Gas turbine locomotive
A gas turbine locomotive is a type of
A gas turbine offers some advantages over a
However, a gas turbine's power output and efficiency both drop dramatically with
Early developments
A gas turbine locomotive was patented in 1861 by Marc Antoine Francois Mennons (British patent no. 1633).[4] The drawings in Mennons' patent show a locomotive of 0-4-2 wheel arrangement with a cylindrical casing resembling a boiler. At the front of the casing is the compressor, which Mennons calls a ventilator. This supplies air to a firebox and the hot gases from the firebox drive a turbine at the back of the casing. The exhaust from the turbine then travels forwards through ducts to preheat the incoming air. The turbine drives the compressor through gearing and an external shaft. There is additional gearing to a jackshaft which drives the wheels through side rods. The fuel is solid (presumably coal, coke or wood) and there is a fuel bunker at the rear. There is no evidence that the locomotive was actually built but the design includes the essential features of gas turbine locomotives built in the 20th century, including compressor, combustion chamber, turbine and air pre-heater.
Work leading to the emergence of the gas turbine locomotive began in France and Sweden in the 1920s but the first locomotive did not appear until the 1940s. High fuel consumption was a major factor in the decline of conventional gas-turbine locomotives and the use of a piston engine as a gas generator would probably give better fuel economy than a turbine-type compressor, especially when running at less than full load.
One option is a two-shaft machine, with separate turbines to drive the compressor and the output shaft. Another is to use a separate gas generator, which may be of either rotary or piston type.
Gas turbine-mechanical
Gas turbine-mechanical locomotives use a
France
The first gas turbine-mechanical locomotive in the world, Class 040-GA-1 of 1,000 hp was built by Renault in 1952 and had a Pescara free-piston engine as a gas generator. It was followed by two further locomotives, Class 060-GA-1 of 2,400 hp in 1959–61.[5]
The Pescara gas generator in 040-GA-1 consisted of a horizontal, single cylinder,
Several similar locomotives were built in the USSR by
Sweden
The power gas locomotive was built by Gotaverken. It had a vertical, five cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine with opposed pistons. There was a single crankshaft connected to both upper and lower pistons. The exhaust from the diesel engine powered the gas turbine which drove the wheels through reduction gearing, jack shaft and side rods.
Czechoslovakia
Turbine power was considered for railway traction in the former Czechoslovakia. Two turbine-powered prototypes were built, designated TL 659.001 and TL 659.002, featuring C-C wheel arrangement, 3200 hp (2.4 MW) main turbine, helper turbine and Tatra 111 helper diesel engine.
The first prototype (TL 659.001) was finished in February 1958 and was scheduled to be exhibited at
The second prototype (TL 659.002) was built with lessons learned from the first. It left the factory in March 1960 and was the only turbine locomotive to pass the tests for regular service on tracks of the former Czechoslovak State Railways. It was tried near Kolín and Plzeň with mixed results. This engine was taken out of service in April 1966 and sold to the University of Žilina as an educational instrument. It was scrapped some time later.
Although the experiments had mixed results, these were the most powerful locomotives with a purely mechanical powertrain in the world and also the most powerful independent-traction locomotives in Czechoslovakia.
