Dieselisation
Dieselisation took place largely because of the tremendous reduction in operating costs it allowed. Steam locomotives require large pools of labour to clean, load, maintain and run. They also require extensive service, coaling and watering facilities. This was their biggest inferior measure as compared to the diesel locomotive in the number of ton-miles or passenger traffic miles either could run. Diesels could and did have a significantly higher initial price per unit-horsepower delivered. However, their far greater range between fueling stops, the absence of water stops, and the much higher unit availability between inspection repair and maintenance stops, were far better than steam. Diesels simply required significantly less time and labour to operate and maintain. Diesel power was also more scalable to power requirements, owing to the control systems that allowed multiple units to be controlled by one operator. "Double header" steam power required a crew for each locomotive. Initially, diesel locomotives were less powerful than the typical steam locomotives. Between the late 1930s and the late 1950s the power available with diesel locomotive engines roughly doubled, although the most powerful steam locomotives ever built still exceeded the power of the most powerful diesel locomotives from the late Twentieth Century. Dieselisation
Weighing against the cost of, and inertia against, replacing the large investment that railroads had in existing steam power were the dramatic increases in flexibility and efficiency with diesel. The fastest and most powerful steam locomotives were faster and more powerful than diesels; however, their range of efficient operation was severely limited. Diesels pro-rate their fuel usage to the length of trains, which a steam engine cannot do. Multiple-unit diesel power is scalable to power requirements with one locomotive crew; steam power is not. A high speed Hudson steam locomotive is good for only one situation, high speeds on level grades. The diesel locomotive can be operated by a single person, with no need of a fireman to run the boiler (two person cab crews may be required for other reasons). Also, diesels use much less fuel and no manpower when idling, something locomotives often do. Diesels can be parked running for days unattended, whereas steam engines must be constantly tended to if not completely shut down. Bringing a steam engine boiler up to operating temperature is often regarded as both an art and science, requiring much training and experience. A diesel is much simpler to start and shut down. Diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotives offer significant operating advantages over steam locomotives. They can safely be operated by one person, making them ideal for switching/shunting duties in yards (although for safety reasons many main-line diesel locomotives continue to have 2-man crews: an engineer and a conductor/switchman) and the operating environment is much more attractive, being quieter, fully weatherproof and without the dirt and heat that is an inevitable part of operating a steam locomotive. Diesel locomotives can be worked in multiple with a single crew controlling multiple locomotives in a single train — something not practical with steam locomotives. This brought greater efficiencies to the operator, as individual locomotives could be relatively low-powered for use as a single unit on light duties but marshaled together to provide the power needed on a heavy train. With steam traction a single very powerful and expensive locomotive was required for the heaviest trains or the operator resorted to double heading with multiple locomotives and crews, a method which was also expensive and brought with it its own operating difficulties.
Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)
This invention was only primarily used with steam locomotives that had booster valves or superchargers to heat the fire even hotter to produce extra power. The coal used was semi-bituminous and bituminous coal only inside the steam locomotives. Sadly, this invention lasted until 1960 when Diesel's fully replaced American railroads. Lancaster and Chester Railroad
In 1946, the L&C upgraded its fleet by buying six diesel locomotives from the U.S. Army. These 65-ton Whitcomb locomotives had seen service in Italy during the war and burned about the same amount of oil to run that the old steam engines used for lubrication. The purchase of these engines made the L&C the first fully diesel-operated railroad in the state, something that Springs liked to boast of. The steam engines formerly used by the railroad were either sold or put out to pasture. However, these diesels did not spend long on the line as they were replaced by three 70-ton GEs in late 1950. Among the Whitcombs, number 51 passed to the Allegheny and South Side Railway where it would stay until the end of that property. Track pan
Diesel locomotives were introduced in the United Kingdom by British Railways in the 1950s, working alongside steam traction until 1968. Passenger vehicles were heated by steam from the locomotive boiler at that time, and the early diesel locomotives were provided with auxiliary boilers to provide the steam. Locomotives intended for long non-stop runs (such as the Class 40 and Class 55) were fitted with water scoops to allow them to replenish the steam generator's water supply from troughs/pans. The withdrawal of steam traction and the introduction of rolling stock with electric rather than steam heating removed the need for such equipment on later types and scoop-equipped locomotives had their scoops removed. Prime mover (locomotive)
In a diesel-mechanical locomotive, the prime mover is the diesel engine that is mechanically coupled to the driving wheels (drivers). In a diesel-electric locomotive, the prime mover is the diesel engine that rotates the main generator responsible for producing electricity to power the traction motors that are geared to the drivers. The prime mover can also be a gas turbine instead of a diesel engine. In either case, the generator, traction motors and interconnecting apparatus are considered to be the power transmission system and not part of the prime mover. A wired-electric or battery-electric locomotive has no on-board prime mover, instead relying on an external power station. Steam locomotive
A factor that limits locomotive performance is the rate at which fuel is fed into the fire. In the early 20th century some locomotives became so large that the fireman could not shovel coal fast enough. In the United States, various steam-powered mechanical stokers became standard equipment and were adopted and used elsewhere including Australia and South Africa. Steam locomotive
With the booming post-war Japanese economy, steam locomotives were gradually withdrawn from main line service beginning in the early 1960s, and were replaced with diesel and electric locomotives. They were relegated to branch line and sub-main line services for several more years until the late 1960s, when electrification and dieselisation began to increase. From 1970 onwards, steam locomotion was gradually abolished on the JNR: District Railway steam locomotives
When in 1871 the District Railway needed its own locomotives, they ordered 24 condensing steam locomotives from Beyer Peacock similar to the A Class locomotives the Metropolitan Railway was using on the route. The 4-4-0 tank locomotives had x cylinders, diameter driving wheels and weighed 42 ton 3 cwt in working order. The boiler pressure was , the front wheels were on a Bissel truck and fitted with bunker. As they were intended for an underground railway, the locomotives did not have cabs. To reduce smoke underground, at first the Metropolitan had used coke, but after 1869 this was changed to smokeless Welsh coal. The only obvious differences were a different chimney style and a bent-back top to the weatherboard, and the back plate of the bunker was raised to provide protection when running bunker first. Diesel locomotive
The maintenance and operational costs of steam locomotives were much higher than diesels. Annual maintenance costs for steam locomotives accounted for 25% of the initial purchase price. Spare parts were cast from wooden masters for specific locomotives. The sheer number of unique steam locomotives meant that there was no feasible way for spare-part inventories to be maintained. With diesel locomotives spare parts could be mass-produced and held in stock ready for use and many parts and sub-assemblies could be standardized across an operator's fleet using different models of locomotive from the same builder. Modern diesel locomotives are designed to allow the power assemblies to be replaced, which greatly reduces the time that a locomotive is out of revenue-generating service when it requires maintenance. Railway electrification system
