It baffles me a lot how a locomotive can run back to back.
For example, if a locomotive is going north from south, when it gets north, instead of returning so that it can come back north, the locomotive engineer will go to the other end and start coming back without a U-turn like a car.
After much research and thought study, I understand the logic behind the locomotive’s back-to-back movement. In a few minutes, let me share this little secrete with you.
A modern locomotive can operate effectively in either direction.
However, turning trains is not always simple. Therefore, it is usually the major reason some locomotives face backwards.
In the past, turning a train or locomotive around required using a wye, loop, or turntable.
This infrastructure takes up a lot of real estates.
If you put two or more locomotives so that one faces each way on each end, you don’t need to “turn” the set; you can just run it around to the other end of the train.
A passing siding is much cheaper and more convenient than the above solutions.
Push-pull style trains take it a step further and include an operating cab in the last passenger car so that it’s not even necessary for the locomotive to run around.
The engineer can walk up to the front of the train where it will be heading, saving a lot of time.
Not only would it take time to run the commuter engine around (or turn it), but it would also take time to reconnect back to the train and perform brake and safety checks that wouldn’t be necessary
if the train remained coupled together (these checks would only be necessary at the start of the first run).
They’re on those rails, so the rail is the only direction of travel they can go in.”
Jacobs says it’s more efficient to leave locomotives facing whatever direction they are facing because it takes a lot of energy to pick a train up and turn it around so that it would face the other way.
TRAIN ENGINE START DIESEL CONSUMPTION
The train engine is a heavy-duty engine that requires a lot of diesel to run.
But diesel consumption depends on certain factors that I will cover in this article. It depends on the locomotive, but it doesn’t take much fuel to start.
The GE 7FDL will inject about the same fuel as idle to start the engine, same with the older emd engines assuming you don’t manually push the lay shaft.
The newer engines like the 710 engine in the emd and the GE GEVO engine with momentarily go to full fuel for easier starting, but it’s only for a split second, same as if you manually push the lay shaft on the older units.
The main fuel consumption increase comes when the engine is cold, warming up, or building air pressure in the air system.
GE engines will notch up to 3 and hold that until the air is charged and engine temperature is in the operating range.
EMD electronic-controlled engines will jump between idle, notch 3, and notch 5. (Actually, it scared me the first time I checked the oil in one, and it randomly revved up to notch 5.
I was wondering if it had a runaway here). The older mechanical engines won’t generally rev up above idle unless it has some controller in them.
Size of the Train– Much depends on the size of the train because it varies according to the weight of cargo being added to the total weight of the train and the type of engine power and speed.
Depending on the power source, type, and year of production, a modern locomotive can have anything from 1000 to 18,000 horsepower.
Although a train engine’s average power can vary significantly, almost all available options provide a level of strength and durability that was unimaginable just a few decades ago.
Distance cover-The distance travelled, and the type of slope of the rail line can reach 50 litres of diesel per kilometre or hours worked.
I would say that less than a tenth of a gallon would be used in the actual start-up; in any case, in notch 3 with little to no load, you are looking at probably 9–12 gallons per hour, and then your average engine in low idle will run on 5–7 gallons per hour.
WHAT ENGINES ARE IN LOCOMOTIVE
There are different kinds of engines used in a locomotive. The engine can be classified into two major categories.
A locomotive engine can run with an internal combustion engine or on a steam engine.
A steam engine was initially in vogue at the early stage of locomotive production.
But because of the disadvantages of the steam engine, many locomotive manufacturers started using the internal combustion engine.
The internal combustion engine reduced environmental pollution, making it acceptable in many countries.
Examples of such engines that can be found in locomotives are
- CUMMINS
- CATERPILLAR
- DETROIT
- MTU
These are just a few on the list. Many other heavy-duty engines can still also be used in the train engine.
TRAIN ENGINE STARTING SOUND
Unlike trucks or vehicles with different sounds, trains usually have identical sounds, especially when they are of the same model of the same manufacturers.
A train whistle or air whistle (originally referred to as a steam trumpet) is an audible signalling device on a steam locomotive used to warn that the train is approaching and to communicate with rail workers.
The chimes that make up a train horn’s many horn units each emit a distinct note when combined to Sound like a chord.
The five-chime horn seen is a Nathan model M5. The most widely used locomotive horn on North American railroads is the Leslie S3L.
Sometimes it sounds like Choo, chug, and chuff are onomatopoeic words for the Sound a steam train makes.
In BE, choo-choo and (less commonly) chuff-chuff are onomatopoeic words for “train” (or, more specifically, the engine) – they are used when speaking to very young children and, thus, by very young children.
The Sound made by the locomotive is Choo-Choo, and the Sound comes up when the steam comes out of the cylinder; the train wheel fixed that. You may have come across this in real life or while watching movies.
These are a few sounds I remember produced by train based on my listening ability, which can be different from what you hear from your end.
Before the train starts, the conductor makes the following announcements: “all on board” and “steam gushes about the wheel’.