Some Info Wanted

K

kws4000

Local Knucklehead
So I've been thinking, which I don't do very often....

A) How big were the PRR S2 6200 turbines? Reverse was 1500HP, foward was 6900HP. Dimensions, RPM, steam consumption?

B) How big would a boiler have to be to supply said turbines if the conventional American Long Boiler design was abandoned in favor of the chunky-er boilers of Garrett locos? Dimensions, weight, fuel consumption, etc?

C) What are the dimensions for the alternator as equipped for an AC6000CW or SD90MAC-H? What about rearrangable ancilary equipment?

Final question not related to the above (well, maybe): What air compressor works faster: Twin Westinghouse 9.5" Cross-compounds OR the standard super-compressor on today's main-line diesels?
 
First off, in terms of machinery dimensions, air compressor efficiency and steam consumptions, you may be better off excercising your Google finger in the direction of the various manufacturers you so learnedly cite in your post.
Machinery comparisons are the domain of the locomotive designers, and geralizations are moot, given the space/weight/fuel efficency limitations they work with.
As a final note; air compressors are rated by their output in cfm @ a given pressure. How fast or slow they are in performing their design requirements is a fuction of how they were implemented in the comprehensive plant design.
Regards
 
id give anything for the beast s2 too be made in trainz, literally anything, i bought the Lionel model not to long ago, and it sits on my shelf because my layout is to big to have in my current living arrangement. i love that loco
 
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The various turbo trains, pretty as they were, gas or steam, were a notorious failure in the railroad industry. And that was for one reason and one reason only.........................fuel efficiency!
Like it not, Rudolph Diesel's wonderful contraption, which he conconcocted sometime in the 1890's, I believe, is still our most efficient engine of mass transport to this day. (Captain Kirk and Scotty's Warp Drive excepted, of couse!)
No, I don't want to hear about your plug in car!
 
If you Google the PRR S2 locomotive you will be presented with photos which show the steam turbines mounted over the center drivers. The turbines drive a reduction gear set to power the drivers. These turbines had to be of a highly efficient rotor/blade design to fit the loco frame. As a comparison, the first Victory ships built for WW2 service were powered by a 6000 hp turbine. The S2 Westinghouse turbines could produce 6900 hp, as you state. I could find no info on dimensions. The boiler was rated at 310 psi operating pressure.
The advantage of the Garrett design loco, over the standard American design, was articulation and compound cylinders. The implications appears to be more power on a smaller frame. If you study the railroads where these locos were operated, you will find their common application was to mountinous regions with tight curves. Boiler design is based on a few basic physical considerations, primarily fire tube area and heat transfer rate. I don't think one design had any advantage over the other.
An examination of photos of locomotive engines with their alternators mounted would reveal that their general size is approximately 1 meter by 1 meter by 1 meter. Solid state electronics and modern materials technology has gone far to reduce the bulk and weight of these units.
Regards
 
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