-year construction period
• For both passenger and freight traffic
• Length: 870 km
• Environmentally friendly – powered by electricity, produces less noise and vibration
• Max. speed: 249 km/h (passengers), 120 km/h (freight)
• More than €5 bn investment in the region
• Implemented by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
• Part of the EU’s North Sea Baltic TEN-T corridor
• Financed by EU (CEF), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
• Provides intermodality/multimodality

 

Quote

Rail Baltica will be fully electrified so that any emissions will be avoided. The newest technologies and materials are going to be utilized in its construction. The line is planned so that it avoids the Natura 2000 protected areas as far as possible and without significant impact on other environmentally sensitive protected areas. Wherever necessary, noise protection barriers will be installed. Special animal passages will be built through the embankment.

All crossings with roads and pedestrian pathways will be at two levels. It will be fenced in full length. Passenger stations will have all the necessary facilities in order to make the access to the train services an easy and pleasant experience to anybody.

New intermodal freight terminals will be built in each of the Baltic countries to allow for fast and efficient transfer of containerized cargo between different transport modes.

 

 

Electric freight still has a long way to go but there are some very encouraging schemes on the way to fruition.

 

[raymac46]

Battery power will likely be OK in small shunter locos which can be recharged, or do a lot of stop and go action. The hard part is long haul heavy freight. Maybe hydrogen fuel cell hybrids will work in these situations. Wabtec is the former General Electric locomotive manufacturer.

Things are different in the UK. Lots more electrification and passenger usage on the rails. The first generation diesel locos are mostly history and even the second generation diesels and electrics are being replaced with newer electrics and multiple unit powered trains. They don't have the long distance hauling issues in the UK and in fact their diesel frieght locos are now mostly built offshore.

Projects like London's crossrail have really blurred the lines between passenger rail service and underground transportation.

Edited February 4, 2023 by raymac46

[raymac46]

 

Here's a typical first generation UK diesel. Class 31 locos were bult in the late 1950s and this particular one was scrapped in the mid 1980s. The last two running on UK lines were sold for heritage preservation in 2018. So they had nearly 60 years in service.

[raymac46]

 

And here is a much earlier US first generation diesel - RS1 first manufactured in 1941. This one was made by Alco - one of the great steam locomotive manufacturers. Alco went out of business in 1969 but its Canadian subsidiary lasted until the mid 1980s.