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78-589: The ALCO S-2 and S-4 are 1,000-horsepower (746 kW) diesel electric switcher locomotives produced by ALCO and Canadian licensee Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). Powered by turbocharged, 6-cylinder ALCO 539 diesel engines , the two locomotives differed mainly in their trucks : the S-2 had ALCO "Blunt" trucks; the S-4, AAR type A switcher trucks . A total of 1,502 S-2s were built from August 1940 to June 1950; 797 S-4s were built from June 1949 to August 1957. The S-4

156-471: A consist respond in the same way to throttle position. Binary encoding also helps to minimize the number of trainlines (electrical connections) that are required to pass signals from unit to unit. For example, only four trainlines are required to encode all possible throttle positions if there are up to 14 stages of throttling. North American locomotives, such as those built by EMD or General Electric , have eight throttle positions or "notches" as well as

234-429: A "reverser" to allow them to operate bi-directionally. Many UK-built locomotives have a ten-position throttle. The power positions are often referred to by locomotive crews depending upon the throttle setting, such as "run 3" or "notch 3". In older locomotives, the throttle mechanism was ratcheted so that it was not possible to advance more than one power position at a time. The engine driver could not, for example, pull

312-609: A Rational Heat Motor ). However, the large size and poor power-to-weight ratio of early diesel engines made them unsuitable for propelling land-based vehicles. Therefore, the engine's potential as a railroad prime mover was not initially recognized. This changed as research and development reduced the size and weight of the engine. In 1906, Rudolf Diesel, Adolf Klose and the steam and diesel engine manufacturer Gebrüder Sulzer founded Diesel-Sulzer-Klose GmbH to manufacture diesel-powered locomotives. Sulzer had been manufacturing diesel engines since 1898. The Prussian State Railways ordered

390-935: A S-4, and the only operating ALCO on the line currently. 5109 recently was repainted into its original Chesapeake and Ohio colors in September 2013. An ALCO S-2 built in 1946 was serving the Columbia & Reading Railway as No. 2-26 in Columbia, Pennsylvania , during 2019 after first operating on the C&;O as No. 5015 and later on six other railroads. The North Alabama Railroad Museum in Huntsville, Alabama runs one S-2 in regular tourist excursions, Mercury and Chase No. 213. It also owns another S-2, Mercury and Chase No. 484, which returned to service with No. 213 in 2018. The museum also has ex-Santa Fe No. 1534, an ALCO S-4 that

468-535: A diesel locomotive from the company in 1909, and after test runs between Winterthur and Romanshorn , Switzerland, the diesel–mechanical locomotive was delivered in Berlin in September 1912. The world's first diesel-powered locomotive was operated in the summer of 1912 on the same line from Winterthur but was not a commercial success. During test runs in 1913 several problems were found. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 prevented all further trials. The locomotive weight

546-504: A diesel-driven charging circuit. ALCO acquired the McIntosh & Seymour Engine Company in 1929 and entered series production of 300 hp (220 kW) and 600 hp (450 kW) single-cab switcher units in 1931. ALCO would be the pre-eminent builder of switch engines through the mid-1930s and would adapt the basic switcher design to produce versatile and highly successful, albeit relatively low powered, road locomotives. GM, seeing

624-465: A flashover (also known as an arc fault ), which could result in immediate generator failure and, in some cases, start an engine room fire. Current North American practice is for four axles for high-speed passenger or "time" freight, or for six axles for lower-speed or "manifest" freight. The most modern units on "time" freight service tend to have six axles underneath the frame. Unlike those in "manifest" service, "time" freight units will have only four of

702-577: A major manufacturer of diesel engines for marine and stationary applications, in 1930. Supported by the General Motors Research Division, GM's Winton Engine Corporation sought to develop diesel engines suitable for high-speed mobile use. The first milestone in that effort was delivery in early 1934 of the Winton 201A, a two-stroke , mechanically aspirated , uniflow-scavenged , unit-injected diesel engine that could deliver

