Professor Feinberg...

[Jim Duda]

...will you or someone on your faculty give a student lecture about what "Prime Mover" means as related to trains? e.g. is it a diesel only term or does it apply to all types of locomotive power?

See ya in class!

Jim Duda

[johnnyc]

Well I'm not a professor but , a prime mover is any machine that uses a natural or man made resource to power another machine .

So a diesel engine , steam engine , windmill , water driven wheel , would all be considered prime movers .

Hope that helps johnnyc.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Uh oh Jim, you are getting a little out of my field, going inside a diesel locomotive, but I can give it a shot with the help of some material from the library, let me check.

I couldn't find what I was looking for, but my understanding is that it is the name given the diesel engine, which turns the generator, which makes electricity, which powers the traction motors in the trucks, which makes the train go.

Of course I could be wrong on this, and for the definitive answer, I recommend Trains Magazine and perhaps a simple search, or perhaps a question of the entire "faculty". You might even hear from professor ED or professor MudChicken. [swg]

Thanks Johnnyc, that explains why the diesel engine is called that. I didn't know that that term could be applied so broadly, but now it makes more sense. [:)]

[Jim Duda]

So...an automobile engine could be considered a Prime Mover since it powers the transmission...and eventually makes the car move? I ask because I think I read on somebody's post that they love the sound of the Prime Mover in a certain locomotive. I guess it makes sense because there are so many different sounds emanating from a diesel loco (as Professor Feinberg mentioned above) so the poster wanted to single out the sound of the diesel motor and not the total noise of the unit.

See why this is called the University of train errata...?

C+ student
Doooodaaaah