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Author Topic: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !  (Read 7592 times)

Perkasaman2

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #25 on: January 08, 2010, 09:41:32 pm »

The recurring theme appears to be transport policy/decisions based on short term expediency driven by the 'bean counters'. At the end of WW2 our rail system was virtually worn out. The post war British economy was a shambles and social reform was the priority. Beecham reduced liability and axed much of the minor network. Mrs Thatcher applied her favourite loony dogmas.......  de-regulate/sell off - privatise/profitise and agencify/trustify what's left. We have now the quaint crap mini rail operators reminiscent of a bygone rail era, all squeezed into our mini isles - and a LOT more bean counters. The French transport road/rail  network is' light years' ahead and its a lot bigger.  {:-{
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Jimmy James

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #26 on: January 08, 2010, 09:54:58 pm »

Thanks John
In other words it was politics again that was the main cause of the death of the Steam Loco same as the Shipyards and the Merchant Navy... So again we have established that there are little green men running the country (wonder where they keep their flying saucers?) :D :D :D
Freebooter


Joking asideTks for the explanation John
Jimmy
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oldiron

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #27 on: January 08, 2010, 09:57:45 pm »

 Here are some examples of steam turbine locomotives that were built. Most were built during the later 1930's and most scrapped by the mid 1940's

John
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Jimmy James

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #28 on: January 08, 2010, 10:14:08 pm »

Greg
 Would not a turbo electric rig work   I under stand some of the short comings of turbines with the changes in speed but can't quite understand why a turbo Genny wouldn't work even if you had to have an accumulator bank to temp store excess power ...couldn't the turbine then be run at optimal speed ???
Jimmy
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gondolier88

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #29 on: January 08, 2010, 10:51:28 pm »

HI Jimmy James,

Yes that would be more than possible but why- if you were going to build a fleet of turbine steam loco's then you would have to use either diesel or electric to fire them, electric would be the easiest and cleanest.

But then that would mean that you are taking electric, boiling water with it, turning a turbine with it, generating electricity with electricity to drive a motor- why not just drive an electric motor with it in the first place.

A steam loco would need to have a reason to exist, turbines don't give it one i'm afraid.

Greg
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oldiron

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #30 on: January 08, 2010, 11:03:01 pm »

Greg
 Would not a turbo electric rig work   I under stand some of the short comings of turbines with the changes in speed but can't quite understand why a turbo Genny wouldn't work even if you had to have an accumulator bank to temp store excess power ...couldn't the turbine then be run at optimal speed ???
Jimmy
Freebooter

  Three of the locomotives pictured were steam turbine electric. The N&w Jawn Henry, The C&O unit and the Union Pacific unit. None were successful.

John
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malcolmfrary

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #31 on: January 09, 2010, 09:54:25 am »

  Three of the locomotives pictured were steam turbine electric. The N&w Jawn Henry, The C&O unit and the Union Pacific unit. None were successful.

John
Those who tried using liquid fuel soon worked out that the place to burn it in a locomotive was inside the engine, not outside.  This was whether it was burning oil to boil water to work a turbine or a reciprocating engine, and immaterial of whether it was direct drive, hydraulic drive, clutch and gearbox or electric generator and motors.  The big plus point about straight electric is that you dont carry a fuel store and power station around with you.  The downside is that you are reliant on having the system that delivers your power in working order.
Beeching? He got rid of the genuine surplus, but because his script was being written by a transport minister with a big financial stake in motorway construction, he did his level best to destroy much that was worthwhile and commercially viable if the will had ever been there to repair war time damage, both the direct damage and the wear and tear that happened.
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polaris

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #32 on: January 09, 2010, 06:54:46 pm »

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Ghost in the shell

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #33 on: January 09, 2010, 10:47:46 pm »

the problem with diesel locomotives this weather is i think not so much the cold affecting the fuel, but weight, or lack of it, as the passenger locomotives like the virgin voyager are designed to go FAST, so they are light, so even with sanding on the track, they can't grip.  compare that to the 200 odd tonnes of A3. :)
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RickF

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Re: Modern Rail Locomotives, Poo !
« Reply #34 on: January 09, 2010, 11:29:46 pm »

Bernard,

The hovertrain.... I remember dragging my wife off to look at the remains of that in the Fens in 1975?. I had not been married all that long and we were living at RAF Oakington at the time. I couldn't understand why she was not excited about standing in a field looking at a pile of concrete!

Rick
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