780-507: A nearly imperceptible start. The positioning of the reverser and movement of the throttle together is conceptually like shifting an automobile's automatic transmission into gear while the engine is idling. Concord and Claremont Railroad The Concord and Claremont Railroad was an American railroad company during the mid-nineteenth century in New Hampshire spanning from Concord to Claremont . Chartered on June 24, 1848,

858-421: A prototype diesel–electric locomotive for "special uses" (such as for runs where water for steam locomotives was scarce) using electrical equipment from Westinghouse Electric Company . Its twin-engine design was not successful, and the unit was scrapped after a short testing and demonstration period. Industry sources were beginning to suggest "the outstanding advantages of this new form of motive power". In 1929,

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936-486: A real prospect with existing diesel technology. Before diesel power could make inroads into mainline service, the limitations of diesel engines circa 1930 – low power-to-weight ratios and narrow output range – had to be overcome. A major effort to overcome those limitations was launched by General Motors after they moved into the diesel field with their acquisition of the Winton Engine Company ,

1014-709: A truck swap can cause many to misidentify a unit. A few S-2s and S-4s are still in service on short line railroads around the United States. Several more are preserved in U.S. and Canadian railroad museums. Conrad Yelvington Distributors, an aggregate supplier in Orlando, Florida, owns and operates six S-2 locomotives and one S-4 locomotive. The S-2s include former C&O 5029, B&O 516 Ontario Northland 1202 and 1201, and Seaboard Air Lane 1428 and 1431. They are now Conrad Yelvington Nos. 224, 238, 239, 251, 317, and 366, respectively. The S-4, formerly C&O No. 5105,

1092-893: Is at the Meadville Railroad Depot Museum. New York, Susquehanna and Western S-2 No. 206 remains on static display at the Maywood Station Museum in Maywood, New Jersey . In Muskogee, Oklahoma , at the Three Rivers Museum, a S-2 No. 63-138 sits behind the Midland Valley Station. The Houston Railroad Museum in Houston, Texas, has two S-2s: ex-Santa Fe No. 2350 and ex-Houston Belt and Terminal No. 14. The Gold Coast Railway Museum possesses NASA S-2 No. 1, which

1170-421: Is because clutches would need to be very large at these power levels and would not fit in a standard 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)-wide locomotive frame, or would wear too quickly to be useful. The first successful diesel engines used diesel–electric transmissions , and by 1925 a small number of diesel locomotives of 600 hp (450 kW) were in service in the United States. In 1930, Armstrong Whitworth of

1248-533: Is better able to cope with overload conditions that often destroyed the older types of motors. A diesel–electric locomotive's power output is independent of road speed, as long as the unit's generator current and voltage limits are not exceeded. Therefore, the unit's ability to develop tractive effort (also referred to as drawbar pull or tractive force , which is what actually propels the train) will tend to inversely vary with speed within these limits. (See power curve below). Maintaining acceptable operating parameters

1326-502: Is generally limited to low-powered, low-speed shunting (switching) locomotives, lightweight multiple units and self-propelled railcars . The mechanical transmissions used for railroad propulsion are generally more complex and much more robust than standard-road versions. There is usually a fluid coupling interposed between the engine and gearbox, and the gearbox is often of the epicyclic (planetary) type to permit shifting while under load. Various systems have been devised to minimise

1404-688: Is not in service. The San Francisco Bay Railroad , the short-line railroad for the Port of San Francisco , operates S-2 No. 23 from the San Francisco Belt Line Railroad. S-2 No. 25 (also former Belt Line) was disabled and put on static display outside the yard in 2019. An S-2 of D&RGW heritage survives on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway , as number No. 102. It was purchased in February 1964 for

1482-399: Is now Conrad Yelvington No. 365. The Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad operates S-2s No. 75 and No. 85 on its tourist / freight railroad. The Toledo, Lake Erie, and Western owns three ALCO S-2 locomotives and one ALCO S-4. TLEW 62, a S-2 purchased in 2012, ex. Delray Cement 62, TLEW 112, a S-2 that was part of the original TLEW roster, now reduced to a parts unit as of 2010, TLEW 5109,

