5.

Trains Dynamics
Train Resistance - The resistance offered by a train to move from stop is called
Starting Train Resistance. The resistance offered by it to keep it moving at a
specified speed is known as Rolling Train Resistance. In other words force
needed to start a train from stationary position is starting resistance and force
needed to keep a train moving at certain speed is rolling resistance.

The draw bar pull exerted by locomotive has to be more than the train resistance
to keep a reserve force needed for acceleration. Mathematically starting
resistance can be expressed by formula. Rs = RVS + RG +RC + RA

Rs = Total train resistance at start

RVs = Vehicle starting resistance -- Depends on bearing design.

RG = Grade resistance if any

RC = Curve resistance if any (On curves, the friction between rail &
wheel increases and hence extra force is necessary).

RA. = Acceleration reserve to be divided depending upon acceleration

need of the train.

Rolling Resistance : The resistance during movement is called rolling

resistance. It depends on speed and car body design but does not depend on
bearing design. Mathematically it can be expressed as -

RR = RVR + RG + RC + RA

Where RR = Total rolling resistance RG, RC, R A are same as starting

resistance.

RVR = Train rolling resistance on level straight track.

RVR = A + BV + CV2

Where A, B & C are constants depending on vehicle design, car body

designs. ‘A’ Depends on mechanical friction in bearing. ‘B’ Factors
include flange friction, swaying and oscillation characteristics of vehicle.
‘C’ Air resistance depends on body design. Aerodynamic design vehicles
have less friction than box type vehicles. The values of A, B, & C are
different for different vehicles.
Tractive Effort

The force at rail wheel contact exerted by a locomotive is called Tractive Effort.
The tractive efforts at the start get limited by load on driving wheels and limiting
frictional co-efficient between rail and wheel. (adhesion) even though the
locomotive may be capable of producing much more tractive effort at low speed
because of its horse power. On run, however, it depends on speed, loco horse
power and wheel diameter.

Adhesion - It depends on rail wheel friction. Adhesive percentage is defined as

ratio expressed in percentage of tractive effort at wheel slip and vertical load on
driving wheels.

Factors effecting adhesion : - Condition of rail and wheel contact surface

e.g. wet, dry. oily, slippery, etc. - Type of track and sleeper density - Rate of
increase in torque applied to wheel.

Wheel Slip : If torque applied to wheel exceeds the adhesive torque, wheel slip
takes place. This reduces the friction between rail and wheel and further wheel
slip takes place. Wheel slip reduce the tractive effort and hence haulage capacity
and damages rail and wheel. Wheel slip should ,therefore, be avoided.

Method to improve adhesion : - Clean rails regularly - Use sand while

starting - Immediately cut off power if wheels slip.

Equilibrium Speed/Balancing Speed

The train will go on accelerating till tractive efforts of power is more than rolling
resistance. Once TE & TR( train resistance) become equal, the speed cannot be
further increased. This speed is called equilibrium or balancing speed. The loco
cannot continuously work on full power and hence potential TE should be
substantially higher than TR for better train operation. This also helps in attaining
maximum speed quickly. The balancing speed of a WDM2 loco with a load of
4700 ton on level gradient is 59 km/h. So it is desirable to use 2 WDM2 locos in
MU for operating such a train.

Determination Of Train Load

The trailing load that can be attached to a locomotive depends upon.

Ability of locomotive to start the load on steepest gradient on the section.

Attain maximum permissible speed on most of the route
Maintain minimum desired speed on steepest gradient.
Acceleration level desired.
 6. TRACTION MODE AND THEIR COMPARISONS
Indian Railways use three traction modes-viz. Steam, Diesel & Electric. However
most of steam locomotives have been phased out.

Important desired Locomotive characteristics.

Load- speed relationship

Maintenance requirement – frequency of maintenance should be less.

Riding quality - Disturbances to track should be bare minimum.

Reliability- susceptibility to develop defects on run should be low.

Maintenance time as ratio of running time should be less.

Both side operation - Amenability to both front and back operation .

Pollution- impact on environment should be minimum.

Foreign dependence- in regard to technology, availability of spares should be
minimum.

Multiple operation -Amenability for multiple operation.

