http://www.emdiesels.com/en/locomotive/international/index.htm Highlights: Euro 4000 - A new 4000hp loco design to be built in Spain by Vossloh, basically a twin-cab, integral carbody SD70 series (16-710 engine) machine. Options for HEP and AC traction amongst others. Can't wait to see if they can fit this lot in a UK loading gauge shell! JT42CWRM (class 66) - The 3000hp 12-710 based loco now complies with next level of emissions rulings and has a few tweaks to the design, warranting an M on the end of the designation! It will be interesting to see how many of these get ordered, with the UK already having nearly 400 already, will operators hold off repeat orders to buy some Euro 4000's instead? JT56ACe is perhaps the most interesting - EMD are building 300 of these 6000hp machines for Chinese railways, to being assembled locally. Plus there are details of recent export SD70M (narrow gauge!) and SD70ACe orders (for Brazil and Australia respectively).
Martyn, that's an impressive catalog of power. The JT56ACe should be a real railfan heart-stopper when it's operating, especially if three or four are MU'd. What is a "UK loading gauge shell"?
Check out: http://www.btinternet.com/~joyce.whitchurch/gauges/text.htm 'Loading gauge' is a term used for the space needed to run a train through - the UK has a much smaller space than most of mainland Europe, which is again smaller than the US railroads use. The JT42CWR's are sized to fit UK W6 loading gauge, which makes them practically 'go anywhere' loco's for the whole of Europe including the UK. Note that most of the 'higher' UK loading gauges are to do with putting square things (containers) in round holes (tunnels and bridges)! Caveat - Network Rail in the UK has been doing lots of work on structure gauging, if they have not already done so I wouldn't be surprised to see a whole new set of 'standard' specs released for UK infrastructure.
Nice demonstration - compare the JT42CWR to W6 - the reason for the oddly angled roofline becomes apparent!
Only in the UK would you find a web page with the word 'eclectica' on it. Great sites, Martyn. The Chinese unit maintains the same design as the late DF classes, notably the DF11.
Don't know much about Chinese stuff guys, but like Hank says, looks like it will be a very cool bit of kit!
6,000 hp????? They couldn't make that work in the states - neither GE nor EMD. Notice how glib they were about the power unit? No model designation, just a vague reference. Which made me wonder, are these horses SAE, DIN... or Chinese?
Probably Chinese definition. I seem to remember that Mongolian horses are considerably smaller than Clydesdales or Percherons....
The US RR's didn't find a practical use for it, it wasn't that it didn't work esp with their horsepower per ton ratings eg if a train required 12,000hp and they put 2 AC6000's on it and one failed then you've lost half your horsepower . BHPBilliton Iron Ore operations in the Pilbara region of Australia employ a fleet of GE AC6000CW's still rated at 6000hp and 8 of them were used to haul the worlds heaviest train (6 to start off with but they stopped on a grade and had to add another 2 to get it moving, from memory I think the train weighed about 60,000t)
Reverse engineering, William. The Chinese are masters at it. Get hold of a 6000 HP power unit, pull it apart, copy it, build a new one with some tweaks and it works! Better than the original too... for a while... And you can pick them up at the local market in any colour you desire with or without branding. It doesn't get any better.
I think that the Euro 4000 is a very boring design. It is a typical European engine. I had hoped for a more American design. But if they succeed in building a strong and inexpensive engine, they have good chances in selling this engine. Just like the Class 66.
I think my biggest question with that (other than can they fit it to a UK version!) would be why do we have to wait till 2007 for them to make a loco that uses existing, well proven traction packages?
Toll Rail in New Zealand have indicated that they will be placing orders for 25 new AC traction locomotives early next year. Seems that it's down to the GE Blue Tiger or a Chinese design that uses Siemens electricals. No Electro-motive. I don't no much about the Chinese offer but the Blue Tiger would be a "dog-bone" arrangement with a cab at each end and hood type construction. Photos of the metre-gauge Blue Tigers in Malaysia indicate a massive loco of interesting design (ie a whole lot different from what is running here at the moment). Can't say I am sorry that EMD are out of the picture since their new owners are mostly the same bunch that ran the railways here into the ground, were accused of insider trading etc. [ December 09, 2005, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: Mark4 ]