1560-414: Is the same as placing an automobile's transmission into neutral while the engine is running. To set the locomotive in motion, the reverser control handle is placed into the correct position (forward or reverse), the brake is released and the throttle is moved to the run 1 position (the first power notch). An experienced engine driver can accomplish these steps in a coordinated fashion that will result in

1638-656: The Burlington Route and Union Pacific used custom-built diesel " streamliners " to haul passengers, starting in late 1934. Burlington's Zephyr trainsets evolved from articulated three-car sets with 600 hp power cars in 1934 and early 1935, to the Denver Zephyr semi-articulated ten car trainsets pulled by cab-booster power sets introduced in late 1936. Union Pacific started diesel streamliner service between Chicago and Portland Oregon in June 1935, and in

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1716-723: The Busch-Sulzer company in 1911. Only limited success was achieved in the early twentieth century with internal combustion engined railcars, due, in part, to difficulties with mechanical drive systems. General Electric (GE) entered the railcar market in the early twentieth century, as Thomas Edison possessed a patent on the electric locomotive, his design actually being a type of electrically propelled railcar. GE built its first electric locomotive prototype in 1895. However, high electrification costs caused GE to turn its attention to internal combustion power to provide electricity for electric railcars. Problems related to co-ordinating

1794-611: The Canadian National Railways became the first North American railway to use diesels in mainline service with two units, 9000 and 9001, from Westinghouse. However, these early diesels proved expensive and unreliable, with their high cost of acquisition relative to steam unable to be realized in operating cost savings as they were frequently out of service. It would be another five years before diesel–electric propulsion would be successfully used in mainline service, and nearly ten years before fully replacing steam became

1872-494: The DFH1 , began in 1964 following the construction of a prototype in 1959. In Japan, starting in the 1920s, some petrol–electric railcars were produced. The first diesel–electric traction and the first air-streamed vehicles on Japanese rails were the two DMU3s of class Kiha 43000 (キハ43000系). Japan's first series of diesel locomotives was class DD50 (国鉄DD50形), twin locomotives, developed since 1950 and in service since 1953. In 1914,

1950-488: The Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterrano in southern Italy in 1926, following trials in 1924–25. The six-cylinder two-stroke motor produced 440 horsepower (330 kW) at 500   rpm, driving four DC motors, one for each axle. These 44 tonnes (43 long tons; 49 short tons) locomotives with 45 km/h (28 mph) top speed proved quite successful. In 1924, two diesel–electric locomotives were taken in service by

2028-1003: The Soviet railways , almost at the same time: In 1935, Krauss-Maffei , MAN and Voith built the first diesel–hydraulic locomotive, called V 140 , in Germany. Diesel–hydraulics became the mainstream in diesel locomotives in Germany since the German railways (DRG) were pleased with the performance of that engine. Serial production of diesel locomotives in Germany began after World War II. In many railway stations and industrial compounds, steam shunters had to be kept hot during many breaks between scattered short tasks. Therefore, diesel traction became economical for shunting before it became economical for hauling trains. The construction of diesel shunters began in 1920 in France, in 1925 in Denmark, in 1926 in

2106-406: The electrification of the line in 1944. Afterwards, the company kept them in service as boosters until 1965. Fiat claims to have built the first Italian diesel–electric locomotive in 1922, but little detail is available. Several Fiat- TIBB Bo'Bo' diesel–locomotives were built for service on the 950 mm ( 3 ft  1 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) narrow gauge Ferrovie Calabro Lucane and

2184-432: The 1,500 kW (2,000 hp) British Rail 10100 locomotive), though only few have proven successful (such as the 1,342 kW (1,800 hp) DSB Class MF ). In a diesel–electric locomotive , the diesel engine drives either an electrical DC generator (generally, less than 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) net for traction), or an electrical AC alternator-rectifier (generally 3,000   hp net or more for traction),