Steam : The steam loco consists of three systems:-

Boiler to burn the coal and produce heat energy and to use this energy to
heat up- water and produce steam at high temperature and pressure.
Engine to use steam at high pressure and temperature to produce
mechanical energy and transmit it to the wheels to produce torque to pull
the train.
Tender to store water and coal.

The steam engine is very simple in design, easy to maintain and highly reliable
equipment. This however, has following drawbacks

Needs good quality of coal ( high calorific value and low ash contents), a
scarce commodity in India
Low load hauling capacity
High pollution
Fire hazard
Needs frequent stoppages for watering/ filling up coal.
 Low Utilization (Kms/day)

Diesel Locomotive - This loco also consists of three major systems

Diesel Engine - to convert chemical energy of diesel oil into mechanical

energy
Transmission - to transmit the energy produced by diesel engine to
obtain rotation of the wheels
Control - to control production of energy/ transmission affection.

Electric Locomotive - This also has three main system.

Pantograph to collect electric energy from overhead wire.

Transformer/ Rectifiers to step down the voltage and convert into DC.
Control Circuit to control power into loco wheels.

Comparison of Steam, Diesel & Electric loco

Criteria Steam Diesel Electric

Load/ Speed Low Load High Load (Very High Load (Very
high with MU) high with MU)

Low Speed High Speed High Speed

Need for High - Every Low - Every 3000 Very Low

stoppages for 150 Kms kms
loco requirement.

Riding Quality Rough Smooth Smooth

Reliability High High High

Multiple No Yes Yes

Maintenance High Low Low

time

Forward/Reverse Only forward. Both movement Both

Pollution High Low Negligible

Foreign Nil Regular Minimum

Dependence ( for HSD oil )
Operational High High Restricted (OHE
flexibility needed)

Running cost High Low. Low

Capital cost Low High Higher

7. Diesel Locomotive

Design Features

A steam locomotive engine is directly coupled to the wheels. This is so because

steam engine is capable of producing adequate torque at starting and at very low
speeds.

The diesel engine, however , cannot produce high power at start or at very low
engine speeds. It is, therefore, necessary that engine is decoupled from wheel
while starting and till it attains a minimum working speed. This is achieved by
clutch and gear box in automobiles. The clutch gearbox combination is termed
as transmission. Transmission is necessary for all IC engines.
In automobile engine, the clutch provides to decouple the engine from wheel, and
gearbox helps to increase/ decrease mechanical torque as per requirement of
speed/torque. The horse power of automobile engines are low and hence
mechanical clutch with mechanical gear box are quite suited for transmission.

The engine power is very high for rail locomotive engine. Mechanical
transmission is, therefore, not suitable as it becomes very bulky and difficulty to
operate. The transmission of diesel locomotives is therefore either hydraulic or
electrical.

In hydraulic transmission, hydraulic coupling with reversing gear box is used.

Hydraulic torque converter acts as clutch and gearbox combined into one with
infinite gear ratios. The output torque can be varied from infinitely from zero to
more than engine torque. One side of torque converter (impeller end) is
connected to engine and continuously rotates while other side (turbine end) is
connected to wheel by suitable gear train. The hydraulic transmission attains
peak efficiency at a specific speed, and falls steeply on either side of it. By multi-
staging the converter, high efficiency can be maintained in the entire working
range.

On most of our mainline diesel locos, IR have gone in for electric

transmission. In this type of transmission, the engine is permanently
coupled to a DC Generator. The output of the generator is fed to traction
motors through a control circuit which varies the torque- speed
relationship. The traction motors are directly mounted on the axles and
drive the axles through gears.

Various types of Transmissions

TRANSMISSION 43

MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION
Limitation – HP transfer up to 170

Diesel Gear
Engine Clutch Wheel
Box

HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSION
Limitation – HP transfer is unto 1400
Diesel
Engine Pump Turbine Wheel

ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION Oil

DC GENERATOR Traction Motors

Diesel Or 1. DC
Engine AC Alternator 2. AC
Some of the major components are :

Engine or power pack to produce power for transmission.

