Locomotives

  • Steam locomotives are impressive, captivating, ingenious, complex, and dangerous devices all wrapped within a single frame. Nothing else in railroading has ever been quite as alluring.
  • Locomotives with total adhesion, where all of the wheels are coupled together, generally lack stability at speed. To counter this, locomotives often fit unpowered carrying wheels mounted on two-wheeled trucks or four-wheeled bogies centred by springs/inverted rockers/geared rollers that help to guide the locomotive through curves.
  • JointedRail.com Products Freeware. Showing 1–24 of 85 results Active Filters: Clear Filters. EMD SD40-2 – CSX YN3. Rated 0 out of 5.
  • Examples of locomotive in a Sentence Adjective the locomotive ability of spiders Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Kiszla pondered the possibilities until inspiration hit him like a locomotive - one that’s colorful, battery operated and has Snoopy as a passenger.

EMD® freight locomotives have been specifically developed to deliver the leading fuel efficiency, reliability and maintainability railroads expect. These workhorses offer optimal rail service across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, with a growing global presence.

Active Locomotives

FGCX 1835

US ARMY GP-7 1835. This locomotive was donated to the museum by the Department of Defense in1993. Built in 1951, this locomotive generates 1,500 horsepower. 1835 is in good condition and operatesas one of the Museum’s primary road engines. This locomotive was based at the Sunny Point MilitaryOcean Terminal in Sunny Point, North Carolina. Plans are to someday return the 1835 to its as built USAArmy appearance.

FRRM 8330

8330 started life in 1954 as a GP-9B unit (B meaning “cab-less”) built for the Union Pacific Railroad as#183B. Later acquired by the Illinois Central Railroad and rebuilt to a GP10 with a cab added. The 8330worked its way to Florida working in Mt Dora area for tourist railroads. The Florida Railroad Museumpurchased the 8330 in 2009. The 8330 is one of two (1835 being the other) primary road locomotives atthe museum.

FGC 100

FGC 100, General Electric 44 ton Diesel Electric. Formerly US Navy 65-00345 and assigned to JacksonvilleNaval Air Station, this engine was donated in 1995 by the Navy. The locomotive has two 150 horsepower diesel engines with the cab in the middle for maximum visibility. It is used by the museum forswitching activities.

Borden Chemical No. 50, Plymouth MDT 40-Ton

The 50 is a 40ton small switcher engine, also known as a critter. Borden bought it new in 1972 andmoved it to its Manatee County plant at Piney Point, where it would stay until January 2008. Acquiredby the Florida Railroad Museum and moved by truck to Parrish. The 50 has never left Manatee Countysince new. The 50 is operational for shop switching, but seldom used. A cosmetic restoration isunderway.

Non-active Locomotives

US ARMY 1822, EMD GP-7

This locomotive was donated to the museum by the Department of Defense in 1993. Built in 1951, thislocomotive generates 1,500 horsepower. This locomotive was based at the Sunny Point Military OceanTerminal in Sunny Point, North Carolina. The 1822 is a sister to the 1835, the 1822 is non-operationaland is used primarily for parts.

SEABOARD AIR LINE 1633, ALCO RS-3

This locomotive was built as New York Central 8277. It was used in commuter passenger service, latercame under Penn Central ownership and finally was Amtrak 133. It was acquired by trade when themuseum traded a Santa Fe baggage car to Amtrak for it in 1987. The engine is painted in Seaboard AirLine RR colors to approximate the SAL locomotives that once served the line through Parrish. The 1633was used on weekend trains until 2007. Currently out of service/stored waiting parts and funding. The1633 is on static display in Willow.

PENNSYLVANIA RR 8604, ALCO RS-3

This locomotive was built in 1955 for the PRR and is preserved in PRR paint. It is not running today butcould be restored for future operation. Held for future operation or exhibit.

