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I thought the train equipment was a little lighter than that, and automobiles normally weigh somewhat more than 2000 pounds. In any event, doesn't the train be
by jnw2 16y ago
I thought the train equipment was a little lighter than that, and automobiles normally weigh somewhat more than 2000 pounds.
In any event, doesn't the train being heavier mean that it can carry a much bigger battery pack than the automobile?
Amtrak's newest diesels produce 4200 horsepower, which is just over 3 megawatts. 40 Roadster battery packs (at 53 kilowatt hours per battery pack, and about a thousand pounds per battery pack) would store roughly 2 megawatt hours (35-40 minutes of the diesel at full throttle), weigh 20 tons, and probably cost something under $2 million at Tesla Model S era pricing. The catenary locomotives Amtrak is buying are over $6.6 million each, so the cost to add batteries sufficient for Richmond or Springfield service might well increase the cost of the locomotive by less than 50%.
- toolate 16y agoGood point. Wikipedia suggests that there are battery powered locomotives - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_locomotive#Electric_locomotive_types http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_locomotive#Electric_lo... Charging such a massive ammount of batteries quickly could potentially be problematic.
- jnw2 16y agoI think the right strategy for charging a locomotive battery pack would be to install a short section of 25kV catenary at the station/layover facility at the end of the route. Amtrak has some HHP-8 locomotives which are 8000 horsepower, about 5 megawatts, which demonstrate that carrying about 5 megawatts through a catenary system to a locomotive is not terribly difficult. Recharging will take longer than refuelling a diesel, but if the recharging can be done in under an hour, that's probably tolerable.