New High Speed Rail proposal

[Joel N. Weber II]

It's only capable of 125 MPH when in electric mode. In electric mode the engine can produce 5,360 HP with the traction motors. In diesel mode it can only produce 4,200 HP.

If you put one on each end of a train, you'll have 8400 HP available in diesel mode, and I'm under the impression that the typical 125 MPH NJT train both has less than 8400 HP available and has more wind drag and weight than a typical Amtrak Michigan set (or even an Amtrak Michigan set with a P42 on both ends instead of the more typical P42 and NPCU).

I'm also not sure if we're correctly accounting for the power that HEP takes away from the traction motors in single locomotive trains.

Come again? NJT currently has 125mp trains? That is certainly news to me. Where?

Sorry, I was failing to notice the difference between the theoretical 125 MPH that the ALP-46A will supposedly be capable of in the future, vs the 90 MPH it is apparently currently restricted to.

We could still look at the total horsepower of two 4200 HP diesels minus HEP vs an AEM-7 which probably have similar total traction power available, and note that an Amtrak Michigan set will probably be significantly shorter (and thus presumably have less wind drag) than the typical Northeast Regional. Additionally, I believe that if you replace two Amfleet coaches with a single locomotive, the weight of the train does not change substantially, and so a Michigan set with two locomotives would probably be significantly lighter than a Northeast Regional set with one, assuming that the Northeast Regional has several more coaches than the Michigan set.

Am I correct in thinking that an AEM7 running at 125 MPH cannot be applying more than about 3500 HP to each truck? If there were some requirement to apply 3500 HP to each powered truck in order to reach 125 MPH, wouldn't it be possible to make one truck on each diesel be unpowered, and feed 4200 HP to the other truck? All those unpowered trucks on the coaches on the Northeast Regional don't seem to prevent 125 MPH operation...

(However, I'm pretty sure in practice that powering all the trucks on both locomotives will work even better for preventing wheels from slipping.)

 

[jis]

Sorry, I was failing to notice the difference between the theoretical 125 MPH that the ALP-46A will supposedly be capable of in the future, vs the 90 MPH it is apparently currently restricted to.

What is restricted to 90mph? The ALP46As have not been certified yet, so they are not allowed to run in anything other than test runs. ALP46s are cleared for 100mph. The ALP46As will be certified for 125mph, and the MLVs will be re-certified for 125mph. Right now they are certified for 100mph.

We could still look at the total horsepower of two 4200 HP diesels minus HEP vs an AEM-7 which probably have similar total traction power available, and note that an Amtrak Michigan set will probably be significantly shorter (and thus presumably have less wind drag) than the typical Northeast Regional. Additionally,

An AEM-7AC has about 6500+hp available for traction. In addition it being an electric unit it can produce perhaps 8000hp+ in short burst for quick acceleration. It is this property of electric engines that makes them capable for quick start and acceleration to high speeds quickly. A diesel engine is absolutely limited to the maximum hp that is delivered by the diesel prime mover.

So the fact that an engine is designed to operate at 100mph in a specific mode is not of any concern to you whatsoever? Interesting.

The other factor is that employing two of those extremely expensive engines on a 5 car train would seem to be a phenomenal waste of resources for nothing. Of course just because Amtrak or NJT can **** away money on bizarre schemes like the NJT ACES thing, does not mean that they should be encouraged to do so.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Am I the only person alive who still thinks the AEM-7s are amazing little appliances?

 

[DET63]

Am I the only person alive who still thinks the AEM-7s are amazing little appliances?

Yep. Put a couple of slices of bread in one of those toasters and a couple of minutes later, voilà!