Central station electricity can often be generated with higher efficiency than a mobile engine/generator. While the efficiency of power plant generation and diesel locomotive generation are roughly the same in the nominal regime, diesel motors decrease in efficiency in non-nominal regimes at low power while if an electric power plant needs to generate less power it will shut down its least efficient generators, thereby increasing efficiency. The electric train can save energy (as compared to diesel) by regenerative braking and by not needing to consume energy by idling as diesel locomotives do when stopped or coasting. However, electric rolling stock may run cooling blowers when stopped or coasting, thus consuming energy. Diesel locomotive
Unlike steam engines, internal combustion engines require a transmission to power the wheels. The engine must be allowed to continue to run when the locomotive is stopped. Electric locomotive
In North America, the flexibility of diesel locomotives and the relative low cost of their infrastructure has led them to prevail except where legal or operational constraints dictate the use of electricity. An example of the latter is the use of electric locomotives by Amtrak and commuter railroads in the Northeast. New Jersey Transit New York corridor uses ALP-46 electric locomotives, due to the prohibition on diesel operation in Penn Station and the Hudson and East River Tunnels leading to it. Some other trains to Penn Station use dual-mode locomotives that can also operate off third-rail power in the tunnels and the station. Electric locomotives are planned for the California High Speed Rail system. Dieselisation
The Great Western Railway introduced diesel railcars in the 1930s and the first British mainline diesel locomotive was built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1947 but, unlike elsewhere in the developed world, the transition away from steam was delayed during the early postwar years. The delay was driven by two economic considerations: the lower initial cost of steam locomotives for immediate replacement of the large number of locomotives worn out from wartime service, and a projected rise in the cost of petroleum relative to coal, a plentiful domestic resource. Nationalisation of the railways took place in 1948; diesel locomotives were first introduced on a wide scale following the Modernisation Plan of 1955. Poor reliability among the first diesel locomotives used in the Modernisation Plan caused it to be implemented at a slower pace while the problems with the locomotives were worked out during the second half of the 1950s. Diesel locomotive
The flameproof diesel locomotive has replaced the fireless steam locomotive in areas of high fire risk such as oil refineries and ammunition dumps. Preserved examples of flameproof diesel locomotives include:
Latest development of the "Flameproof Diesel Vehicle Applied New Exhaust Gas Dry Type Treatment System” does not need the water supply. Diesel locomotive
The earliest recorded example of the use of an internal combustion engine in a railway locomotive is the prototype designed by William Dent Priestman, which was examined by Sir William Thomson 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 two axle machine built by Priestman Brothers was used on the Hull Docks. In 1896 an oil-engined railway locomotive was built for the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, England, in 1896, using an engine designed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart. It was not, strictly, a diesel because it used a hot bulb engine (also known as a semi-diesel) but it was the precursor of the diesel. Dieselisation
Due to the advantages of diesel locomotives, railroads in North America had retired 90% of their steam locomotives by the mid-1950s. Also, major cities and their railyards became unhappy neighbors in post-war America. People were no longer content to endure the large amounts of soot and smoke that coal burning steam engines produced. Early diesels, while dirty by today's standards, were a gigantic improvement in air pollution over steam. Steam locomotive
In Spain, the first electric trains were introduced en 1911, and the first diesels in 1935, just one year before the Spanish Civil War. National railway company (Renfe) operated steam locomotives until 9 June 1975. Electro-diesel locomotive
This is effectively an electric locomotive with a relatively small auxiliary diesel prime mover intended only for low-speed or short-distance operation (e.g. British Rail Class 73). Some of these, such as the British Rail Class 74, were converted from electric locomotives. The Southern Region of British Railways used these locomotives to cross non-electrified gaps and to haul boat trains that used tramways at the ports of Southampton and Weymouth. For economy, the diesel engine and its generator are considerably smaller than the electric capacity. The Southern types were of 1,600 hp or 'Type 3' rating as electrics, but only 600 hp as diesels. Later classes had as much as 2,500 hp on electric power, but still the same diesel engines. Despite this large difference, their comparable tractive efforts were much closer (around three-quarters as diesels) and so they could start and work equally heavy trains as diesels, but not to the same speeds. Dieselisation
Competition from diesel spurred a round of development in steam locomotive technology. High style, high speed "steamliners" produced during the second half of the 1930s became the speed kings of passenger service. Duplex and articulated steam locomotives built in the early 1940s exceeded the power of any diesel ever built, although their power was edged by gas turbine-electric locomotives during the 1950s. But the limits of steam technology were rapidly being reached. The new locomotives were mechanically complex and extremely specialized. Locomotive size became an issue, as steam engines became so big in the 1940s that the cylinder and boiler dimensions were pushing the limits that the loading gauge would allow. Fireboxes became so big that firing a steam locomotive became an extremely difficult job without the aid of mechanical stokers. Mechanical stokers for feeding coal to locomotives were in use in the 1920s. Steam turbine-electric locomotive power was developed in 1938 by General Electric. GE abandoned the project in 1943 after results were unsatisfactory during trials with three railroads, however, Baldwin Locomotive Works built three steam turbine-electric locomotives in 1948. They were expensive to operate and insufficiently reliable for their intended service, and were scrapped in 1950. Baldwin's steam turbine-electric program resulted in one more locomotive in 1954, which was also not successful in service. Diesel locomotives of Ireland
Initially, CIÉ numbered and classified its handful of early diesel locomotives in the same way as steam. However, it soon developed a series based on engine power Types, with the highest-powered locomotives being Type A and numbered in the Axx series, and the lowest powered being Type G and numbered in the G6xx series. Locomotive K801 was a one-off prototype and did not truly fit in this scheme. 0-6-0
The 0-6-0 configuration was the most widely used wheel arrangement for both tender and tank steam locomotives. The type was also widely used for diesel switchers (shunters). Because they lack leading and trailing wheels, locomotives of this type have all their weight pressing down on their driving wheels and consequently have a high tractive effort and factor of adhesion, making them comparatively strong engines for their size, weight and fuel consumption. On the other hand, the lack of unpowered leading wheels have the result that 0-6-0 locomotives are less stable at speed. They are therefore mostly used on trains where high speed is unnecessary. Diesel locomotive
The first regular use of diesel–electric locomotives was in switching (shunter) applications, which were more forgiving than mainline applications of 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 "boxcab" locomotive delivered in July 1925. This locomotive demonstrated that the diesel–electric power unit could provide many of 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. Dieselisation
In rail transport, dieselisation refers to the replacement of the steam locomotive or electric locomotive with the diesel-electric locomotive (often referred to as a "diesel locomotive"), a process which began in the 1930s and is now substantially complete around the world.
