Locomotives

Or is it a train that's one looooong locomotive?

New "Very High Speed" Train goes 220mph and has no centralized engine.

 It is a trainset, or EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) like the Metroliner from the 1960's on the North East Corridor, except it is a more advanced design for higher speeds. There are thousands of lower powered and less streamlined EMUs in use in this country.

beaulieu:

 It is a trainset, or EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) like the Metroliner from the 1960's on the North East Corridor, except it is a more advanced design for higher speeds. There are thousands of lower powered and less streamlined EMUs in use in this country.

Yep, a 21st century EMU that's now a world record holder for steel wheeled trains. I'm curious if one calls it a train that's a locomotive or a locomotive that's a train.

 Not that it really matters.

One thing I didn't know until recently is that the Japanese "bullet train" is also an electric multiple-unit train.  In their case it was mostly for cost and efficiency reasons, not so much for speed reasons, though speed was a factor in the design.

The California High Speed Rail project, which is thought to be the most shovel ready of the US systems inline for the $8 billion stimulus, is said to be considering seriously this latest version of the TGV for their system.

 Here's a movie of it's record run based on the locomotive featured in this thread.

NMRXfan:

The California High Speed Rail project, which is thought to be the most shovel ready of the US systems inline for the $8 billion stimulus, is said to be considering seriously this latest version of the TGV for their system.

 Here's a movie of it's record run based on the locomotive featured in this thread.

 What would you call the Chcago South Shore & South Bend commuter  and the Metra Electric Commuters.

A small number of the C.S.S & S.B. were with out traction motors or trailer cars.

All of Metra Electric cars have traction Motors.

When I visited Europe I seen all different power drive configurations all over head electric powered.

Can someone explain to me where the electricity is going to come from for any high speed line.  Obama is out to destroy the power grid and replace it with solar (good luck by the way).  High speed takes inordinate amounts of electricity to achieve.  Maybe he will invent the first solar panel powered train.  One passenger carrying car and fifty flat cars with solar panels to power it.

 I don't know specifically how or where it comes from but parts of the NEC are powered by dedicated hydroelectric dam turbines.

If I were to venture an educated guess, I would presume some power would come from existing hydroelectric facilities.

 As for the TGV record attempt the train is highly modified.  It has larger wheels and is shorter.  The passengers got dizzy.  The overhead catenary was increased to 31 kV from the normal 25 kV.  None of this is bad, of course, but it's important to consider.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6521295.stm

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/French-train-breaks-world-speed-record/2007/04/04/1175366277795.html

aegrotatio:

 I don't know specifically how or where it comes from but parts of the NEC are powered by dedicated hydroelectric dam turbines.

If I were to venture an educated guess, I would presume some power would come from existing hydroelectric facilities.

 

 As for the TGV record attempt the train is highly modified.  It has larger wheels and is shorter.  The passengers got dizzy.  The overhead catenary was increased to 31 kV from the normal 25 kV.  None of this is bad, of course, but it's important to consider.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6521295.stm

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/French-train-breaks-world-speed-record/2007/04/04/1175366277795.html

 A good part of the Northeast power grid purchases Kilowatts from Quebec Hydro, who operate one of the largest Hydropower networks in the world.

 What is striking, at least to me, is that the NEC turbines are dedicated for 25 Hz railroad power.  I'm thinking specifically about Safe Harbor Dam on the Susquehanna.  There is at least one other on the Susq. but I could not figure out which one has the 25 Hz railroad turbine.  They have emergency motor-generators to convert them to 60 Hz but they lose about 10% of their output that way.  Point being is that you can add a turbine to a hydro dam that isn't at is design capacity and presto, you have railroad power, even if it's the old 25 Hz system.  Another post pointed out that the 25 Hz electric transmission and substations along the NEC was in such good shape, and had so much service life left in it, they would have wasted huge amounts of money converting it to 60 Hz.

What's striking to me is that anyone finds the idea of multiple-unit trains with distributed power to be newsworthy.  The idea is well over a century old (NYC subways, the Chicago L system, electrified suburban service all over, the Shinkansen from day 1...)

To achieve higher speeds, make sure the right-of-way can handle them, then install bigger traction motors (and/or more of them) with appropriate gearing and control systems.  Any high school senior who didn't sleep through Physics can state the basics, although it does take an EE to figure out the electricals, an ME to assure that the vehicle and its suspension are up to the stresses and a CE to assure that the infrastructure is superspeed capable.  Note that there are no exotic specialties in the mix.

Granted that the fastest anything is newsworthy - even the fastest sailing ship.  It just isn't new technology.

Chuck

 The reason the Europeans are switching from powercars to EMUs is twofold. The first reason is to spread the weight of the propulsion equipment over more axles, and the second is to provide more adhesion to deal with stiffer gradients.

 I always thought the idea of not using M.U. was that M.U. was more expensive to build and maintain as compared to the one or two locomotives.

It's not lost on me that Metroliner 1 was a multiple unit but Metroliner 2 was a conventional locomotive arrangement and so is Acela.

Henery Huntington built a hydroeletric dam in the foothills of the Sierras to power his entire 1000+ mile Pacific Ry.The entire railroad ran with no pollution.