PHILOSOPHY OF LOCOMOTIVE DESIGN

In order to meet the needs of today's shippers, American railroads must substantially increase the overall speed of their freight trains. They must think in terms of time, rather than of tons. The much needed speed gains call for--among other measures--considerably higher ratios of locomotive power to train weight than those presently used. Achievement of the required powers, however, is believed to be beyond the capabilities of the diesel locomotive because the dimensions and axle-loads of American diesel locomotives have fully exhausted the possibilities afforded by the permissible envelope. The solution lies in electric traction by a-c locomotives patterned after the highly successful designs (capable of outstanding adhesion performances) developed in Europe through the past 20 years and, most particularly, after the latest achievements of thyristor-controlled locomotives with separately excited d-c traction motors.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was presented at the ASME Winter Annual Meeting, November 28-December 2, 1971. The notification of this paper appeared in Mechanical Engineering.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Mechanical Engineers

  Two Park Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10016-5990
• Authors:
  • Dellacanonica, O G
• Publication Date: 1971

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Diesel locomotives; Electric locomotives; Locomotives; Motors; Traction; Traction drives; Vehicle design
• Old TRIS Terms: Locomotive design
• Subject Areas: Design; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00041676
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Mechanical Engineering
• Report/Paper Numbers: 71-WA/RT-8
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 15 1974 12:00AM