The replacement of either steam or diesel haulage with electric locomotives is known as electrification. Whereas the benefit of replacing steam traction is indisputable, there is some dispute as to whether it is best replaced by dieselisation or electrification. Electrification has a high initial capital cost but the operating costs are lower. The overall savings depend on the effect of the investment cost compared with the savings due to lower operational and maintenance costs and the influence of better acceleration and tractive effort on railroad throughput. These are obviously different for e.g. urban networks and very long-distance networks with low frequencies. However, many railway commentators are increasingly suggesting that the ability of railways to operate with electricity not produced from fossil fuels may offer a decisive advantage over diesel power. Diesel locomotive
However, one study published in 1959 suggested that many of the comparisons between diesel and steam locomotives were made unfairly mostly because diesels were newer. After painstaking analysis of financial records and technological progress, the author found that if research had continued on steam technology instead of diesel, there would be negligible financial benefit in converting to diesel locomotion. British Rail Class 73
Several locomotives have been preserved on heritage railways, where perforce they run on their diesel engines: no preserved line has third rail electrification. They are particularly popular because they have a small diesel engine and hence are efficient with speeds normally limited to 25 mph, yet they are big mainline locomotives and thus more attractive than diesel shunters with similar-sized engines. Of note are the first built locomotive, No. 73001 (an ex-Merseyrail Class 73/9), and the former Pullman locomotive, No. 73101. Tender (rail)
The largest steam locomotives are semi-permanently coupled by a drawbar to a tender that carries the water and fuel. The fuel source used depends on what is economically available locally. In the UK and parts of Europe, a plentiful supply of coal made this the obvious choice from the earliest days of the steam engine. Until around 1850 in the United States, the vast majority of locomotives burned wood until most of the eastern forests were cleared. Subsequently, coal burning became more widespread, and wood burners were restricted to rural and logging districts. LMS Turbomotive
Compared to some other experimental steam locomotives of the era such as the LNER Class W1, Turbomotive was relatively successful, showing a saving of coal compared to a normal reciprocating engine and no hammer blow on the track. Because steam turbines are highly inefficient when throttled (not a problem on steamships, where turbines typically run at constant output, but a major disadvantage for a railway locomotive which has to run at different speeds), power was instead controlled by turning on a different number of nozzles (from the six available) through which steam was admitted to the turbine. One disadvantage of the design was that the small reverse turbine only had sufficient power for manoeuvring "light engine" and the locomotive always had to be turned to face forwards in order to pull a train. Weardale Railway
Diesel Locomotives Carolina and Northwestern Railway
Diesel Locomotives Steele v. Louisville &amp; Nashville Railway Co.
To this would also be added that there was simply no in-cab motive power operational role for the "Fireman" of a diesel locomotive. The firemen had no engine-operation functions in the cab of a diesel locomotive. He had no functional responsibility to ignite, raise or lower, the power output of the diesel prime mover. This was fully (electro-mechanically) automated, under the sole control of the locomotive Engineer, from the introduction of diesel prime movers in locomotive service. It made all Fireman positions redundant when diesel motive power was planned. This fact gave railroad management; and their labor union's leadership pause; in devising a strategy for the implementation of technical innovation known as diesel locomotives. Locomotive
In comparison to the principal alternative, the diesel engine, electric railways offer substantially better energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower operating costs. Electric locomotives are also usually quieter, more powerful, and more responsive and reliable than diesels. 
They have no local emissions, an important advantage in tunnels and urban areas. Some electric traction systems provide regenerative braking that turns the train's kinetic energy back into electricity and returns it to the supply system to be used by other trains or the general utility grid. While diesel locomotives burn petroleum, electricity can be generated from diverse sources including renewable energy.Steam-diesel hybrid locomotives can use steam generated from a boiler or diesel to power a piston engine. The "Cristiani Compressed Steam System" used a diesel engine to power a compressor to drive and recirculate steam produced by a boiler; effectively using steam as the power transmission medium, with the diesel engine being the prime mover Union Pacific GTELs
Union Pacific had long sought the biggest and best locomotives. In the 1930s, a pair of steam turbine locomotives were tried but rejected. Before World War II, Union Pacific had been adding diesels to its roster, but none pulled road freight trains. The idea of using four diesels to equal the power of a steam locomotive was unappealing, so the search began for something bigger. General Electric had been building gas turbines for aircraft and proposed using something similar on a locomotive. Union Pacific thought maintenance costs for a locomotive were largely independent of its power, so a smaller number of more powerful locomotives would save money. 2-6-6-6
Though it was apparent to knowledgeable people in the railroad industry that reciprocating piston driven steam locomotives might soon be replaced by diesel power, Lima and C&O set out to build the ultimate in high power steam locomotives and they succeeded. No diesel engine ever surpassed the output of these giants, which were among the heaviest steam locomotives ever constructed. The three-axle trailing truck supporting the firebox was unusual, carrying over 190,000 lbs, allowing the huge firebox needed for the high power. As it turned out, steam locomotives continued in service for almost another 20 years. Diesel engine
Diesel engines may be designed as either two-stroke or four-stroke cycles. They were originally used as a more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines. Since the 1910s they have been used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives, trucks, heavy equipment and electricity generation plants followed later. In the 1930s, they slowly began to be used in a few automobiles. Since the 1970s, the use of diesel engines in larger on-road and off-road vehicles in the US increased. According to the British Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders, the EU average for diesel cars accounts for 50% of the total sold, including 70% in France and 38% in the UK. Steam turbine locomotive
A steam turbine locomotive is a steam locomotive which transmits steam power to the wheels via a steam turbine. Numerous attempts at this type of locomotive were made, mostly without success. In the 1930s this type of locomotive was seen as a way both to revitalize steam power and challenge the diesel locomotives then being introduced.