2262-576: The 18 passenger coaches, which required a second locomotive pushing from the rear. The original railroad line was only 18 miles (29 km) long, but it was soon extended through Bradford , adding 9 miles (14 km) to the line. In 1852, the railroad filed for bankruptcy ; it was merged in 1853 with the New Hampshire Central Railroad, forming what was known as the Merrimac and Connecticut Rivers Railroad Company. In 1874,

2340-459: The 1960s, the DC generator was replaced by an alternator using a diode bridge to convert its output to DC. This advance greatly improved locomotive reliability and decreased generator maintenance costs by elimination of the commutator and brushes in the generator. Elimination of the brushes and commutator, in turn, eliminated the possibility of a particularly destructive type of event referred to as

2418-523: The 1990s, starting with the Electro-Motive SD70MAC in 1993 and followed by General Electric's AC4400CW in 1994 and AC6000CW in 1995. The Trans-Australian Railway built 1912 to 1917 by Commonwealth Railways (CR) passes through 2,000 km of waterless (or salt watered) desert terrain unsuitable for steam locomotives. The original engineer Henry Deane envisaged diesel operation to overcome such problems. Some have suggested that

ALCO S-2 and S-4 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2496-600: The CR worked with the South Australian Railways to trial diesel traction. However, the technology was not developed enough to be reliable. As in Europe, the usage of internal combustion engines advanced more readily in self-propelled railcars than in locomotives: A diesel–mechanical locomotive uses a mechanical transmission in a fashion similar to that employed in most road vehicles. This type of transmission

2574-487: The Claremont and Concord Railway. Once this had taken place, the Claremont and Concord's abandonments took place from east to west: The Claremont Concord Railroad now operates 2 miles (3 km) between Claremont Junction on the main line to Claremont as a subsidiary of New England Central Railroad, itself a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Industries. 9 miles (14 km) of the line between Claremont and Newport

2652-455: The Concord and Claremont Railroad was established and construction had begun on November 19, 1848. Approximately ten months later, on September 21, the railroad was opened from Concord to Warner . The very first train to travel the line left Warner and had approximately 500 passengers aboard the 9 passenger coaches. On the return trip from Concord, the train carried about 800 passengers on

2730-836: The Kentucky and Tennessee Railway (K&T), and is in operable condition in Stearns, Kentucky . This was one of the diesels that replaced Southern Railway 4501 on the K&;T. Southern Pacific 1474 is in operation, in rotation, at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California , pulling a tourist train on weekends. The Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad operates a pair of restored ex- Canadian National units S-4 No. 3051 (formerly CN No. 8181) and S-7 No. 3052 (formerly CN No. 8223). In 2017, they acquired

2808-895: The Netherlands, and in 1927 in Germany. After a few years of testing, hundreds of units were produced within a decade. Diesel-powered or "oil-engined" railcars, generally diesel–mechanical, were developed by various European manufacturers in the 1930s, e.g. by William Beardmore and Company for the Canadian National Railways (the Beardmore Tornado engine was subsequently used in the R101 airship). Some of those series for regional traffic were begun with gasoline motors and then continued with diesel motors, such as Hungarian BC (The class code doesn't tell anything but "railmotor with 2nd and 3rd class seats".), 128 cars built 1926–1937, or German Wismar railbuses (57 cars 1932–1941). In France,

2886-817: The Sugar River Railroad, which built and ran its rail line from Newport to Claremont, merged with the Contoocook Valley Railroad and again created the Concord and Claremont Railroad, under the control of the Northern Railroad . In 1887, the Boston and Maine Railroad absorbed the Concord and Claremont, and the line was now known as the Claremont Branch of the Boston & Maine. The Claremont and Concord Railway

