Hello everybody,
looks like CN the last holdout of all DC power is now also ordering some AC Locomotives. Here is the article to read: http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/mechanical/locomotives/cn-to-acquire-161-locomotives.html
Frank
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
Anymore AC locos are Cheaper than DC's to produce as DC's are the oddball order not the standards and therefore are the ones that require the special order parts and those are teh ones that get expensive. Anymore teh AC loco is the 350 chevy equipped Pickup and the DC one would be the 427 Aluminum motor Big block with a 2 4 barrel setup under the hood.
I would think that the much simpler AC induction motor would be a lot cheaper to produce than a DC motor with its commutator bars and brush rigging. The real expense is the variable frequency inverter with its computer control which is becoming an electric motor industry standard for just about anything else. One of the advantages of VFD transmission is that its much more efficient so there would be a significant fuel saving if say one of those SD 60's were converted to AC drive. I think the SD 60 is too big to use as a switcher.
I'm WAY more excited about those SD60s! They're gonna look amazing in CN paint!
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
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