There are two ways to drive the wheels: either directly via gears, or using generator-driven traction motors. Steam locomotive
Trials of diesel locomotives and railcars began in Britain in the 1930s but made only limited progress. One problem was that British diesel locomotives were often seriously under-powered compared with the steam locomotives against which they were competing. Moreover, labour and coal were relatively cheap. Railway electrification system
Electric locomotives may easily be constructed with greater power output than most diesel locomotives. For passenger operation it is possible to provide enough power with diesel engines (see e.g. 'ICE TD') but, at higher speeds, this proves costly and impractical. Therefore, almost all high speed trains are electric. The high power of electric locomotives also gives them the ability to pull freight at higher speed over gradients; in mixed traffic conditions this increases capacity when the time between trains can be decreased. The higher power of electric locomotives and an electrification can also be a cheaper alternative to a new and less steep railway if trains weights are to be increased on a system. British Rail locomotive and multiple unit numbering and classification
In the early period of British Railways, steam locomotion had continued to be of prime importance. Apart from a growing selection of diesel shunters, there had been almost no development of mainline diesel or electric traction beyond the few locomotives ordered by the 'Big Four' companies. British Rail Class 93 (Stadler)
The locomotives will be capable of running on diesel engines, overhead wires and battery power. They will have a top speed of and have around 1,800hp of usuable power when running on diesel. Steam diesel hybrid locomotive
In 1925, Jakob Buchli of Switzerland obtained US patent 1559548 for a combined steam and internal-combustion engined locomotive. This differed from the Kitson-Still system in that there was no waste heat recovery and the steam and internal combustion engines had separate cylinders (vertically mounted in the tender), but both driving the same traction wheels. Buchli specified that "…the steam generator is supported upon one vehicle…and the steam and internal combustion engine cylinders together with their driving gear are carried by a separate truck or vehicle". His proposal was for the "steam generator vehicle" to be in the form of a traditional steam locomotive boiler with driver's cab, but without pistons. A "flexible pipe" would lead steam to the pistons within the "detachably coupled…truck" (tender). His claimed advantages were the reduced complexity of a combined transmission system, the improved comfort of the operators being separated from the driving cylinders and the differing maintenance requirements of steam and diesel (such as boiler washouts) being more easily accommodated when the units were detachable. It is not known whether any locomotives to Buchli's design were actually built.
In 1954 Chicago inventor Charles Denker patented a system whereby the exhaust from a conventional four-stroke diesel engine was directed into a large-diameter steam cylinder. There was no boiler: instead a pump, operated by a cam driven from the common crankshaft, injected water (warmed by the diesel cylinder water jacket) into the steam cylinder so that it was instantly evaporated by the hot exhaust gases, powering the piston by expansion. Again, no operational examples are known. Rail transport
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 a diesel locomotive from the company in 1909. The world's first diesel-powered locomotive was operated in the summer of 1912 on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway in Switzerland, but was not a commercial success. The locomotive weight was 95 tonnes and the power was 883 kW with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. Small numbers of prototype diesel locomotives were produced in a number of countries through the mid-1920s.
A significant breakthrough occurred in 1914, when Hermann Lemp, a General Electric electrical engineer, developed and patented a reliable direct current electrical control system (subsequent improvements were also patented by Lemp). Lemp's design used a single lever to control both engine and generator in a coordinated fashion, and was the prototype for all diesel–electric locomotive control systems. In 1914, 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 (). The first regular use of diesel–electric locomotives was in switching (shunter) applications. General Electric produced several small switching locomotives in the 1930s (the famous "44-tonner" switcher was introduced in 1940) Westinghouse Electric and Baldwin collaborated to build switching locomotives starting in 1929. Steam locomotive
In 1998, in his book "The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam", David Wardale put forward the concept of a high-speed high-efficiency "Super Class 5 4-6-0" locomotive for future steam haulage of tour trains on British main lines. The idea was formalised in 2001 by the formation of 5AT Project dedicated to developing and building the 5AT Advanced Technology Steam Locomotive, but it never received any major railway backing. Diesel locomotive
These special locomotives can operate as an electric locomotive or as a diesel locomotive. The Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and New Jersey Transit Rail Operations operate dual-mode diesel–electric/third-rail (catenary on NJTransit) locomotives between non-electrified territory and New York City because of a local law banning diesel-powered locomotives in Manhattan tunnels. For the same reason, Amtrak operates a fleet of dual-mode locomotives in the New York area. British Rail operated dual diesel–electric/electric locomotives designed to run primarily as electric locomotives with reduced power available when running on diesel power. This allowed railway yards to remain un-electrified, as the third rail power system is extremely hazardous in a yard area. Diesel locomotives of Ireland
Although prototype diesel locomotives ran in Britain before World War II, the railways of both the Republic and Northern Ireland changed over much more rapidly from steam to diesel traction, in the 1950s than those in Britain, due to the island's limited coal reserves and (in the Republic) ageing steam locomotive fleet. The initial diesel locomotives for CIÉ were built and supplied by British railway locomotive builders (Birmingham RCW with Sulzer engines and AEI Metropolitan Vickers with Crossley engines), with notably poor results from the latter. From the early 1960s, locomotives with more reliable engines from General Motors Electro-Motive Division (now the independent company, EMD), of the USA, were adopted. In the late 1960s the Crossley engines were replaced by EMD 645 units in a major programme to re-engine the fleet. Since the early 1960s all new locomotives on the two Irish rail systems have been purchased from EMD, with the exception of three from Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds, England, for NIR in 1970. Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal
It was only after the parts for the steam locomotives and steam tugs became unavailable or too costly to machine, that diesel electric tugs and likewise diesel electric locomotives replace their steam powered counterparts. Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam in a boiler. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels (drivers). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons (tenders) pulled behind. Electric locomotive
Electric locomotives benefit from the high efficiency of electric motors, often above 90% (not including the inefficiency of generating the electricity). Additional efficiency can be gained from regenerative braking, which allows kinetic energy to be recovered during braking to put power back on the line. Newer electric locomotives use AC motor-inverter drive systems that provide for regenerative braking. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to diesel locomotives since there is no engine and exhaust noise and less mechanical noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means electric locomotives are easier on the track, reducing track maintenance. Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration. Electric locomotives are ideal for commuter rail service with frequent stops. Electric locomotives are used on freight routes with consistently high traffic volumes, or in areas with advanced rail networks. Power plants, even if they burn fossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines. The power can also come from clean or renewable sources, including geothermal power, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, solar power and wind turbines. Diesel locomotive
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 (e.g., the British Rail 10100 locomotive), although none have proved successful in the end. Locomotive
In a diesel–electric locomotive, the diesel engine drives either an electrical DC generator (generally, less than net for traction), or an electrical AC alternator-rectifier (generally net or more for traction), 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 vast majority of diesel locomotives today are diesel-electric. Steam locomotive
More-powerful locomotives tend to be longer, but long rigid-framed designs are impractical for the tight curves frequently found on narrow-gauge railways. Various designs for articulated locomotives were developed to overcome this problem. The Mallet and the Garratt were the two most popular, both using a single boiler and two engines (sets of cylinders and driving wheels). The Garratt has two power bogies, whereas the Mallet has one. There were also a few examples of triplex locomotives that had a third engine under the tender. Both the front and tender engines were low-pressure compounded, though they could be operated simple (high-pressure) for starting off. Other less common variations included the Fairlie locomotive, which had two boilers back-to-back on a common frame, with two separate power bogies. Rack railway
Originally almost all cog railways were powered by steam locomotives. The steam locomotive needs to be extensively modified to work effectively in this environment. Unlike a Diesel locomotive or electric locomotive, the steam locomotive only works when its powerplant (the boiler, in this case) is fairly level. The locomotive boiler requires water to cover the boiler tubes and firebox sheets at all times, particularly the crown sheet, the metal top of the firebox. If this is not covered with water, the heat of the fire will soften it enough to give way under the boiler pressure, leading to a catastrophic failure. Diesel locomotive
As diesel locomotives advanced, the cost of manufacturing and operating them dropped, and they became cheaper to own and operate than steam locomotives. In North America, steam locomotives were custom-made for specific railway routes, so economies of scale were difficult to achieve. Though more complex to produce with exacting manufacturing tolerances ( for diesel, compared with for steam), diesel locomotive parts were easier to mass produce. Baldwin Locomotive Works offered almost five hundred steam models in its heyday, while EMD offered fewer than ten diesel varieties.. In the United Kingdom, British Railways built steam locomotives to standard designs from 1951 onwards. These included standard, interchangeable parts, and were cheaper to produce than the diesel locomotives then available. The capital cost per drawbar horse power was £13 6s (steam), £65 (diesel), £69 7s (turbine) and £17 13s (electric). Railway electrification system
In comparison to the principal alternative, the diesel engine, electric railways offer substantially better energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower operating costs. 
