okay…this may seem like a odd question but my cousins and I were talking the other day and we were just kind of thinking what would be the gas mileage of a locomotive…say a SD90MAC would be. We were just kinda thinking out loud. If anyone has a guess or actually knows I would like to know, doesn’t have to be a SD90MAC either it could be and Diesel…F-unit, SD40-2, SD70M, whatever.
Thanks people
locomotives are mesured in gallons pre hour…
csx enigneer
ok then…gallons per hour.
It all depends if locomotive is ideling, pulling small train or a large train.
it depends on what type of terrain the line is thru etc etc etc.
A SD40-2 would use 168 gallons per hour in run 8.
Since we are already on the subject. How many tons of coal would a medium sized steam engine running on flat ground use per mile. There probably isn’t an exact answer to this, but it would be interesting to know an estimate.
Rule of thumb (really rough rule of thumb) 4 gallons per mile. YMMV.
Dave H.
On a steam locomotive, coal usage isn’t the only factor. Water also has to be replenished at regular intervals. The longest nonstop run for a passenger train between fueling stops was on the “South Wind” at 205 miles, so a lot of coal and water had to be supplied at the end of that run.
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Thanks Chad [:D]
I cant remember where, but I read somewhere the get about 706tons/miles/gallon
-tom
The formula I have seen regarding steam locomotives is: 2.2 lbs of coal per horsepower per hour. Thus, a steamer exerting 4000 horsepower would burn 8800 pounds of coal per hour. This would vary with quality of coal, density altitude and maybe some other considerations, but it should still be pretty close.
BTW, I don’t remember the source, but I read that early in the last century the Pennsy did a study to determine how much coal a man could shovel. The idea was to design fireboxes that would make maximum use of the fireman. Pennsy wanted to keep their engines simple for the sake of maintenance, so were trying to avoid installing stokers. It was cheaper to pay for the labor. The bottom line was, a man could shovel 4.5 tons per hour until he reached the brink of exhaustion. That is a 50 pound shovelful every 20 seconds, on average. More coal required a second fireman. As locos got bigger the road found that even two men couldn’t keep up the pace and they gave in and went for the stokers.
gallons per mile is more like it…