CARGILL 61, EMD NW5

This diesel electric locomotive was one of only 17 NW5’s and was the forerunner of the BL2 and GPseries EMD locomotives. This one was used by Fort St. Union Depot in Detroit and later sold toMississippi Export RR, then to Gardinier Phosphate Company. It was donated by Cargill Corporation.Hopes are to one day return the 61 to full operational status, funds are needed for this project.Currently on static display in Parrish.

VLIX 904, EMD FP-7

Built for the Ontario Northland Railroad, later transferred to GO Transit and converted to a cab-car. The904 and a dozen cars were then sold to Tri-Rail in Miami Fl. The Florida Railroad Museum acquired the904 in 2005 for display and eventual cab-car operation. The future plans are to paint the 904 in ACLcolors to represent the passenger locomotives that once served Florida. Currently on static display inWillow.

IMC 204, EMD CF-7

Built for the Santa Fe as F7-A #238, later converted to a CF7 by the Santa Fe. Sold to IMC in 1988 andused at Port Sutton, Tampa Fl. Acquired from the port by the Florida Railroad Museum in late 2016. Thelocomotive is complete, in relativity good condition. The 204 will be moved to the shop in the do time toevaluate the condition, and maybe return it to service. Currently on static display in Parrish.

Non-active Steam Locomotives

BEDT 12, PORTER 0-6-0T

This steam locomotive was built for the Brooklyn Navy Yard in March 1919. The Brooklyn Eastern DistrictTerminal RR purchased the locomotive in 1922 where it ran until retirement in 1963. It was privatelyowned and donated to the museum by Dr. Ed Ryan in 1982. This is a small switching locomotive and wasused to move freight cars on the docks around Brooklyn, New York. It has been cosmetically restoredand is now on display in Parrish.

Frisco 3749, Baldwin 0-6-0

The 3749 was built in 1913 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the St. Louis and San FranciscoRailroad (FRISCO). It was acquired by the Florida Railroad Museum in 2012 from the city of Orlando Fl.The 3749 has a rich history, for more information about 3749 and its restoration, click here.

Cummer & Sons Cypress Company 104, Baldwin 2-6-2

Locomotives

The #104 is a 2-6-2 Prairie Class locomotive, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in April of 1920.This model of locomotive was popular in Florida for logging operations. The 104 worked in northcentral Florida hauling Cypress from the swamps to the sawmills. The 104 was capable of pulling aheavy train load of 35 cars of logs. At its retirement in the early 1960’s, the 104 was donated to thecity of Leesburg and was placed in Herlong Park. Acquired by the Florida Railroad MuseumDecember 2015 and moved to Willow Fl. now on display for museum visitors.

Locomotives For Lease

Buy Your Tickets Online!

(redirected from Locomotives)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical.
Related to Locomotives: Steam locomotives, Electric locomotives, Diesel locomotives

locomotive,

vehicle used to pull a train of unpowered railroadrailroad
or railway,
form of transportation most commonly consisting of steel rails, called tracks, on which trains of freight cars, passenger cars, and other rolling stock are drawn by one locomotive or more.
.....Click the link for more information.
cars.

Types of Locomotives

The steam-powered locomotive played a key role during the development and golden age of railroading, but, despite its long and picturesque history, it has been superseded in developed nations by electric and diesel-electric locomotives for economic and environmental reasons. The few steam locomotives that remain in operation in developed nations are mostly nostalgic relics used chiefly to pull tourist trains.

Steam Locomotives

The reciprocating steam locomotive is a self-contained power unit consisting essentially of a steam engine and a boilerboiler,
device for generating steam. It consists of two principal parts: the furnace, which provides heat, usually by burning a fuel, and the boiler proper, a device in which the heat changes water into steam.
.....Click the link for more information.
with fuel and water supplies. Superheated steam, controlled by a throttle, is admitted to the cylinders by a suitable valve arrangement, the pressure on the pistons being transmitted through the main rod to the driving wheels. The driving wheels, which vary in number, are connected by side rods. Steam locomotives are usually classified under the Whyte system, that is, by the number and arrangement of the wheels; for example, an engine classified as 2–6–0 has one pair of wheels under the front truck, three pairs of coupled or driving wheels, and no wheels under the trailing truck. In some cases the truck wheels of the tender (fuel carrier) are added.