Electric locomotives are also usually quieter, more powerful, and more responsive and reliable than diesels. 
They have no local emissions, an important advantage in tunnels and urban areas. 
Some electric traction systems provide regenerative braking that turns the train's kinetic energy back into electricity and returns it to the supply system to be used by other trains or the general utility grid. 
While diesel locomotives burn petroleum, electricity can be generated from diverse sources including renewable energy. Steam locomotive
The reciprocating mechanism on the driving wheels of a two-cylinder single expansion steam locomotive tended to pound the rails (see hammer blow), thus requiring more maintenance. Raising steam from coal took a matter of hours, and created serious pollution problems. Coal-burning locomotives required fire cleaning and ash removal between turns of duty. Diesel or electric locomotives, by comparison, drew benefit from new custom-built servicing facilities. The smoke from steam locomotives was also deemed objectionable; the first electric and diesel locomotives were developed in response to smoke abatement requirements, although this did not take into account the high level of less-visible pollution in diesel exhaust smoke, especially when idling. In some countries, however, power for electric locomotives is derived from steam generated in power stations, which are often run by coal. Steele v. Louisville &amp; Nashville Railway Co.
The diesel-electric locomotive assaulted the primacy of the coal/oil fired steam locomotive from every angle. First, it had a much higher duty cycle than any steam locomotive could match. Famously, the use of steam locomotives to attempt the achievement of the schedules for the crack passenger trains between Chicago and the West Coast, required no less than nine (9) complete changes of engine and tender between Chicago and Los Angeles/San Francisco. With no steam engine/tender set travelling more than 250 miles. Diesels would complete these long distance runs with the same motive power units. And the diesel units would only receive fuel and water at limited operating stops. So the number of in-cab crews necessary to operate any schedule would be dramatically reduced by the introduction of diesels Rail transport
Steam locomotives are locomotives with a steam engine that provides adhesion. Coal, petroleum, or wood is burned in a firebox, boiling water in the boiler to create pressurized steam. The steam travels through the smokebox before leaving via the chimney or smoke stack. In the process, it powers a piston that transmits power directly through a connecting rod (US: main rod) and a crankpin (US: wristpin) on the driving wheel (US main driver) or to a crank on a driving axle. Steam locomotives have been phased out in most parts of the world for economical and safety reasons, although many are preserved in working order by heritage railways. Snowdon Mountain Railway
It is stated by the management that the vast majority of passengers do not care whether the trains are powered by steam or diesel locomotives. In the late 1980s comparative figures for the diesels against steam locomotives made it clear that they made economic sense. Locomotive
A diesel–mechanical locomotive uses a mechanical transmission to transfer power to the wheels. This type of transmission is generally limited to low-powered, low speed shunting (switching) locomotives, lightweight multiple units and self-propelled railcars. The earliest diesel locomotives were diesel-mechanical. Diesel locomotive
Steam-diesel hybrid locomotives can use steam generated from a boiler or diesel to power a piston engine. The "Cristiani Compressed Steam System" used a diesel engine to power a compressor to drive and recirculate steam produced by a boiler; effectively using steam as the power transmission medium, with the diesel engine being the prime mover GE steam turbine locomotives
During test runs, the locomotives displayed excellent acceleration and an ability to maintain schedules better than conventional steam engines, although they also had serious reliability problems and relatively high maintenance costs. On one occasion, the two locomotives failed while hauling a train from Colorado to Omaha, necessitating a 2800-class Pacific steam locomotive to pull them along with the rest of the train for the remainder of the journey. The locomotives worked on several routes in a variety of different capacities, including both passenger and perishable freight service, although they never entered regular revenue service; in June 1939, the railroad returned them to GE in Chicago for what UP president W. M. Jeffers called "necessary modification and/or reconstruction". Diesel locomotive
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, 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, Roots-blown, uniflow-scavenged, unit-injected diesel engine that could deliver 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 locomotive
The diesel-pneumatic locomotive was of interest in the 1930s because it offered the possibility of converting existing steam locomotives to diesel operation. The frame and cylinders of the steam locomotive would be retained and the boiler would be replaced by a diesel engine driving an air compressor. The problem was low thermal efficiency because of the large amount of energy wasted as heat in the air compressor. Attempts were made to compensate for this by using the diesel exhaust to re-heat the compressed air but these had limited success. A German proposal of 1929 did result in a prototype but a similar British proposal of 1932, to use an LNER Class R1 locomotive, never got beyond the design stage. Victorian Railways B class (diesel)
While costing £80 per horsepower compared to £60 for steam, the new locomotives ran 130,000 miles per year, compared to 35,000 and 60,000 miles per year for main line steam locomotives. The Chief Engineers Office found that one B class did the work of three steam locomotives. Their success led to further dieselisation, with the delivery of the T class branch line units from 1955, and the single ended S class mainline units from 1957. Steam locomotive
In 2012, the Coalition for Sustainable Rail project was started in the US with the goal of creating a modern higher-speed steam locomotive, incorporating the improvements proposed by Livio Dante Porta and others, and using torrefied biomass as solid fuel. The fuel has been recently developed by the University of Minnesota in a collaboration between the university's Institute on the Environment (IonE) and Sustainable Rail International (SRI), an organisation set up to explore the use of steam traction in a modern railway setup. The group have received the last surviving (but non-running) ATSF 3460 class steam locomotive (No. 3463) via donation from its previous owner in Kansas, the Great Overland Station Museum. They hope to use it as a platform for developing "the world's cleanest, most powerful passenger locomotive", capable of speeds up to . Named "Project 130", it aims to break the world steam-train speed record set by LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard in the UK at . However, any demonstration of the project's claims is yet to be seen. Motive power depot
The maintenance of the new diesel locomotives in filthy steam sheds soon proved difficult and although some old sheds survived, many new diesel depots were built on new sites or on the sites of the old steam sheds. The major problem was the disposal of oil which initially was left lying around causing pollution and safety issues. The new depots were equipped to deal with diesel fuel and the ability to access the underside as well as upper body work was improved.