United Kingdom
The
in earlier years, but it failed to be competitive against conventional traction and was scrapped.Examples
Examples of gas turbine-mechanical locomotives:
- 1933 Nydqvist and Holm, 1-B-1, Sweden
- 1952 Davenport-Bessler Corp., 1-B-1, United States, 300 hp (220 kW) (designed by R. Tom Sawyer)
- 1951 Renault, France, B-B, 1,000 hp (750 kW)
- 1954 Gotaverken, Sweden, 1-C-1, 1,300 hp (970 kW)
- 1958 Renault, France, C-C, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
- 1958 Škoda, C-C, Czechoslovakia, 3,200 hp (2,400 kW)
- 1959 British Rail GT3, 2'C, 2,700 hp (2,000 kW)
Gas turbine-electric
A gas turbine-electric locomotive (GTEL) is a
A GTEL uses a turbo-electric drivetrain in which a
Switzerland
In 1939, the
United Kingdom
Two gas turbine locomotives of different design, 18000 and 18100, were ordered by the
British Rail 18100 was built by Metropolitan-Vickers and delivered in 1951. It had an aircraft-type gas turbine of 2.2 MW (3,000 hp). Its maximum speed was 90 miles per hour (140 km/h).[7]
A third locomotive, the GT3, was constructed in 1961. Although built by English Electric, who had pioneered electric transmission with LMS 10000 locomotives, this used a turbine-mechanical transmission.[8]
The British Rail APT-E, the prototype of the Advanced Passenger Train, was turbine-powered. Like the French TGV, later models used an alternative electric powertrain. This choice was made because British Leyland, the turbine supplier, ceased production of the model used in the APT-E, having lost interest in gas turbine technology following the 1970s oil crisis.[9]
United States
UP ran a fleet of 55 turbine-powered freight locomotives starting in the early 1950s, all produced by Alco-GE. The first- and second-generation versions shared the same wheel arrangement as the prototype; the third-generation version were
In April 1950,
In the 1960s
In 1966, the
In 1977, the LIRR tested eight more gas turbine-electric/electric dual mode railcars, in an experiment sponsored by the
In 1997 the
Russia
Two gas turbine-electric locomotive types underwent testing in the Soviet Union. The test program began in 1959 and lasted into the early 1970s. The G1-01 freight GTEL, produced by Kolomna Locomotive Works, was intended to consist of two locomotives of a C-C wheel arrangement, but only one section was built. The GP1 passenger locomotive was a similar design with body of TEP60 diesel locomotive, also with a C-C wheel arrangement, introduced to the test program in 1964. Two units were built by Kolomna Works, GP1-0001 and GP1-0002, which were also used in regular service with passenger trains. Both types had a maximum power output of 2,600 kW (3,500 hp).[16]
Another soviet gas turbine-hydraulic freight locomotive type GT101 was developed and produced in 1960 by Luhansk Locomotive Works. Like the G1 locomotive, it was intended to consist of two sections of a C-C wheel arrangement, but only one section was built. This section was equipped with four free piston gas generators and gas turbine with a maximum power output of 2,200 kW (3,000 hp), and a hydraulic transmission. Unlike other locomotives, it was not in regular service.[17]
In 2006,
The GT1-001 freight GTEL, remade from an VL15 electric locomotive in 2006 and introduced in 2007, runs on LNG and has a maximum power output of 8,300 kW (11,100 hp).[19] One section carries the LNG tank and the other houses the turbine with electric power generation, and both section have the traction motors and cabs. The locomotive has a B-B-B+B-B-B wheel arrangement, and up to three GT1 locomotives can be coupled together.[20] On 23 January 2009, the GT1-001 conducted a test run with a 159-car train weighing 15,000 metric tons (14,800 long tons; 16,500 short tons); further heavy-haul tests were carried out in December 2010.[21] In a test run conducted in September 2011, the locomotive pulled 170 freight cars weighing 16,000 metric tons (15,700 long tons; 17,600 short tons).[22] In 2012, the helper diesel engine that used for shunting operations was replaced with an accumulator, and the locomotive was renamed to GT1h (where 'h' stands for hybrid). The GT1h-001 remained a prototype and never went into production.[23]
The successor to the GT1h-001 is the GT1h-002. Despite the same type designation, this locomotive has a fundamentally different design with a (B-B)-(B-B)+(B-B)-(B-B) wheel arrangement, derived from the TEM7 diesel shunting locomotive, and the new body with open LNG tank, derived from the body of the 2ES6 electric locomotive. This serial type has a maximum power output of 8,500 kW (11,400 hp).[23] Both GT1h locomotives are in operation in Egorshino in the Ural region.[16]
Canada
In 2002, Bombardier Transportation announced the launch of the JetTrain, a high-speed trainset consisting of tilting carriages and a locomotive powered by a Pratt & Whitney turboshaft engine. Proposals were made to use the trains for Quebec City–Windsor, Orlando–Miami, and in Alberta, Texas, Nevada and the UK. One prototype was built and tested, but no JetTrains have yet been sold for service. However, nothing ever came of any of these proposals, and the JetTrain essentially disappeared, being superseded by the Bombardier Zefiro line of conventionally powered high speed and very high speed trains. The JetTrain no longer appears on any of Bombardier's current web sites or promotional materials, although it can still be found on older web sites bearing the Canadair logos.