Electric Locomotives

Electric locomotives range from the small type used in factories and coal mines for local hauling to the large engines used on railroads. Electric locomotives generally have two or more motors. Power is collected from an electric trolley, or pantograph, running on an overhead wire or from a third rail at one side of the track. Battery locomotives, used only for local haulage, carry electric storage batteries that act as their primary source of power. Electric railroad locomotives are used chiefly on steep grades and on runs of high traffic density; although highly efficient they are not more widely used because of the cost of electric substations and overhead wires or third rails.

Diesel Locomotives

Diesel-electric locomotives were introduced in the United States in 1924, and have become the most widely used type of locomotive. The modern diesel-electric locomotive is a self-contained, electrically propelled unit. Like the electric locomotive, it has electric drive, in the form of traction motors driving the axles and controlled with electronic controls. It also has many of the same auxiliary systems for cooling, lighting, heating, and braking. It differs principally in that it has its own generating station instead of being connected to a remote generating station through overhead wires or a third rail. The generating station consists of a large diesel enginediesel engine,
type of internal-combustion engine invented by the German engineer Rudolf Diesel and patented by him in 1892. Although his engine was designed to use coal dust as fuel, the diesel engine now burns fuel oil.
.....Click the link for more information.
coupled to an alternator or generator that provides the power for the traction motors. These motors drive the driving wheels by means of spur gears. The ratio of the gearing regulates the hauling power and maximum speed of the locomotive. A modern diesel-electric locomotive produces about 35% of the power of a electric locomotive of similar weight. Diesel-mechanical locomotives have a direct mechanical link consisting of a clutch and a series of gears and shafts between the engine and the wheels, similar to the transmission in an automobile. Because mechanical drives deliver less power to the wheels than electric and diesel-electric systems, they are only used with the smallest locomotives. In diesel-hydraulic locomotives the engine drives a torque converter, which uses fluids under pressure to transmit and regulate power to the wheels. Hydraulic drives are little used in the United States but are widely used in some countries, such as Germany.

Gas turbine–electric locomotives are similar to the diesel-electric but use a gas turbineturbine,
rotary engine that uses a continuous stream of fluid (gas or liquid) to turn a shaft that can drive machinery.
A water, or hydraulic, turbine is used to drive electric generators in hydroelectric power stations.
.....Click the link for more information.
to drive the generator. The technology is used primarily on turbotrains, high-speed passenger trains that do not have locomotives but instead are powered by units built into one or more of their cars.

Development of the Locomotive

Richard TrevithickTrevithick, Richard
, 1771–1833, British engineer and inventor, b. Cornwall. He is known as the father of locomotive power because of his invention (1800) of the high-pressure steam engine.
.....Click the link for more information.
, a British engineer and inventor, built and operated (1803–4) the first successful steam enginesteam engine,
machine for converting heat energy into mechanical energy using steam as a medium, or working fluid. When water is converted into steam it expands, its volume increasing about 1,600 times. The force produced by the conversion is the basis of all steam engines.
.....Click the link for more information.
locomotive for hauling cars on a track. The British engineer George StephensonStephenson, George,
1781–1848, British engineer, noted as a locomotive builder. He learned to read and write in night school at the age of 18, while working in a colliery.
.....Click the link for more information.
built his first locomotive, the Blucher, in 1814, and in 1829 he demonstrated the practicability of the steam engine for commercial transportation; his locomotive, the Rocket, attained 29 mi per hr (47 km per hr). The first American-built locomotive was designed and tested on a private track by the American engineer John Stevens in 1826. The English-built Stourbridge Lion, imported c.1829, was not a commercial success, being too heavy for American tracks.

