Re: mini/microturbines in the railway?

I applaud your search efforts.

Still, for 10 years I was the Systems Engineering Manager at General
Railway Signal Company, so I have some familiarity with mainline rail
and rapid transit. (This was before I moved to Raytheon to work on
military weapon systems.)

I can share with you as a fact that on railroads, fuel cost and
maintenance requirements have traditionally been the major drivers re
selection of traction methodology.

Electric is preferred, but few tracks are in electrified territories.
The next best are the large diesel-electrics. With them, the larger
the diesel engine drive system is, the better the fuel efficiency and
the lower the maintenance cost.

I really can't imagine the use of miniturbines and hydrogen fuel on
railroads. It would fail on either of the above described tests today,
or until the physics/economics of the application change, anywhere in
the near future.

I believe that there are two simple concepts that you need to know.

The first of these is that elemental hydrogen does no exist in usefuly
quantities here on earth. I has to be manufactured using conventional
fuels as the source of energy to produce at at a great costs and losses
in overall energy efficiency.

Second, the complexity of the mechanism that drives the train drives
the cost of maintenance as well as places a limit onthe reliability of
the system. More parts and complexity, more failures!

So far as I am aware, the last turbine that has ever driven a train was
the Pennsylvania's 671 locomotive back around 1950. IIRC, only two of
these were ever built, and both were retired from service prior to
1980. Of course, both of these were steam turbines.

On the other hand, fuel powered turbines power every jet aircraft, and
many Navy ship, still I wouldn't consider the LM2500 to be a
mini-turbine. Then none of these are hydrogen fueled!

Sheesh! Harry C.

.

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