France
The first TGV prototype, TGV 001, was powered by a gas turbine, but steep oil prices prompted the change to overhead electric lines for power delivery. However, two large classes of gas-turbine powered intercity railcars were constructed in the early 1970s (ETG and RTG) and were used extensively up to about 2000.
Coal-firing
In the 1940s and 1950s research was conducted, in both the US and UK, aimed at building gas turbine locomotives that could run on
United States
In 1946, a Northrop-Hendy partnership launched an attempt to adapt the Northrop Turbodyne aircraft engine for locomotive use, with coal dust rather than kerosene as a fuel. In December 1946, Union Pacific donated their retired M-10002 streamliner locomotive to the project. However, the project was abandoned by the end of 1947 and there is no clear evidence that the locomotive provided for the experiment ever actually moved under gas turbine power or even had it installed.[25] Details of the research were passed to Britain's London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Following a rise in fuel prices that was making their oil-fired GTELS uneconomic, UP experimentally revived the coal-fired gas turbine idea in the early 1960s, producing one prototype coal GTEL in October 1962. The problems with blade fouling and erosion were severe. The project was declared a failure after 20 months, during which time the locomotive ran less than 10,000 miles.
United Kingdom
On 23 December 1952, the UK Ministry of Fuel and Power placed an order for a coal-fired gas turbine locomotive to be used on
According to Sampson, the plan was to use indirect heating. The pulverized coal would be burned in a combustion chamber and the hot gases passed to a heat exchanger. Here, the heat would be transferred to a separate body of compressed air which would power the turbine. Essentially, it would have been a hot air engine using a turbine instead of a piston.
Robertson shows a diagram that confirms Sampson's information but also refers to problems with erosion of turbine blades by ash. This is strange because, with a conventional
Working cycle
There were two separate, but linked, circuits: the combustion circuit and the turbine circuit.
- Combustion circuit. Pulverized coal and air were mixed and burned in a combustion chamber and the hot gases passed to a heat exchanger where heat was transferred to the compressed air in the turbine circuit. After leaving the heat exchanger the combustion gases entered a boiler to generate steam for train heating.
- Turbine circuit. Air entered the compressor and was compressed. The compressed air passed to the heat exchanger where it was heated by the combustion gases. The heated compressed air drove two turbines; one to drive the compressor and the other to power the locomotive. The turbine exhaust (which was hot air) then entered the combustion chamber to support the combustion.
Specification
The locomotive was never built but the specification was as follows:
- Wheel arrangement: C-C, later changed to 1A1A-A1A1
- Horsepower: 1,800, later reduced to 1,500
- Weight: 117 tons, later increased to 150 tons
The projected output was:
- Tractive effort,
- 30,000 lbf (130 kN) at 72 mph (116 km/h)
- 45,000 lbf (200 kN) at 50 mph (80 km/h)
- Thermal efficiency,
- 10% at 1/10 load
- 16% at half load
- 19% at full load
The transmission was to be mechanical, via a two-speed gearbox, giving a high speed for passenger working and a lower speed for freight. The tractive effort figures, quoted above, look suspiciously high for the specified speeds. It seems more likely that the figures quoted are for starting tractive effort and maximum speed in high gear and low gear respectively. There is a model of the proposed locomotive at
See also
References
- ^ Clint Chamberlin. "Gas Turbine Engines". North East Rails. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "Gas Turbine Locomotives, GTELs". American-Rails.com. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ Schneider, David (16 August 2012). "Rails and Gas Turbines". We Are The Practitioners. Archived from the original on 19 November 2013.
