Abstract
IN a paper read before the Institution of Civil Engineers on February 21, H. W. H. Richards, electrical engineer to the London and North Eastern Railway, makes a definite comparison, both technical and financial, between steam, electric and Diesel-electric traction. The comparison is based on the existing traffic conditions of load and speed, so that it is on exactly the same basis in each case. It can be shown that the most satisfactory unit to adopt is the trailing ton-mile per annum per single track. The average traffic density for steam trains is about three million ton-miles and for electric trains which are practically confined to suburban service it is about 4.5 million ton-miles. It appears that on an average load of about fifty per cent for the complete electrification of the main lines in Great Britain, the total power of the steam turbines required for the electric service would be 3.5 million brake horse power. If Diesel-electric service were adopted throughout, the total Diesel engine power required would be 15 million brake horse power. On the same basis, the total weight of electric tractors would amount to 850 thousand tons as compared with 1,300 thousand tons for Diesel-electric tractors. The capital costs for traffic densities ranging from 2 million to 10 million ton-miles are in all cases cheapest for steam and the costs of electric and Diesel-electric services are much the same at a traffic density of 4 million, after which electric traction becomes progressively cheaper. As regards operating costs, for main line services, including interest on capital, the cost of electric traction is lower than that of steam or Diesel-electric traction at traffic densities greater than 2.5 million ton-miles.
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Steam, Electric and Diesel-Electric Traction. Nature 131, 302 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131302c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131302c0