As in, tallest, widest trains. I think Russia has a wider gauge than USA, so are their train engines and cars taller, wider and heavier than ours?
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Does he mean in HP or Size?
Track gauge isn't always a factor in the size of the equipment. Remember Milwaukee's "Little Joe's"? Built for Russia but didn't go, so they were regauged for US use and went on to a successful career in the Northwest (and in Chicago).
Erie started out broad gauge (6'), but I don't recall reading that their equipment was outsized.
Brazil still runs on 5' gauge, IIRC. Yet you probably wouldn't know that to look at their locomotives, which come out of the same factories as what we see every day.
I believe the US uses some of the largest individual cars - consider those hi-cube monster boxcars built for the auto trade, not to mention auto racks.
That's rolling stock - which some folks also call trains.
For trains, I think the Aussies have the corner on big trains on a regular basis, but I don't have any numbers in front of me.
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Spain has large amounts of 5'-6" (or 5'-3" ?) gauge, but - like many European and Asian countries (India) - their "loading gauge" (= clearance diagram) is comparatively constricted, so they can't take advantage of the wide gauge to build proportionally wider and taller rolling stock.
It seems that what you're really asking is, "Who has the biggest Loading Gauge ?" - "taller, wider and heavier". Now that many key U.S. routes are good for double-stack clearances, 315,000 lb. cars and 420,000 lb. 6-axle locomotives, it's still probably the U.S. I don't think there are any overseas railroads that have as much equipment and routes that are good for "Plate E" clearances, for example.
Edit: or Plate H for double-stacks. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loading_gauge
and the pictorial comparison between the European and American loading gauges at:
http://www.emdx.org/rail/Gabarit/ComparaisonGabaritsEuropenEtAAR.pdf
- Paul North.
If I understand BIGGEST as longest trains or biggest loads in terms of train weight in total, I think nothing beats the US trains. Second would be the LKAB trains from Kiruna to Narvik, with an axle load of 30 tons.
Now I know why European rail cars have those rounded roofs.
Adding to beaulieu's comments, afaik the Pilbara iron ore lines have the highest standard axle loadings in the world.
Sweden might have the widest loading gauge. Some of their passenger trains are wide , maybe around 12' wide, on standard gauge. Some freights are loaded wide there too.
USA must be the tallest , unless somewhere in Australia equals the US loading gauge in height also.
Channel tunnel trains are extra wide.
TH&BSweden might have the widest loading gauge. Some of their passenger trains are wide , maybe around 12' wide, on standard gauge. Some freights are loaded wide there too. USA must be the tallest , unless somewhere in Australia equals the US loading gauge in height also. Channel tunnel trains are extra wide.
Saudi Railways has the same height capability.
Let's not forget that primary lines in Canada and Mexico have similar loading gauge and axle loadings to the U.S.
RWM
I meant tallest and widest. Not longest or heaviest
I can't think of any trains wider then the Chunnel shuttle trains, standard track gauge but wide coaches.
Sorry, maby a little here, but what is the heviest recorded load pulled by a US train? What railroad was it from?
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AFAIK N&W still has the US record, from 1967 or so-- 500 coal loads, Iaeger to Williamson.
timz AFAIK N&W still has the US record, from 1967 or so-- 500 coal loads, Iaeger to Williamson.
WOW! 500 coal loads! I bet those Y class Mallys were sure pullin' and a' pushin!
No Mallets, unfortunately [though I sure wish so, too]. All diesels - I'm pretty sure there was a mid-train 'slave' or remote control unit lash-up, not sure if there was a rear pusher as well. Somewhere there's probably a record or report of how many and which model were used - remember, back then a typical diesel was about half the HP - say, about 2,000 HP, plus or minus 500 - of those that have been around for the last 15 years or so.
Over this past weekend I was re-reading a 1999 Trains article on N and W Mechanical Dept.'s 'Mr. Fix-It', Clyde Taylor - the train broke a coupler knuckle on re-starting from one of the en-route points [of course]. Taylor's crew replaced it in something like record time - there were a lot of N and W 'brass hats' watching, apparently.
bubbajustin timz AFAIK N&W still has the US record, from 1967 or so-- 500 coal loads, Iaeger to Williamson. WOW! 500 coal loads! I bet those Y class Mallys were sure pullin' and a' pushin!
You're about a decade off on that, buddy (1960 was the last year with Steam locomotives in revenue service on a US Class 1).. I'm more than 3 times your age and Steam was all done by the time I was born (1966)..The N&W monster coal train was powered by a veritable fleet of SD45s including some remote controlled helpers..
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Three SD45s pulling and three cut in-- don't recall whether the cut-in units were manned or not.
SD45 = 3,600 HP each, so that's 10,800 HP up front, and another 10,800 HP someplace in back, for a total of 21,600 HP. As I recall, the train weighed somewhere in the 30,000-plus ton range - so at 0.7 HP/ ton or less, it wasn't overpowered, to say the least.
I believe I have my 1967 bound volume of Trains handy at home at the moment. I'll see if I can extract the specifics and post them in the next day or two.
- PDN.
The cars grossed more than 60 tons apiece. I vaguely recall a total of 47000 tons.
3:40 PM Oct. 25, 1967 - 500 450 loaded coal cars, about 45,000 44,475 gross tons, 8 ea. SD45's - 3 leading, 5 as mid-train slaves (radio-controlled), west along the Tug River from Iaeger, W. Va. to Williamson, W. Va.. Photo on top left of page 8 and short article - "N&W raises the tonnage ante" on pages 13 and 15 (about 3-1/2 column-inches, about half of that summarizing the PRR's prior long trains) under the "NEWS AND EDITORIAL COMMENT" section in Jan. 1968 Trains. Ran about 48 47.1 miles, avg. speed 28-1/2 MPH. Will review again and check and post addt'l. details tomorrow. EDIT: See misc. additions and changes above.
Trains 2/68 tells about the 500-car train-- 3 + 3 SD45s, 47000 tons Iaeger to Portsmouth 157 miles in 6 1/2 hours it says. They got one knuckle-- wonder if that 6 1/2 hours includes the time fixing that?
Williamson was probably a crew change then? Two stops and starts there?
(It was the 450-car train that ran Iaeger to Williamson.)
OK - I think timz's got it more correct - and that explains some discrepancies I noticed in the 1999 Clyde Taylor - "N&W's Mr. Fix-It" article. Nov. 15, 1967; yes, the 6-1/2 hrs. included fixing the knuckle (seems it took only a few minutes), Williamson was a crew change - that was the only reason for the stop.
The two stops and starts at Williamson were probably for 1) change the head-end crew, and 2) fix the broken knuckle. Since the 2nd set of SD45s were probably mid-train unmanned 'slaves' (radio-controlled) - that was the common state-of-the-art "DPU" back then - no 2nd stop to change the non-existent crew on them would have been needed.
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