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Since current locomotives are diesel electric hybrids anyway, seems like US Railroads could electrify certain potions of track, maybe steep changes in grade or
by ethagknight 5y ago
Since current locomotives are diesel electric hybrids anyway, seems like US Railroads could electrify certain potions of track, maybe steep changes in grade or places where trains frequently stop/start, yielding an opportunity to cut diesel consumption 50% or more on certain routes, since maintaining speed requires modest effort.
Also, while reduced fuel consumption is nice, another major beneficiary would be the environment, specifically when operating in urban centers. I’ve lived near heavy-use railways and currently a switching yard for most of my life, and some days the diesel exhaust is quite strong, depending on the prevailing winds. The engines are usually pretty clean burning for the amount of work they produce, but not always…
- tamcap 5y ago"another major beneficiary would be the environment, specifically when operating in urban centers" But you see, they don't care. If there is no incentive for them to do it, why would they? Good neighborhood-will will pay for a donation to a local charity cause, etc, but will not make meaningful expensive changes to the SOP. Ideally this is the point where a regulator (of some kind) steps in and nudges the change. We all know what the political problems behind that are - despite mounting evidence of how damaging diesel exhaust particles are to us, and our children.
- ethagknight 5y agoYou are correct, i started to make the point that the environmental argument is probably the best way for legislation to coerce Railroads to modernize where it makes sense. Rather than paint the Railroads as baddies, makes more sense to approach the narrative collaboratively, that technology and some thoughtful complexity could help them save a lot of money and save our lungs along the way.