2964-566: The United Kingdom delivered two 1,200 hp (890 kW) locomotives using Sulzer -designed engines to Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway of Argentina. In 1933, diesel–electric technology developed by Maybach was used to propel the DRG Class SVT 877 , a high-speed intercity two-car set, and went into series production with other streamlined car sets in Germany starting in 1935. In the United States, diesel–electric propulsion

3042-499: The War Production Board put a halt to building new passenger equipment and gave naval uses priority for diesel engine production. During the petroleum crisis of 1942–43 , coal-fired steam had the advantage of not using fuel that was in critically short supply. EMD was later allowed to increase the production of its FT locomotives and ALCO-GE was allowed to produce a limited number of DL-109 road locomotives, but most in

3120-433: The axles connected to traction motors, with the other two as idler axles for weight distribution. In the late 1980s, the development of high-power variable-voltage/variable-frequency (VVVF) drives, or "traction inverters", allowed the use of polyphase AC traction motors, thereby also eliminating the motor commutator and brushes. The result is a more efficient and reliable drive that requires relatively little maintenance and

3198-722: The benefits of an electric locomotive without the railroad having to bear the sizeable expense of electrification. The unit successfully demonstrated, in switching and local freight and passenger service, on ten railroads and three industrial lines. Westinghouse Electric and Baldwin collaborated to build switching locomotives starting in 1929. However, the Great Depression curtailed demand for Westinghouse's electrical equipment, and they stopped building locomotives internally, opting to supply electrical parts instead. In June 1925, Baldwin Locomotive Works outshopped

ALCO S-2 and S-4 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3276-420: The break in transmission during gear changing, such as the S.S.S. (synchro-self-shifting) gearbox used by Hudswell Clarke . Diesel–mechanical propulsion is limited by the difficulty of building a reasonably sized transmission capable of coping with the power and torque required to move a heavy train. A number of attempts to use diesel–mechanical propulsion in high power applications have been made (for example,

3354-422: The design of diesel engines reduced their physical size and improved their power-to-weight ratios to a point where one could be mounted in a locomotive. Internal combustion engines only operate efficiently within a limited power band , and while low-power gasoline engines could be coupled to mechanical transmissions , the more powerful diesel engines required the development of new forms of transmission. This

3432-443: The engine governor and electrical or electronic components, including switchgear , rectifiers and other components, which control or modify the electrical supply to the traction motors. In the most elementary case, the generator may be directly connected to the motors with only very simple switchgear. Originally, the traction motors and generator were DC machines. Following the development of high-capacity silicon rectifiers in

3510-419: The engine and traction motor with a single lever; subsequent improvements were also patented by Lemp. Lemp's design solved the problem of overloading and damaging the traction motors with excessive electrical power at low speeds, and was the prototype for all internal combustion–electric drive control systems. In 1917–1918, GE produced three experimental diesel–electric locomotives using Lemp's control design,

3588-423: The engine driver operates the controls. When the throttle is in the idle position, the prime mover receives minimal fuel, causing it to idle at low RPM. In addition, the traction motors are not connected to the main generator and the generator's field windings are not excited (energized) – the generator does not produce electricity without excitation. Therefore, the locomotive will be in "neutral". Conceptually, this

3666-456: The first diesel railcar was Renault VH , 115 units produced 1933/34. In Italy, after six Gasoline cars since 1931, Fiat and Breda built a lot of diesel railmotors, more than 110 from 1933 to 1938 and 390 from 1940 to 1953, Class 772 known as Littorina , and Class ALn 900. In the 1930s, streamlined highspeed diesel railcars were developed in several countries: In 1945, a batch of 30 Baldwin diesel–electric locomotives, Baldwin 0-6-6-0 1000 ,

3744-480: The first known to be built in the United States. Following this development, the 1923 Kaufman Act banned steam locomotives from New York City, because of severe pollution problems. The response to this law was to electrify high-traffic rail lines. However, electrification was uneconomical to apply to lower-traffic areas. The first regular use of diesel–electric locomotives was in switching (shunter) applications, which were more forgiving than mainline applications of