The tasks were not that much different in that diesel locomotives were fuelled rather than coaled (although they did require water as early diesels were equipped with steam generators for train heating purposes). Locomotive
In the 1940s, diesel locomotives began to displace steam power on American railroads. Following the end of World War II, diesel power began to appear on railroads in many countries. The significantly better economics of diesel operation triggered a dash to diesel power, a process known as Dieselization. By the late 1990s, only heritage railways continued to operate steam locomotives. 1 gauge
Due to the size of the locomotives it is possible for them to be powered with live steam, which to many is a large advantage as they are cheaper than traditional live steam garden railways. These are usually fired by gas or methylated spirit, which are both very popular. Another form, which is becoming popular, is coal, which gives the user the smell that only steam locomotives carry. Locomotive
Such locomotives are used where a conventional diesel or electric locomotive would be unsuitable. An example is maintenance trains on electrified lines when the electricity supply is turned off. Another use is in industrial facilities where a combustion-powered locomotive (i.e., steam- or diesel-powered) could cause a safety issue due to the risks of fire, explosion or fumes in a confined space. Battery locomotives are preferred for mines where gas could be ignited by trolley-powered units arcing at the collection shoes, or where electrical resistance could develop in the supply or return circuits, especially at rail joints, and allow dangerous current leakage into the ground. Switcher
As diesel shunters began to appear in ever-increasing numbers, attempts were made by companies such as Sentinel to adapt the vertical boilers from their steam powered road vehicles for use in shunting locomotives, in order to compete with the newcomers. Although these were found to be equal in power and efficiency to most of the early diesel designs, their development came too late to have any real impact. Outwardly, they bear more resemblance to diesels than steam locomotives. A number have been preserved on heritage railways, although few of these are in working order, being designed very specifically for shunting work and lacking the necessary speed to travel any kind of distance. GE AC6000CW
The AC6000CW is a roadswitcher diesel electric locomotive built by GE Transportation. This locomotive, along with the EMD SD90MAC, is among the most powerful single-engined diesel locomotives in the world. The only locomotives to surpass them are the dual-engine EMD DDA40X, the Pennsylvania Railroad T-1 and S-2 class duplex-drive steam locomotives, and certain electric locomotives. The Railway Series
The most obvious theme relating to British Railways was the decline of steam locomotion and its replacement with diesels. The first real instance of this was in the book "Duck and the Diesel Engine" (1958) in which an unpleasant diesel shunter arrives, causes trouble and is sent away. This theme may have been visited again in "The Twin Engines" (1960), in which an engine is ordered from Scotland, and two arrive, implying the other went to Sodor with his brother to avoid being scrapped. The 1963 volume "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine" explained that steam engines were actually being scrapped to make way for these diesels, and again featured a diesel getting his comeuppance. The book "Enterprising Engines" was published in 1968, the year when steam finally disappeared from British Railways, and was the most aggressive towards dieselisation and Dr Beeching's modernisation plan. It features yet another arrogant diesel who is sent away, an additional one who stays on the Island of Sodor, a visit by the real Flying Scotsman locomotive, a steam engine, Oliver, making a daring escape to Sodor, and Sir Topham Hatt making a declaration that the steam engines of his railway will still be in service. Diesel locomotive
Most diesel locomotives are capable of multiple unit operation (MU) as a means of increasing horsepower and tractive effort when hauling heavy trains. All North American locomotives, including export models, use a standardized AAR electrical control system interconnected by a 27-pin jumper cable between the units. For UK-built locomotives, a number of incompatible control systems are used, but the most common is the Blue Star system, which is electro-pneumatic and fitted to most early diesel classes. A small number of types, typically higher-powered locomotives intended for passenger only work, do not have multiple control systems. In all cases, the electrical control connections made common to all units in a consist are referred to as trainlines. The result is that all locomotives in a consist behave as one in response to the engine driver's control movements. Dieselisation
Dieselization got a boost in the early 1930s from three factors: the development by General Motors and its Winton Engine Corporation subsidiary of diesel engines with vastly improved power-to-weight ratios and output flexibility; the desire of railways to find more cost-efficient locomotion for passenger service at the height of the Great Depression; and design innovations in rail equipment that reduced weight, making the contemporary diesel engines, which were low-powered by today's standards, viable for mainline passenger service. The mid-1930s saw the introduction of lightweight diesel-powered streamlined trainsets such as the Burlington Route's "Zephyrs" and Union Pacific's M-1000x "City" trains, which were diesel's first assault against the dominance of steam in mainline passenger service. During the second half of the decade, diesel locomotives with sufficient power for full-size passenger trains were developed and put into regular production. Improved GM diesel engines in 1938 increased power and reliability. Dieselization of passenger service gained momentum as the decade drew to a close and the first model of mainline diesel freight locomotive was on the market in 1940. Dieselization was especially attractive to western railroads, for whom the watering requirements of steam locomotives were a problem in vast stretches of the western interior. Coal-country railroads were generally reluctant to embrace diesel, a competitor to one of their main hauling markets, well into the 1940s. Steam locomotive
In Poland, on non-electrified tracks, steam locomotives were superseded almost entirely by diesels by the 1990s. A few steam locomotives, however, operate in the regular scheduled service from Wolsztyn. After ceasing on 31 March 2014, regular service resumed out of Wolsztyn on 15 May 2017 with weekday runs to Leszno. This operation is maintained as a means of preserving railway heritage and as a tourist attraction. Apart from that, numerous railway museums and heritage railways (mostly narrow gauge) own steam locomotives in working condition. Steam motor
The principle of the steam motor is to use the developments of the high-speed steam engine, and to apply them to light locomotives. Rather than a large conventional locomotive having only two cylinders, rotating at the speed of the driving wheels, the steam motor uses several small cylinders geared to run at high speeds. With all other factors remaining the same, doubling the speed of a piston engine doubles its power. The steam motor allowed small, light engines to be used. As many of the engine's performance losses remain constant, or are also related to the engine size, these small engines could also be more efficient overall. Diesel locomotive
Early internal combusition locomotives and railcars used kerosene and gasoline as their fuel. Dr. Rudolf Diesel patented his first compression ignition engine in 1898, and steady improvements in the design of diesel engines reduced their physical size and improved their power-to-weight ratio to a point where one could be mounted in a locomotive. Internal combustion engines only operate efficiently within a limited torque range, and while low power gasoline engines can be coupled to a mechanical transmission, the more powerful diesel engines required the development of new forms of transmission. Steam locomotive
A steam-electric locomotive is similar in concept to a diesel-electric locomotive, except that a steam engine instead of a diesel engine is used to drive a generator. Three such locomotives were built by the French engineer in the 1890s. Steam locomotive
In other countries, the dates for conversion from steam to diesel and electric power varied. Steamship
The decline of the steamship began after World War II. Many had been lost in the war, and marine diesel engines had finally matured as an economical and viable alternative to steam power. The diesel engine had far better thermal efficiency than the reciprocating steam engine, and was far easier to control. Diesel engines also required far less supervision and maintenance than steam engines, and as an internal combustion engine it did not need boilers or a water supply, therefore was more space efficient. Diesel locomotive
The economic recovery from the Second World War saw 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. Diesel–hydraulic transmissions were intrdouced in the 1950s, but from the 1970s onwards diesel–electric transmission has dominated. Fireless locomotive
The Swiss company, DLM, was recently (2012) trying to promote the fireless steam locomotive as an environmentally-friendly alternative to the diesel locomotive for shunting. DLM claims that diesel shunters typically spend 75% of their working time with the engine idling. Locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive whose primary power source is a steam engine. The most common form of steam locomotive also contains a boiler to generate the steam used by the engine. The water in the boiler is heated by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are connected to the locomotive's main wheels, known as the "drivers". Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons called "tenders" pulled behind.