- ^ "A new or improved construction of caloric engines: GB186101633 (A) ― 1861-12-18". espacenet.com. European Patent Office. 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b "History of free piston gas turbines". freikolben.ch. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013.
- ^ ASIN B0000CJIZC.
- ^ "Turbine Speeds British Trains". Popular Science. Vol. 160, no. 4. April 1952. p. 131.
- ^ Hughes, J.O.P. (14 December 1961). "The Design and Development of a Gas Turbine Locomotive". J. Inst. Locomotive Engineers. 52:2 (286): 180–220. Paper Nº633.
- ^ Humble, Mike (11 January 2012). "Rail projects : When BL met BR – The APT". AROnline. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- Union Pacific.
- ISBN 978-0916244019.
- ^ "Amtrak By the Numbers: Updates". On Track On Line. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- ^ "Showing Image 42662". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "Showing Image 10670". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "The LIRR 'Extra' list". trainsarefun.com. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ a b Вячеслав, Филин (22 August 2016). "Газотурбовоз – самый экологически чистый в мире локомотив" [Vyacheslav Filin: "A gas turbine locomotive is the most environmentally friendly locomotive in the world"]. Gudok (in Russian). Гудок. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "Опытный газотурбовоз ГТ101. СССР" [Experimental gas-turbine locomotive GT101. USSR]. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ Valery Kossov (2007). "Маневровый газотурбовоз ТГЭМ10" [Switcher gas-turbine locomotive TGEM10] (PDF). Transport of Russia (in Russian). pp. 18–19. Retrieved 19 December 2021 – via rostransport.com.
- ^ "Experimental gas turbine locomotive undertakes haulage tests". Railway Gazette International. 14 January 2009.
- ^ David Kirzhner, Vladimir Rudenko (2008). "Development and production of the world's first main line freight gas turbine locomotive running on liquified natural gas" (PDF). Railway equipment (in Russian). Institute of Natural Monopolies. pp. 38–41. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ "Gas turbine in heavy haul tests". Railway Gazette International. 22 December 2010.
- ^ "Газотурбовоз поставил новый мировой рекорд в подмосковной Щербинке" [Gas turbine carrier set a new world record in Shcherbinka near Moscow]. tass.ru (in Russian). TASS. 7 September 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017.
- ^ a b Valery Kossov (2016). "Gas-turbine locomotive on liquefied natural gas" (PDF). Railway equipment (in Russian). Institute of Natural Monopolies. pp. 38–41. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-0862995416.
- ^ Don Strack (22 April 2014). "UP's M-10002 At Northrop-Hendy". UtahRails.net.
Sources
Further reading
- Allen, Geoffrey Freeman (February–March 1982). "The rise and fall of the turbine". OCLC 49957965.
- Duffy, M. C. (1998–1999). "The Gas Turbine in Railway Traction". .
- Bolter, J.R. (12 April 1995). The Parsons - North British Coal Burning Gas Turbine Locomotives - Talk at the London Science Museum. Newcomen Society.
External links
- Photos of Union Pacific turbine locomotives, including coal fired turbine no. 80
- British Railways 18000
- Swiss gas turbine-electric locomotive
- Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Railway Locomotives – Am 4/6
- Shunting gas turbine locomotive (in Russian)
- GT1-001 summary (in Russian)
- Swiss homepage about free piston gas turbines (in English)
- Gotaverken Motor AB (in German)
- Diagram of a Renault/Pescara locomotive (in French)