3822-569: The following year would add Los Angeles, CA , Oakland, CA , and Denver, CO to the destinations of diesel streamliners out of Chicago. The Burlington and Union Pacific streamliners were built by the Budd Company and the Pullman-Standard Company , respectively, using the new Winton engines and power train systems designed by GM's Electro-Motive Corporation . EMC's experimental 1800 hp B-B locomotives of 1935 demonstrated

3900-908: The former Concord and Claremont Railroad ALCO S-4 units S-4 No. 102 (formerly D&H No. 3050) and S-4 No. 104 (formerly D&H No. 3036). As of 2020, all but No. 104 were operational on the tourist passenger and maintenance of way services between Milford and Cooperstown, New York . S-7 No. 3052 is thought to be the final S-7 built that is still in operation. The coal-hauling Beech Mountain Railroad in Alexander, West Virginia , rosters an S-2 (No. 113) and an S-4 (No. 115). Both were built new for Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company. The Minnesota, Dakota and Western Railway operates five S-2 locomotives, MD&W Nos. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, which were formerly B&O 512, Y&N 220, Toledo Terminal 103, B&O 500, and Northern Pacific 716, respectively. In

3978-406: The freight market including their own F series locomotives. GE subsequently dissolved its partnership with ALCO and would emerge as EMD's main competitor in the early 1960s, eventually taking the top position in the locomotive market from EMD. Early diesel–electric locomotives in the United States used direct current (DC) traction motors but alternating current (AC) motors came into widespread use in

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4056-570: The limitations of contemporary diesel technology and where the idling economy of diesel relative to steam would be most beneficial. GE entered a collaboration with the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and Ingersoll-Rand (the "AGEIR" consortium) in 1924 to produce a prototype 300 hp (220 kW) "boxcab" locomotive delivered in July 1925. This locomotive demonstrated that the diesel–electric power unit could provide many of

4134-431: The locomotive business were restricted to making switch engines and steam locomotives. In the early postwar era, EMD dominated the market for mainline locomotives with their E and F series locomotives. ALCO-GE in the late 1940s produced switchers and road-switchers that were successful in the short-haul market. However, EMD launched their GP series road-switcher locomotives in 1949, which displaced all other locomotives in

4212-516: The locomotive was removed from service on account of missing maintenance paperwork, which had been disposed of by the Canadian National when they retired #47 in 1958. A diesel replacement was used for an additional seven days, but was not popular. This was the last regularly-scheduled passenger service on the Claremont Branch. In 1988, the line was sold to a local lumber dealer that renamed the operation Claremont-Concord Railroad. In 2015

4290-581: The mid-1950s. Generally, diesel traction in Italy was of less importance than in other countries, as it was amongst the most advanced countries in the electrification of the main lines and as Italian geography makes freight transport by sea cheaper than rail transportation even on many domestic connections. Adolphus Busch purchased the American manufacturing rights for the diesel engine in 1898 but never applied this new form of power to transportation. He founded

4368-694: The mid-1960s, Hamersley Iron purchased an S-2 for use in the Pilbara region of Western Australia . Baltimore and Ohio Railroad No. 9115 has been cosmetically restored at the West Chester Railroad. In 2022 it was repainted to its original B&O paint scheme. It is not currently in service Western Pacific No. 563, one of two S-4s purchased by that railroad, is preserved at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California . Erie Railroad S-2 No. 518

4446-546: The multiple-unit control systems used for the cab/booster sets and the twin-engine format used with the later Zephyr power units. Both of those features would be used in EMC's later production model locomotives. The lightweight diesel streamliners of the mid-1930s demonstrated the advantages of diesel for passenger service with breakthrough schedule times, but diesel locomotive power would not fully come of age until regular series production of mainline diesel locomotives commenced and it

4524-402: The output of which provides power to the traction motors that drive the locomotive. There is no mechanical connection between the diesel engine and the wheels. The important components of diesel–electric propulsion are the diesel engine (also known as the prime mover ), the main generator/alternator-rectifier, traction motors (usually with four or six axles), and a control system consisting of

