1942: Railroad Equipment

Effect of War on Railroad Equipment.

Due to the war and the necessity for conserving critical materials the trend in the design of economic railroad cars has been backwards. The necessity for the conservation of steel, particularly plates, dominates the design. The association of American Railroads has presented to the War Production Board designs of various types of freight cars in which wood was used so far as was practicable. This is considered a backward trend of probably thirty years. In the case of hopper cars the composite construction has produced a reduction in carrying capacity of a given tonnage of coal, for example, that requires 7 or 8 per cent more cars. The only advantage of the composite construction is the small amount of saving in ferrous metal.

With tank cars for transporting gasoline and other petroleum products, emergency specifications have been set up in which the width of plates obtainable was limited to 72 in. and a very material reduction in the thickness of the plates is specified. It is assumed that these emergency tanks will have a much shorter life than a tank built of standard materials.

Modern Railroad-Car Lighting.

During the past few years, and particularly in the last year even, there have been remarkable advances in railroad-car lighting, the latest achievements being in the use of fluorescent lamps. In 1905 electric incandescent lighting was introduced on a large scale, and aside from the improvement in lamps such as the change from the carbon to the tungsten filament, little change occurred in the systems until 1935. In 1935, however, when air-conditioning was introduced on a large scale, the electromechanical system was widely adopted. Because of the power necessary to drive the air compressor and fan for air-conditioning it became necessary to increase the battery to 600-ampere-hours rating, to increase the generator rating to 20 kilowatts at 80 volts (60 volts when under load). Accordingly the lamp wattage could be substantially increased without excessive expense being charged to the lighting itself.

A study was made of the general problem of car illumination and three principles are now followed. (1) Direct most of the light downwards to the reading plane; (2) direct enough light to the ceiling to illuminate it sufficiently as otherwise the glare of the fixtures will be accentuated; (3) eliminate glare from fixtures except when they are viewed from positions directly below them.

In new cars the foregoing results are obtained by using totally closed fixtures usually set into the car walls and which have a large opening downwards, the openings being covered with either a single lens, a multiple or prismatic lens, or a cross-hatched glass which may be opalescent.

Fluorescent lamps were first placed on the market in April 1938. Their advantages are that the power for the same light is halved, the light is more uniformly distributed than with an incandescent lamp due to the larger light source, the effect of voltage variation over its effect on the incandescent lamp is about one-half.

The disadvantages are that the lamp will not remain lighted below a certain voltage, it is sensitive to frequency variations, and when operated on direct current the voltage range is as narrow as from 55 to 62 volts.

The first lamps were operated on alternating current. Since the car supply was direct current, means for inverting to 115 volts alternating current were necessary. Two methods are used, a vibrator inverter and a motor-generator, the latter being less efficient and more costly but more rugged and reliable. The losses in these inversion devices tend to nullify the increased efficiency of the lamps. This leads to the important development of operating the lamps with direct current. To do so a ballast resistance is necessary and the range of voltage operation is limited, making it difficult to design a lamp for this service. This d-c method, however, is used in the latest practice. The lamp best adapted to this system is the 15 by 1 in. tube, taking 16 watts and the ballast and auxiliary lamp 6 watts. The lamp operating direct current is more efficient than when operating alternating current and there is no stroboscopic effect.

The new 'Empire State Express' placed in service in December 1941 by the New York Central is lighted almost entirely by these lamps. They are mounted in fixtures just below the baggage racks, transversely to the length of the car.

There have been many other applications of the fluorescent lamp to interior design and comfort as may be seen in the lounge, buffet and dining cars built in 1942 by the Pullman Company. The color of the lamps harmonizes with the color motif of the interior decoration to produce a pleasing effect and at the same time the illumination is efficient and has a high utilitarian value.

Streamliners and the War.

The war has produced many changes in the operation of the nation's streamliners. Many which were devoted entirely to luxury travel have been put to the utilitarian handling of essential civilian travel and to transporting officers and men of the nation's armed forces. Frequently passenger coaches and extra Pullman cars have been added so as to accommodate the movements of troops. Some have been taken out of service entirely; in some cases the equipment has been scrapped for the aluminum and other metals. Many lounge, club, and parlor cars have been remodelled to permit the handling of more passengers; with others, the extra fare charge has been eliminated so as to permit more people to use them. Some roads, such as the Burlington, have converted streamlined parlor cars to coaches so as to obtain greater passenger capacity. The schedules of the Chicago-Denver and the Chicago-Pacific Coast streamliners and of other runs have been increased so that military and war production traffic may be given the right of way.

During the year, about fourteen new streamliners have been put into service. All of these, however, were nearing completion before the shortage of materials developed. The building of any more such trains will be halted for the duration of the war.

During the year also many new lightweight streamlined passenger cars were delivered for operation on various trains as individual units (see Two-Car Streamliner). Among these were the three pendulum cars of new design delivered to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy and the Great Northern. (The bodies of the pendulum cars are suspended near their center of gravity so as to increase the comfort of riding while rounding curves.)

The utilitarian value of streamliners is enhanced by their greater use due to higher speeds and quick turn arounds. For example, the twenty-eight cars which make up the two Denver Zephyrs of the Burlington are accumulating a daily mileage of 1,036 each. Also another noticeable change is the fact that whereas many of the streamliners were used almost entirely for vacation travel, such as the New York- and Chicago-Florida trains, these are now devoted almost entirely to business travel. However, the popularity with the public of the streamliners remains unabated as is evidenced by the increasing number of passengers and the increased revenue.