The Tom Thumb (1830), built by Peter CooperCooper, Peter,
1791–1883, American inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist, b. New York City. After achieving success in the glue business, Cooper, with two partners, erected (1829) the Canton Iron Works in Baltimore.
.....Click the link for more information.
, an American manufacturer, for the Baltimore & Ohio RRBaltimore & Ohio Railroad
(B&O), first U.S. public railroad, chartered in 1827 by a group of Baltimore businessmen to regain trans-Allegheny traffic lost to the newly opened Erie Canal.
.....Click the link for more information.
, was the first practical American-built locomotive. The American manufacturer Matthias BaldwinBaldwin, Matthias William,
1795–1866, American industrialist and philanthropist, b. Elizabethtown (now Elizabeth), N.J. After earlier business successes, Baldwin became interested in steam-engine production and completed in 1832 the locomotive Old Ironsides
.....Click the link for more information.
's first locomotive, Old Ironsides, built in 1832, long remained in operation. In 1832 the American engineer John B. Jervis built the first locomotive with a swivel truck, a wheel assembly on which part of the body was mounted. Placed at the forward end of a locomotive, a swivel truck permitted a locomotive to negotiate curves more safely. In 1865, Robert F. Fairlie produced an articulated (jointed) locomotive that could traverse the sharp curves of passes through the western mountains. Electric locomotives were introduced on the Baltimore & Ohio RR in 1895, and diesel locomotives—introduced in yard service in 1924—were in general use by 1935.

Bibliography

Electro Motive Division

See C. Garrat, The Last of Steam (1980); D. Weitzman, Superpower: The Making of a Steam Locomotive (1987); R. Loewy, Locomotive (1988); E. A. Haine, The Steam Locomotive (1990); B. Solomon, The American Steam Locomotive (1998); B. Solomon, The American Diesel Locomotive (2000); see also bibliography under steam enginesteam engine,
machine for converting heat energy into mechanical energy using steam as a medium, or working fluid. When water is converted into steam it expands, its volume increasing about 1,600 times. The force produced by the conversion is the basis of all steam engines.
.....Click the link for more information.
.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Definition

Locomotives For Sale

Locomotive

a means of tractive transportation associated with rolling stock and used to move either trains or single cars along rail tracks. Originally the word “locomotive” was used solely for steam engines. Later the concept was extended to all means of railroad traction.

Locomotives currently in use can be classified, according to their primary energy source, as either thermal or electric. The former includes steam engines, steam-turbine locomotives, dieseis and other locomotives driven by internal combustion engines, and gas-turbine locomotives; they have their own power plants on board as energy sources. Electric locomotives are either of the contact type or of the storage battery type. Electric locomotives of the contact type have no power source of their own; energy for their operation is supplied through a trolley or third-rail system. Battery-powered electric locomotives have their batteries charged periodically, using some continuously available current source. In addition to the basic types of locomotives, various combined types—such as diesel and electric, steam and diesel, trolley and battery, and other types—have also existed, although none ever came into wide use. A motor car may also function as a locomotive; such cars are powered by diesels, turbines, or electricity. Motor cars are also used singly as rail service cars. In contrast to locomotives, motor cars and rail service cars include space for passengers and baggage.

According to the kind of service, locomotives can be classified as main-line locomotives and industrial locomotives. Main-line locomotives utilized by general-purpose railroads can in turn be categorized as freight or passenger locomotives, which supply the tractive effort for trains, and switch locomotives, which work within a switchyard. Industrial locomotives are used within a factory area or in mines, pits, and the like. Locomotives are manufactured for standard-gauge and narrow-gauge tracks.

All the types of locomotives are described in terms of their power rating, tractive force, speed, and efficiency. In addition, electric locomotives are characterized by the kind of current and the voltage used, and diesel and gas turbine locomotives, by the means of transmitting power to the wheels.