4602-584: The performance and reliability of the new 567 model engine in passenger locomotives, EMC was eager to demonstrate diesel's viability in freight service. Following the successful 1939 tour of EMC's FT demonstrator freight locomotive set, the stage was set for dieselization of American railroads. In 1941, ALCO-GE introduced the RS-1 road-switcher that occupied its own market niche while EMD's F series locomotives were sought for mainline freight service. The US entry into World War II slowed conversion to diesel;

4680-484: The prime mover and electric motor were immediately encountered, primarily due to limitations of the Ward Leonard current control system that had been chosen. GE Rail was formed in 1907 and 112 years later, in 2019, was purchased by and merged with Wabtec . A significant breakthrough occurred in 1914, when Hermann Lemp , a GE electrical engineer, developed and patented a reliable control system that controlled

4758-420: The railroad was acquired by Genesee and Wyoming Industries and integrated into its New England Central Railroad . Difficult economic times and the advancement of the automobile forced many railroads to close rail lines. The Boston & Maine Railroad was to sell off the rights to many of the lines and rights of way it held, including the Claremont Branch, sold to an independent operator in 1954, this time as

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4836-450: The required performance for a fast, lightweight passenger train. The second milestone, and the one that got American railroads moving towards diesel, was the 1938 delivery of GM's Model 567 engine that was designed specifically for locomotive use, bringing a fivefold increase in life of some mechanical parts and showing its potential for meeting the rigors of freight service. Diesel–electric railroad locomotion entered mainline service when

4914-405: The success of the custom streamliners, sought to expand the market for diesel power by producing standardized locomotives under their Electro-Motive Corporation . In 1936, EMC's new factory started production of switch engines. In 1937, the factory started producing their new E series streamlined passenger locomotives, which would be upgraded with more reliable purpose-built engines in 1938. Seeing

4992-569: The summer of 1961. Between July 22 and September 17, the tracks between Bradford and Sunapee were used by F. Nelson Blount and his Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Railroad , a tourist excursion railroad. Blount approached Pinsly when his planned operations on the Boston & Maine's Cheshire Branch did not materialize quickly enough for the 1961 season. The operation utilized a former Canadian National Railway 4-6-4T steam locomotive, #47 , and several former Boston & Maine wooden coaches. The steam operation came to an early end on August 25 when

5070-432: The throttle from notch 2 to notch 4 without stopping at notch 3. This feature was intended to prevent rough train handling due to abrupt power increases caused by rapid throttle motion ("throttle stripping", an operating rules violation on many railroads). Modern locomotives no longer have this restriction, as their control systems are able to smoothly modulate power and avoid sudden changes in train loading regardless of how

5148-479: The throttle setting, as determined by the engine driver and the speed at which the prime mover is running (see Control theory ). Locomotive power output, and therefore speed, is typically controlled by the engine driver using a stepped or "notched" throttle that produces binary -like electrical signals corresponding to throttle position. This basic design lends itself well to multiple unit (MU) operation by producing discrete conditions that assure that all units in

5226-451: The use of an internal combustion engine in a railway locomotive is the prototype designed by William Dent Priestman , which was examined by William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin in 1888 who described it as a " Priestman oil engine mounted upon a truck which is worked on a temporary line of rails to show the adaptation of a petroleum engine for locomotive purposes." In 1894, a 20 hp (15 kW) two-axle machine built by Priestman Brothers

5304-468: The very similar S-1 and S-3 660 hp (492 kW) switchers in that they have a larger exhaust stack with an oblong base and a larger radiator shutter area on the nose sides. The S-1/S-3 radiator shutter area is taller than it is wide, while the S-2/S-4 radiator area is wider. The larger stack is due to turbocharging. The carbody and cab of late S-2s are nearly indistinguishable from those of S-4s. Hence,

