Contents STEL = Steam Turbine Electric Locomotive GTEL = Gas Turbine Electric Locomotive
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Contents STEL = Steam Turbine Electric Locomotive GTEL = Gas Turbine Electric Locomotive Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. 7 Turbine locomotives and trains .............................................................8 Types of turbine locomotives and trains ................................................................................................ 9 Turbine locomotive and train operators ................................................................................................. 9 Turbine locomotive and train builders ................................................................................................... 9 1 Turbine fuel choices ............................................................................................................................. 10 Transmission types ............................................................................................................................... 10 Energy transformations ........................................................................................................................ 11 Steam turbine locomotives .................................................................12 Advantages and disadvantages ............................................................................................................... 12 How steam turbines work ......................................................................................................................... 12 Steam turbine locomotive energy effi ciency ........................................................................................... 14 2 Sidebar: How steam power plants achieve higher levels of effi ciency ...................................... 15 Noteworthy examples • Union Pacifi c fuel oil-fi red STEL ....................................................................................................... 16 • Pennsylvania Railroad S2 coal-fi red steam turbine locomotive ..................................................... 22 Sidebar: Pennsylvania Railroad’s triplex locomotive design concept .................................... 27 • Chesapeake & Ohio M-1 coal-fi red STEL........................................................................................ 29 Sidebar: The strange story of the Chessie – a train that never ran ...................................... 35 • Norfolk & Western TE-1 “Jawn Henry” coal-fi red STEL................................................................. 38 Sidebar: Baldwin’s attempt to market next-generation STELs .............................................. 46 Gas turbine locomotives and trains ....................................................48 Advantages and disadvantages ............................................................................................................... 48 How gas turbines work ............................................................................................................................. 49 Gas turbine locomotive and train energy effi ciency ............................................................................... 50 3 Sidebar: How gas turbine power plants achieve higher levels of effi ciency ............................. 53 Noteworthy examples • Union Pacifi c “Big Blow” fuel oil-Fired GTEL ................................................................................. 54 Sidebar: GE ignores market for smaller GTELs ........................................................................ 67 • “Blue Goose” fuel oil-fi red GTEL ................................................................................................... 68 Sidebar: Remembering a special encounter with the Blue Goose ........................................ 74 • Union Pacifi c coal-fi red GTEL ........................................................................................................... 76 Sidebar: The unsuccessful quest for a viable coal-burning GTEL .......................................... 78 • New York Central M-497 jet-powered Budd car............................................................................. 82 • MTA gas turbine commuter cars/trains ........................................................................................... 86 • Penn Central/Amtrak/Canadian National UAC TurboTrain ............................................................ 90 • Amtrak RTG and RTL Turboliners .................................................................................................... 98 • Compressed Integrated Natural Gas Locomotive (GTEL) ............................................................ 105 • Bombardier JetTrain GTEL ............................................................................................................. 108 Sidebar: The fastest turbine-powered locomotive and train ................................................ 110 An atomic steam turbine locomotive – What could possibly go wrong?!.......................................................112 Atoms for war and peace ....................................................................................................................... 112 Dr. Lyle Borst’s atomic locomotive proposal.......................................................................................... 114 4 The economics of the X-12 .................................................................................................................... 115 Public relations and the fi nal outcome .................................................................................................. 116 The future of turbine-powered locomotives and trains ....................118 5 For further reading and study ................................................................................................................ 120 Endnotes .................................................................................................................................................. 124 This Siemens SST-800 steam turbine is a modern unit designed for stationary electrical generation. Energy in high-pressure steam is converted to rotational power by many stages of precisely curved turbine blades. The “bucket” size and wheel diameter increase as the steam pressure and density reduce. Steam flow in this turbine starts near the upper worker’s left hand and passes through the steam turbine’s high-pressure section on the right-hand side of the photo. Steam flow is then reversed and redirected to the medium- and low-pressure sections on the left side of the photo. Siemens Steam turbine locomotive It takes a lot of energy to produce steam turbine itself was only part of energy efficiency steam from water—970 BTUs per the turbine locomotive’s efficiency Steam turbines have played an pound of water. Condensing the steam story. The energy efficiency of an important role in stationary releases that energy, some of which can entire locomotive was a function of electric power plants and marine then be captured and reused. the efficiency of the turbine multiplied applications where their efficiency However, while steam turbines by the efficiency of the boiler (which can be maximized. But applying operate with maximum efficiency at would include the firebox) and the this technology to locomotives was full speed and load, their efficiency efficiency of the rest of the locomotive’s challenging. decreases when speed and load drivetrain. The steam turbines used in the decrease. Thus, steam turbine efficiency For a direct drive steam turbine locomotives discussed here achieved tended to be poor under normal locomotive, the rest of the locomotive’s less than 20% efficiency. In other locomotive operating conditions, drivetrain would be the gears, bearings, words, under the best conditions (what including starting, stopping, varying and wheels. If the design or peak can be called design conditions), they speeds, and changing loads. efficiencies of these components were wasted over 80% of the energy in the The further loss in efficiency during representative values—such as 75% for steam they produced. normal operation could be dramatic the boiler, 17% for the steam turbine, Generally speaking, steam turbine such as in the case of the Pennsylvania and 95% for the gears and bearings— locomotives were inefficient because RR’s class S2 6-8-6 direct-drive then the design fuel-to-rail efficiency they exhausted huge volumes of steam steam turbine locomotive. The steam of this locomotive would be 12.1%, that still contained much of its energy. consumption of this locomotive at 5 calculated as follows: However, at least one such locomotive, mph was four times greater than that Union Pacific’s Bunker C fuel oil-fired of a highly wasteful conventional steam 0.75 x 0.17 x 0.95 = 0.121 or 12.1% STEL, was designed to recover some locomotive with similar boiler capacity of that energy by condensing waste at that speed.7 However, at full speed For a steam turbine locomotive with exhaust steam and using the energy in and load, the S2 was more efficient. an electric transmission, the rest of the it to preheat boiler feedwater. Of course, the efficiency of the locomotive’s drivetrain would be its 14 Jawn Henry as possibly “the last stand of the iron horse,” Popular Mechanics, January 1955. Popular Mechanics Steam turbine energy losses could