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I think you are forgetting brakes. There is absolutely no way a train is free-rolling it down a hill. They will be on brakes the entire time - dynos and air bra
by greenshackle2 6y ago
I think you are forgetting brakes. There is absolutely no way a train is free-rolling it down a hill. They will be on brakes the entire time - dynos and air brakes - so you are "getting back" a lot of those joules in the form of electricity and heat, not momentum.
- sudosysgen 6y agoCertainly. If this is a significant cost, then regenerative braking is installed. But it is mostly négligeable.
- dredmorbius 6y agoHow large a battery are you planning on carrying?
- sudosysgen 6y agoNone at all. Simply supply it to the grid. It would be perfectly predictable amounts of energy at predictable times, too. Some high speed passenger trains do actually do this, FYI.
- Ichthypresbyter 6y agoAlthough you can only supply the energy to the grid if your locomotive is connected to the grid while running, which diesels aren't.
- sudosysgen 6y agoIndeed, they aren't, because it's not economically worth it, because the energy is mostly too small to bother. Which is my entire point.
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y agoNot only them. Almost all newer EMU's for regional/commuting here do it, too. And I don't like it because I can hear the fucking chirping of the electronics when they do that. Which is *very annoying' when I have to ride them. Started around 20 years ago.
- dredmorbius 6y agoLook into why the US hasn't electrified its long-haul freight. There's a hell of a chicken-egg and scale issue involved.