The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick in 1802. It was constructed for the Coalbrookdale ironworks in Shropshire in the United Kingdom though no record of it working there has survived. On 21 February 1804, the first recorded steam-hauled railway journey took place as another of Trevithick's locomotives hauled a train from the Pen-y-darren ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, to Abercynon in South Wales. Accompanied by Andrew Vivian, it ran with mixed success. The design incorporated a number of important innovations including the use of high-pressure steam which reduced the weight of the engine and increased its efficiency.
In 1812, Matthew Murray's twin-cylinder rack locomotive "Salamanca" first ran on the edge-railed rack-and-pinion Middleton Railway; this is generally regarded as the first commercially successful locomotive. Another well-known early locomotive was "Puffing Billy", built 1813–14 by engineer William Hedley for the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne. This locomotive is the oldest preserved, and is on static display in the Science Museum, London. George Stephenson built "Locomotion No. 1" for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the north-east of England, which was the first public steam railway in the world. In 1829, his son Robert built "The Rocket" in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Rocket was entered into, and won, the Rainhill Trials. This success led to the company emerging as the pre-eminent early builder of steam locomotives used on railways in the UK, US and much of Europe. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, built by Stephenson, opened a year later making exclusive use of steam power for passenger and goods trains. East Coast Main Line
During the early 1960s, the line's steam locomotives were replaced by Diesel-electric counterparts, amongst them the purpose-built Deltic, a powerful high-speed locomotive developed and built by British manufacturing conglomerate English Electric. The prototype was found to have been successful in its trials, leading to a fleet of 22 locomotives being built and put into BR service to handle all the important express traffic. Designated as the , they were powered by a pair of Napier Deltic engines, which had been originally developed for fast torpedo boats; the unusual three crankshaft triangular configuration of the engines was the source of the locomotive's Deltic moniker. Their characteristic throaty exhaust roar and chubby body outline made them unmistakable and distinctive amongst their peers. The Class 55 was for a time the most powerful diesel locomotive in service in Britain, capable of providing up to . Rolling stock of the Korean State Railway
Later, around the late 1960s or early 1970s, a system similar to that introduced for electric locomotives was applied to steam and diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives were universally given the type designator 증기 ("Chŭnggi", "steam") and diesel locomotives 내연 ("Naeyŏn", "internal combustion"), along with a three- (for mainline diesels) or four-digit (for shunting diesels and all steam engines) serial number, with diesel locomotives are numbered sequentially within their number series. On steam locomotives, the first of the new four-digit serial number reflects the former type designator (부러 → 1, 미가 → 6, 마더 → 7; the others are unknown, and the 8000 series is applied to steam locomotives of foreign origin supplied as war aid during the Korean War); the second digit reflects the former type-series, directly translating the number, e.g. 미가서 became 6300, 마더하 became 7100. The last two digits are the locomotive's original running number (last three digits, in the case of the Migaha class numbered into the 6000 and 6100 series). The system behind determining which numeral represents which type designator (that is, why Miga became "6", etc.) is unclear, as this numeral has no relation to anything obvious, e.g. number of powered axles, etc. Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal
As with the steam locomotives, coal fired tugboats fell out of favor when heavy oils became dominant as an industrial fuel. The reason BEDT operated their steam locomotives later than any other railroads, is that their tugs were fired by Bunker C fuel as well. It naturally made for simpler logistics to operate all equipment with one type of fuel. Corris Railway
Locomotive 7 is the only steam engine, but will share passenger duties with locomotive 10 on completion. Locomotive 11 is the main diesel motive power unit for both works trains and out of season passenger trains, supported by the lighter diesel locomotives 5 and 6, which are currently the main works and shunting units. Locomotive
Most steam locomotives have reciprocating engines, with pistons coupled to the driving wheels by means of connecting rods, with no intervening gearbox. This means the combination of starting tractive effort and maximum speed is greatly influenced by the diameter of the driving wheels. Steam locomotives intended for freight service generally have smaller diameter driving wheels than passenger locomotives. DSB (railway company)
General Motors' diesel-electric locomotives had proved themselves in the US and Canada before the war. DSB's class MY A1A-A1A diesel locomotives, built on license from GM and delivered from NOHAB starting in 1954, were found to be very reliable and economically feasible compared to the steam locomotives, eventually putting the age of steam to an end as well as being a decisive factor in DSB's choice of motive power for nearly three decades. They were followed by the equally successful class MX with a lower axle load for branch line services and the class MZ for heavy express services. Diesel locomotive
GM, seeing 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 the performance and reliability of the new 567 model engine in passenger locomotives, EMC was eager to demonstrate diesel's viability in freight service. Head-end power
Originally, trains hauled by a steam locomotive would be provided with a supply of steam from the locomotive for heating the carriages. When diesel locomotives and electric locomotives replaced steam, the steam heating was then supplied by a steam-heat boiler. This was oil-fired (in diesel locomotives) or heated by an electric element (in electric locomotives). Oil-fired steam-heat boilers were unreliable. They caused more locomotive failures on any class to which they were fitted than any other system or component of the locomotive, and this was a major incentive to adopt a more reliable method of carriage heating. Streamliner
With power and reliability of new Diesel units improved with the 2000 hp GM 567 powered E3 model in 1938, the advantages of Diesel became compelling enough for a growing number of rail lines to select Diesel over steam for new passenger equipment. The power and top speed advantages of state-of-the-art steam locomotives were more than offset by Diesel's advantages in service flexibility, downtime, maintenance costs, and economic efficiency for most operators. The American Locomotive Company (ALCO), builder of the Hiawatha speedsters, saw Diesel as the future of passenger service and introduced streamlined locomotives influenced by the design of the E units in 1939. The replacement of steam with Diesel power was interrupted by the US entry into World War II, with a military premium on Diesel technology that stopped all production of Diesel locomotives for passenger service between September 1942 and January 1945. Heilmann locomotive