The first steam locomotives were built in the early 19th century in Great Britain (1803, 1814); in Russia the first locomotives were built in 1834. Throughout almost the entire 19th century the steam locomotive was the only means of traction for railroads. Increases in train weight and in running speed required more power and a greater tractive force. This requirement in turn necessitated improvements in locomotive design and efficieny. The latest type of main-line steam freight locomotive has a power rating of about 1,800 kilowatts (kW; 2,400 hp) and a rated speed of 80 km/hr; the latest passenger steam locomotives develop 1,900 kW and have a top speed of 125 km/hr. The most efficient locomotives have efficiencies of up to 9 percent, with average operational efficiencies being about 4 percent. In the early 20th century steam engines began to be replaced by internal-combustion locomotives and electric locomotives, which are more economical and efficient and have greater power per unit. The concept of powering a locomotive with an internal combustion engine originated in Russia as early as the end of the 19th century. However, the world’s first main-line diesel locomotive, which had a power rating of 750 kW (1,000 hp) and an electric transmission, was built only in 1924 (USSR). Later, hydraulic transmissions were used in diesel locomotives for regulating the tractive force and speed. Two-section freight diesel locomotives built in the USSR have a power rating of 2,200 kW (3,000 hp) per section; their rated speed is 100 km/hr. Passenger diesel locomotives develop a speed up to 160 km/hr. The maximum efficiencies of currently used diesel locomotives range from 29 to 32 percent; average operating efficiencies run around 20–21 percent.

Experiments on the use of electric traction for railroads were conducted in Russia in 1876. In 1895 in the USA the first electric DC locomotive was built, with current supplied through a contact system. In the USSR electric traction was first utilized in 1926 for a suburban line. Electric locomotives built in the USSR started service in 1933. They had six traction motors with a power rating of 340 kW each and developed speeds of up to 90 km/hr. Electric locomotives have a high power rating, require no fueling, and provide running speeds up to 110 km/hr. Electric engines designed for passenger service use either AC or DC power and can run at speeds up to 180 km/hr. The efficiency of the locomotive proper can be as high as 88–90 percent; the total efficiency of electric traction (including the efficiencies of the traction system, the power transmission system, and the power station generating system) ranges from 22 to 24 percent. Gas turbine locomotives attain a still higher power rating, up to 6,300 kW (8,500 hp). However, because of complexity in manufacturing and because of low efficiency (12–18 percent) this locomotive type is being built in the USSR only as single prototypes and in foreign countries only in small lots.

The main stock of locomotives in all industrially developed countries is represented by diesel and electric locomotives. All other locomotive types have the drawbacks of low power, low efficiency, or complexity of design and therefore are not widely used. They are utilized mainly where necessary to ensure work safety, to conduct work in congested or tight areas (as in quarries), and in similar cases.

The future development of the locomotive-building industry depends on increases in unit power ratings and in running speeds. Since the late 1960’s design work has been done in the USSR and abroad on AC electric locomotives with power ratings of 8,000 kW (10,700 hp), and on diesel locomotives with power ratings of up to 4,500 kW (6,000 hp) per unit. Turbine trains with aviation gas turbines have been built; they are capable of speeds in excess of 200 km/hr. Locomotives with jet engines and with turbo-propeller engines are being tested. Still higher speeds are expected from the development of locomotives running on magnetic or air cushions and equipped with asynchronous linear induction motors; such a design makes possible speeds of up to 500 km/hr. Proposals have been made to design locomotives with fuel-cell power plants and with nuclear reactors.

REFERENCE

Rakov, V. A. Lokomotivy i motorvagonnyi podvizhnoi sostav zheleznykh dorog Sovetskogo Soiuza, 1956–1965. Moscow, 1966.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

locomotive

[‚lō·kə′mōd·iv] (mechanical engineering)

Locomotives Videos

A self-propelling machine with flanged wheels, for moving loads on railroad tracks; utilizes fuel (for steam or internal combustion engines), compressed air, or electric energy.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

locomotive

a. a self-propelled engine driven by steam, electricity, or diesel power and used for drawing trains along railway tracks
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
Link to this page:

Locomotives Of The 40s