5382-672: The world's first functional diesel–electric railcars were produced for the Königlich-Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen ( Royal Saxon State Railways ) by Waggonfabrik Rastatt with electric equipment from Brown, Boveri & Cie and diesel engines from Swiss Sulzer AG . They were classified as DET 1 and DET 2 ( de.wiki ). Because of a shortage of petrol products during World War I, they remained unused for regular service in Germany. In 1922, they were sold to Swiss Compagnie du Chemin de fer Régional du Val-de-Travers , where they were used in regular service up to

5460-473: Was 95 tonnes and the power was 883 kW (1,184 hp) with a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). Small numbers of prototype diesel locomotives were produced in a number of countries through the mid-1920s. One of the first domestically developed Diesel vehicles of China was the Dongfeng DMU (东风), produced in 1958 by CSR Sifang . Series production of China's first Diesel locomotive class,

5538-527: Was brought to high-speed mainline passenger service in late 1934, largely through the research and development efforts of General Motors dating back to the late 1920s and advances in lightweight car body design by the Budd Company . The economic recovery from World War II hastened the widespread adoption of diesel locomotives in many countries. They offered greater flexibility and performance than steam locomotives , as well as substantially lower operating and maintenance costs. The earliest recorded example of

5616-688: Was delivered from the United States to the railways of the Soviet Union. In 1947, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) introduced the first of a pair of 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) Co-Co diesel–electric locomotives (later British Rail Class D16/1 ) for regular use in the United Kingdom, although British manufacturers such as Armstrong Whitworth had been exporting diesel locomotives since 1930. Fleet deliveries to British Railways, of other designs such as Class 20 and Class 31, began in 1957. Series production of diesel locomotives in Italy began in

5694-403: Was established in 1954 when shortline railroad operator Samuel Pinsly purchased 55 miles (89 km) of track between Claremont Junction and Concord from the Boston and Maine Railroad. A succession of abandonments between 1960 and 1977 cut the line back to just four miles (6 km) between Claremont and Claremont Junction. Passenger rail on the line had a surprising rebirth for eight weeks in

5772-504: Was first produced in Canada, with ALCO production beginning in June 1949. The S-2 and S-4 were designed as rail yard switchers, meant to replace older, less efficient, and more demanding steam switchers. They were a success, with many remaining in service today. The locomotives' exterior was styled by ALCO engineer Ray Patten, who used curves in a mild application of Art Deco principles. The S-2 and S-4 are distinguishable externally from

5850-400: Was one of the principal design considerations that had to be solved in early diesel–electric locomotive development and, ultimately, led to the complex control systems in place on modern units. The prime mover's power output is primarily determined by its rotational speed ( RPM ) and fuel rate, which are regulated by a governor or similar mechanism. The governor is designed to react to both

5928-494: Was shown suitable for full-size passenger and freight service. Following their 1925 prototype, the AGEIR consortium produced 25 more units of 300 hp (220 kW) "60 ton" AGEIR boxcab switching locomotives between 1925 and 1928 for several New York City railroads, making them the first series-produced diesel locomotives. The consortium also produced seven twin-engine "100 ton" boxcabs and one hybrid trolley/battery unit with

6006-737: Was used on the Hull Docks . In 1896, an oil-engined railway locomotive was built for the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich , England, using an engine designed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart . It was not a diesel, because it used a hot-bulb engine (also known as a semi-diesel), but it was the precursor of the diesel. Rudolf Diesel considered using his engine for powering locomotives in his 1893 book Theorie und Konstruktion eines rationellen Wärmemotors zum Ersatz der Dampfmaschine und der heute bekannten Verbrennungsmotoren ( Theory and Construction of

6084-532: Was used to switch freight at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In June 2023, the Western Maryland Rail Heritage Foundation called for donations to relocate an S-2 that was on a siding in Canada. Diesel-electric locomotive Early internal combustion locomotives and railcars used kerosene and gasoline as their fuel. Rudolf Diesel patented his first compression-ignition engine in 1898, and steady improvements to

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