Although other railway companies, such as the Ohio River, Madison & Southern Railway in the United States and the Southern Railway in Russia, as well as at least one from Germany, showed interest in steam-electric locomotives, the two locomotives suffered the same fate as their predecessor. They were the ancestors of diesel-electric, and those gas turbine and steam turbine locomotives which use an electric transmission. When one of the first diesel-electric locomotives was reported in 1905, the Automotor Journal stated it "appears to be something on the Heilmann principle, that is to say the engine is employed to operate a dynamo which in turn supplies electric current to motors geared to the driving wheels". Electro-Motive Diesel
Passenger trains made little money for the railroads, but replacement of steam engines with reliable Diesel units could provide railroads with a crucial difference for profitability. With standardized production of locomotives, EMC simplified the processes for ordering, manufacturing, and servicing locomotives and introduced economies of scale that would lower unit costs. EMC offered support services including financing, training, and field maintenance that would ease the transition from steam to Diesel and boost their market in the last years before US entry into World War II. The performance of the new 567 engine in passenger locomotives also built confidence in the viability of Diesel power for freight service. 0-6-0+0-6-0
The only steam locomotive example of this type of engine in the United Kingdom was the Leader. It was originally commissioned by the Southern Railway but it was completed by British Railways in 1949. The locomotive was a class of experimental articulated steam locomotive, produced in the United Kingdom to the design of the innovative engineer Oliver Bulleid. The Leader was effectively a Meyer locomotive since both sets of drivers were articulated. It was built in an attempt to extend the life of steam traction by eliminating many of the operational drawbacks associated with existing steam locomotives.
The 0-6-0+0-6-0 configuration was also applied to diesel-electric locomotives when British Rail created the Class 13 in 1965. This was done by permanently coupling two Class 08 0-6-0DE shunting engines as "master and slave" units, the latter with its cab removed. In North American terminology, this is referred to as a "cow and calf" arrangement. The modification came about because of a need to provide more powerful shunting locomotives for the Tinsley Marshalling Yard. Electro-Motive Diesel
By the late 1940s the majority of American railroads had decided to transition from steam to Diesel power, known as Dieselization. The demand for Diesel-powered passenger service did not grow at the same rate as for freight service, as air and automobile travel were the burgeoning modes of passenger travel. Nevertheless, the lower profit margins of passenger service made the cost advantages of Diesel over steam all the more critical and steam power was increasingly seen as dirty, smelly, and dated among the travelling public. To meet post-war demands, EMD opened another locomotive production facility in 1948 at Cleveland, Ohio. Henry Roe Campbell
One of the most visually striking features of a steam locomotive is its "wheel arrangement" which is largely a function of its intended application and purpose. The fundamental principle of design for 19th century steam locomotives was tractive force which relies on adhesion. A switching locomotive for example, is relatively low-powered but with a high starting tractive effort for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. These locomotives are geared to produce high torque but are restricted to low top speeds and have small diameter driving wheels. Switchers are rail analogs to tugboats. For higher speeds, larger boilers were required which in turn led to the development of lead trucks.
Prior to 1832, the typical locomotive for general road service on American roads was a 2-2-0 which could be built with either inside or outside steam cylinders. The critical element of the design was the single pair of driving wheels placed either in front of the firebox, as in the Norris engines, or in back of the firebox, as patented in 1834 by E. L. Miller and used extensively by in the Baldwin engines. Rail transport
Diesel locomotives use a diesel engine as the prime mover. The energy transmission may be either diesel-electric, diesel-mechanical or diesel-hydraulic but diesel-electric is dominant. Electro-diesel locomotives are built to run as diesel-electric on unelectrified sections and as electric locomotives on electrified sections. Train
The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, but from the early 19th century almost all trains were powered by steam locomotives. From the 1910s onwards, steam locomotives began to be replaced with less labor-intensive (and cleaner) diesel and electric locomotives, although these new forms of propulsion were far more complex and expensive than steam power. At about the same time, self-propelled multiple unit vehicles (both diesel and electric) became much more widely used in passenger service. Dieselisation of locomotives in day-to-day use was completed in most countries by the 1970s. Steam locomotives are still used in heritage railways which are operated in many countries for the leisure and enthusiast market. Engine efficiency
A very well designed and built steam locomotive used to get around 7-8% efficiency in its heyday. The most efficient reciprocating steam engine design (per stage) was the uniflow engine, but by the time it appeared steam was being displaced by diesel engines, which were even more efficient and had the advantage of requiring less labor for coal handling and oil, being a more dense fuel, displaced less cargo. London Underground diesel locomotives
Diesel locomotives have seen limited use on the London Underground, largely because exhaust gases cannot be discharged when the vehicles are working in tunnels. A prototype diesel engine numbered DEL120 was built in 1939 from two 1915 stock motor cars, which was expected to be part of a batch of ten, but experience with battery locomotives showed that these were a better alternative. Three 0-6-0 diesels (DL81-DL83) were obtained in 1971, to replace the last steam engines, but were too short to operate the signalling system, and too heavy for some of the bridges. In 1996, fourteen diesels (numbered 1 through 14, but also given female names) were supplied by Schöma of Germany, which were used during the construction of the Jubilee line tunnels. They were fitted with exhaust scrubbers, to enable them to work in the tunnels. To speed up track renewals on the subsurface lines, class 66 locomotives have been hired in since 2006 to handle permanent way trains, but again suffer from being too heavy for some of the bridges. Because they are not fitted with tripcock safety devices, and pull trains much longer than the signalling system is designed for, they are restricted to slow speed running. Dieselisation
Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles as opposed to gasoline or steam engines. The term is commonly used to refer to the replacement of steam locomotives by diesel locomotives and multiple units from the 1930s to the 1960s.