Locomotive Tractive Effort Tests on Norfolk Southern Railway

Details

• Corporate Creators:
  Norfolk Southern Railway Company
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Load tests
  • Tractive forces
  • Rolling stock
  • Diesel electric locomotives
  • Performance measurement
  • Locomotives
• Resource Type:
  Research Paper
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Norfolk Southern Railway Company
• Abstract:
  This paper describes locomotive tractive effort testing on Norfolk Southern Railway. The purpose was to measure maximum locomotive performance under real-world conditions on wet and dry rail. A variety of DC and AC locomotives were tested, ranging from low power switchers and gensets to high power road units. Typically, two locomotives were used as head-end power, followed by Research Car NS 32 for data collection purposes, and then a number of loaded hoppers that were individually weighed on certified scales. Testing was conducted near Roanoke, VA; the 2.75 mile test segment ascended a 1.38% average grade with a series of four, six and eight degree curves. Loaded hoppers were either added to or cut off the rear as needed to achieve a 10 mph (approx. 16 kph) average speed up the mountain.
• Content Notes:
  International Heavy Haul (IHHA) specialist technical sessions 2011: Railroading in Extreme Conditions, 19-22 June 2011, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/79576/dot_79576_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 405.14 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3928bf18acff83aee2b48578913036fafb7ba4b6ec8f5e2d6d202e697307235c65e3862909414e7a2c53f39e1c378d99eb69f43f5688cad042d3fe8bcd07f60f