Two-Car Streamliner.

The 'Prospectors' of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, a new two-car diesel-electric streamlined train was designed particularly to meet the high-altitude run between Salt Lake City and Denver. The propulsion equipment is unique in two respects — each car is individually powered, and all traction and auxiliary equipment is beneath the car floor. Each car is 75 ft. long and weighs approximately 130,000 pounds. The two cars which operate as a unit or train are designed to care for light passenger traffic.

Diesel-Electric Locomotives.

Twenty 2,000-brake-horsepower Diesel-electric locomotives have recently been built by the American Locomotive Works and General Electric Company for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. The first Diesel-electric locomotive was put in switching service in 1932 and this type has proven so successful that now sixty of these locomotives, ranging from 44 to 165 tons are now in both switching and road service. The new locomotives weigh 165 tons each with a weight of 230,500 pounds on the driving axles. They are geared for a top speed of 80 miles per hour and are built for both passenger and freight service. Provision is made in the design for obtaining a 4,000-horsepower double-end locomotive by coupling two of the 2,000 horsepower locomotives back to back.

Each locomotive is equipped with two 1,000-bhp, 6-cylinder, 750-rpm supercharged American Locomotive Company Diesel engines, each direct connected to a General Electric d-c generator which supplies power to two series traction motors. The main generator is designed especially for railroad purposes and is connected by a rigid coupling to the engine shaft. A starting field is built in the generator so that the generator may be operated as a motor when connected across the battery, to start the engine. An auxiliary generator which is overhung on the main generator shaft supplies power for charging the battery, for all the locomotive lights, and for operating the control.

Two 2,000-horsepower units when coupled together can haul as many as eighteen passenger cars and freight trains up to 4,500 tons, on regular schedules between Boston and New Haven. Single units can haul trains half this size.

New Haven Freight Locomotive.

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad required an electric locomotive with seemingly impossible contradictions. The locomotive needed to be heavy and strong enough to haul a 125-car, 5,000-ton freight train over the New Haven saw-tooth profile on a rigid schedule, and yet its weight and size could not exceed the limitations imposed by the tunnels and bridges. However, the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company met the difficult problem, constructing a 500,000-pound electric locomotive with 360,000 pounds on the 57-inch drivers. The wheel arrangement is 4-6 + 6-4 and there are six twin motors of 810 horsepower each which develop a maximum of 9,000 horsepower at the track. The aggregate rating of the motors at 65 miles per hour is 4,860 horsepower. For short times the motor can develop 90,000 pounds tractive effort at 38 miles per hour, or 9,100 horsepower. In order to reduce the total current, each pair of twin motors is connected in series with each other. The locomotive replaces three of the type formerly used and pulls the same load at 41 per cent greater speed. There is articulation between the two wheel sets so that although the overall length is 80 ft., the rigid wheel base is only 13 ft., 8 in., permitting the negotiation of the sharpest curves.

There are 40,000 pounds of transformers, relays, and controls on the locomotive and it required careful design to meet the rigid space requirements. Inerteen-filled transformers are used to minimize the hazard of fires, Inerteen being a non-inflammable insulating and cooling liquid. In order to cool the transformers and other power apparatus 50,000 cu. ft. of air per minute are required.

Although designed primarily as a freight locomotive, it can be readily converted to passenger service by installing train-heating equipment in the space provided. As a passenger locomotive it can haul a 20-car train of 80-ton Pullmans between New Haven and New York on any of the existing schedules. The 66 steps in the engineer's control make smooth operation with any size of train.

All-Welded Electric Locomotive.

In an electric freight locomotive recently delivered to the Piedmont and Northern Railway by the General Electric Company, all-welded construction was employed throughout such as in the cab, subframing, and truck structure. The locomotive is of the eight-axle, four-truck type with a total weight all on drivers of 236,000 pounds. Individual axle loading is maintained at less than 35,000 pounds. The 1500-volt locomotive can handle 1,800-ton trailing loads. Articulated subframes with the cab structure and underframe independent of, but resting on, the subframes were required since there are four non-articulated two-axle trucks. The locomotive is designed to negotiate curves with a minimum radius of 150 ft.

New Locomotives for Chesapeake and Ohio.

Eight high-speed locomotives delivered in 1942, and operating in passenger service between Hinton, West Virginia, and Cincinnati and Toledo, are of the 4-6-4 type built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Their length from coupler to coupler is 104 ft., 7 in., the cylinders are 25 in. in diameter with a 30-inch stroke and the driving wheels are 78 in. in diameter. The boiler pressure is 255 pounds per square inch and there are 4,233 sq. ft. of heating surface. There is also a superheater having 1,810 sq. ft. of heating surface. The weight on the drivers is 217,500 pounds, the tractive force is 52,000 pounds without the booster and 64,600 pounds with the booster. Each locomotive weighs 439,500 pounds and the total weight of engine and tender is 832,500 pounds. The booster is a small engine which drives small wheels located usually under the cab, and is put into service on starting to increase the tractive effort and hence the acceleration.

First Diesel Freight Train.

The first Diesel-engine freight train in the East arrived on Sept. 1, 1942, at Twin Oaks, Pennsylvania, from Chicago, Illinois, twenty minutes ahead of schedule. This Baltimore and Ohio train, consisting of 81 tank cars, with 715,000 gallons of oil drawn by a 5,400-horsepower Diesel engine, covered the 911-mile haul with only five stops to make routine inspections and to change crews. The B. & O. officials claim this Diesel locomotive is capable of performing more work per ton of weight than a comparable steam locomotive.