DIESEL-ELECTRIC RAILCARS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 124, 21 November 1925, Page 23

DIESEL-ELECTRIC RAILCARS

A step towards the desirable goal of engines for motor-cars which will use some fuel cheaper and leas inflammable than benzine has been taken by tho British firm of Beardmores, who have produced a highly efficient Diesel engine weighing for high powers only about 101b per horse power in the larger, sizes. Thus a 12-cylindered V-type engine weighs only. 12,8001b, and develops normally nearly 1300-h.p. These engines are being used at present to drive Diesel olectric rail ears, which have been tried with great success on the Canadian National railroad. Using Shell-mix Diesel oil, a 160-h.p. engine tested by Profes-

sor Mellanby, D.Sc., Royal" Technical College, Glasgow, showed the remarkably 'low consumption' of 4181b per B.H.P. hour, equal to most larje Diesel engines. These light Diesel engines are naturally quick running, the revolutions ].ier minute at' lull power being 750, or more, than, seven times as fast as the average ship's Diesel engines, and nearly as fast as the engine runs in a Ford car at full speed. To inject oil as fuel at this speed obviously requires the greatest skill. in design and workmanship. Air is . rot used, but the system known as solid • injection, . such as is employed on the Vickers and DoXfoi'd larje Diesel .engines. ■ To gain lightness steel construction has been adopted throughout,' including, j n steel monobloc crank case, the upper part of which" has been bored out-to receive the steel cylinder liners.. The pistons are of special aluminium alloy, j machined all over' and .balanced. The workmanship throughout., is described by "The 'Engineer" m the lastcst issue to hand, 2nd October, as exceptionally j flue, particularly in the injection pumps !or fuel' delivery to caili cylinder. At present the smallest sizo of engine is 100-h.p., 2-cylinder, BJ,in bore, 12in stroke, so that it is not quite suitable for car propulsion. It is, however, admirably adapted for high-speed marine work and rail cars, such as are at present used on the' New Zealand railways. ' . A Canadian - newspaper devotes considerable space to a description of .the rail cars tried out on' the National rail- | road. There are two types of car. One has v body 60ft long over all, set on two four-wheel bogie trucks (similar to the New Zealand railway coaches). The other consists of a double car—two sepi arate bodies joined by a. covered passage way (also similar to those on the New Zealand railways). This double' car is carried on three four-wheel bogie trucks. The smaller rail car carries 58 passengers . seated, and the larger articulated car 126, with provision for more in each cas£ in the luggage portion. The smaller car is driven by a four-cylinder 160-h.p. engine and dynamo, while the larger articulated car has an' engine twice the power, with dynamo and motors corresponding. The engines' are self-governed, and the cars can bo operated .from either end.. There are storage batteries, fed from the generator, ■ underneath the car to' provide energy for the' starting motor. ' ■' ■ The Canadian National railways, after exhaustive trials, reported most favour-_ abJv on these Diesel electric rail cars. On" a run from Montreal to Toronto, taking 8^- hours' running : time )v . the oil consumption all told averaged one gallon to 4.6 miles, or about. 10 per cent, of the cost of fuel for similar steam operation. With the exception of the .engine and generator, supplied by Messrs. Beardmore, all the work on the new cars was done in the workshops of the Canadian National railways.