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Interesting article on Wabtech

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Interesting article on Wabtech
Posted by greyhounds on Saturday, July 31, 2021 11:08 AM
"By many measures, the U.S. freight rail system is the safest, most efficient and cost effective in the world." - Federal Railroad Administration, October, 2009. I'm just your average, everyday, uncivilized howling "anti-government" critic of mass government expenditures for "High Speed Rail" in the US. And I'm gosh darn proud of that.
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Posted by Gramp on Saturday, July 31, 2021 12:28 PM

Wondering what the battery locomotive sounds like?  Significantly lower decibel level?

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, July 31, 2021 3:12 PM

Gramp
Wondering what the battery locomotive sounds like?  Significantly lower decibel level?

You'll lose that low pitched rumble, of course.  

Oftimes I've heard locomotives at speed that aren't "working."  You can hear the whine of the gear train quite plainly.  I suspect that will be a major component, along with blowers and air pumps.

I recall seeing an electric loco in New Jersey on which the primary noise was the blowers to cool the electrical apparatus.  They were loud.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, July 31, 2021 3:36 PM

tree68
I recall seeing an electric loco in New Jersey on which the primary noise was the blowers to cool the electrical apparatus.  They were loud.

Wouldn't have been an E44 by any chance?  Those would put a vacuum cleaner to shame when working... Surprise

A practical battery pack will have very good distributed cooling of the strings, probably liquid-to-air for flexibility in operation.  So expect "radiator cooling" noise as well as traction-motor blowers.

(Note that some of the straight-electric noise is related to high-current operation at instantaneous/hourly rating not limited by prime-mover efficiency, which involves much more heat dissipation per unit)

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, July 31, 2021 4:01 PM

Overmod
Wouldn't have been an E44 by any chance?  Those would put a vacuum cleaner to shame when working... 

Couldn't say - wasn't really in a position to get details.  It was around Long Branch, NJ, if that helps any, say, ca 2006...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, July 31, 2021 5:49 PM

Gramp
Wondering what the battery locomotive sounds like?  Significantly lower decibel level?

Don't know about battery locomotives.  GG-1's were not all that quiet with the various cooling fans - both for the transformers in the carbody as well as the motors powering the quill drives which I recall as having gear whine.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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