Governor to regulate fuel input according to Generator demand and to
maintain constant engine RPM at each notch.
Throttle - to vary engine RPM and power out put
Traction Generator - to convert mech. energy into electric energy.
Expressor - to produce compressed air for locomotive braking and to
operate various contractors in the control circuit, and vacuum for the train
brake system.
Radiator Fan - to cool engine cooling water
Traction Motor - to convert electric energy to mechanical energy (for
driving the wheels)
Turbo Super Charger - to compress air before input into engine for
combustion

DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE-LAYOUT
Long Hood Cabin Short
Hood

Bogie Main Reservoir Fuel Tank

LOCATION OF ASSEMBLIES
Radiator Fan Turbo Supercharger Engine Traction
Generator/Alternator

Expressor/Compressor Aux. Generator Control

Stand

Centre Pivot Bogie Frame Side Bearer Traction

Motor

Roller Bearing Box Equalising Beam Helical Springs

Some of the Safety Components are:

Over Speed trip mechanism – it trips the power if engine RPM exceeds the
predetermined limit.

Wheel slip relay – it reduces the power to traction motor if wheel slip takes
place.

Hot engine alarm – it gives alarm if cooling water temperature exceeds the
predetermined limit and cuts off the power if engine remains hot for a specific
time.

Sand gear – to sprinkle sand on the rail to improve adhesion.

Classification and Codification of diesel locos.

Diesel loco are classified on wheel arrangement by 2-4 letter codes.

B Bi- axle bogie with mechanical coupled axles

C Tri- axle bogie with mechanical coupled axles

BO Bi-axle bogie with independently driven axles

CO Tri-axle bogie with independently driven axles

Diesel locos are coded to indicate gauge, traction mode, end use and model
number. This is four letter code.

1st letter : Gauge (W-BG,Y-MG,Z-NG(2’6’) and N-NG(2’)

2nd letter : Traction Mode (D-Dsl, A-AC,C-DC)

3rd letter : Service (P- Pass, G- Goods, S-Shunting, M-Mixed )

4th letter : Suffix number; Design/ Model no.

e.g. WDM2 – A broad Gauge Diesel Locomotive suitable for mixed services i.e.,
both passenger & goods train operation.

Classification, code & wheel arrangement of IR diesel locos are shown in

table below :

Locomotive Classification Horse Transmission

Code Power
WDM 2 CO- CO 2636 Electric
WDM3A CO- CO 3100 Electric
WDG3A CO - CO 3100 Electric
WDP3A CO - CO 3100 Electric
WDP1 BO-BO 2300 Electric
WDG4 CO-CO 4012/4500 Electric
WDP4 A-A-1, 1-A-A 4012 Electric
WDP4D CO-CO 4500 Electric
WDG4D CO-CO 4500 Electric
WDG5 CO-CO 5500 Electric
WDS 4 O-C-O 600 Hydro-mech (Suri)
WDS 4A or B O-C-O 660/700 Hydraulic/Hydro-mech
WDS 5 CO - CO 1065 Electric

WDS 6 CO - CO 1400 Electric

YDM 4 CO CO 1400 Electric
ZDM 5 B1 - B1 490 Hydraulic

Cost of Diesel Locos

WDG3A – ` 9 crores , WDG4 – ` 12.5 crores ,WDM2 - Rs. 4.5 crores

(Indicative Price)

Codal life of Diesel Locos : 36 Years ( with a Re-powerpacking after 18 years,

Viz. Mid-life rehabilitation/ Rebuilding done at DMW/Patiala)

8. Operation & Maintenance Of Diesel Loco

Haulage capacity of a WDM2 Locomotive

Starting Tractive Effort = 30.4 tonnes

Continuous Rated Tractive Effort = 24.6 tonnes

It can haul a train of 4700 tonnes on level track with a balancing speed of 59
kmph.

Fuel & Lubricating Oil Consumption Targets- The bulk of main line
B.G. diesel Locos on Indian Railways are WDM2 Locos. The fuel consumption of
a WDM2 loco under idle conditions is 20-25 lit/ hrs, but at 8th notch fuel
consumption is about 450 litres / hr. But specific fuel consumption on IR is
generally measured in terms of litres/ 1000 Gross Ton Km which depends upon
load, average speed, grade & curvature of section etc.
The target for level section is 2.5 lit/ 1000 GTKM for goods operation & 4 lit/ 1000
GTKM passenger for Passenger operation.

Lubricating oil consumption is generally measured in terms of percentage of fuel

oil consumption and its target is less than 1.5% of Diesel Oil.

Diesel Loco Maintenance

When steam locomotives were introduced, India was lagging in engineering

industries and hence the concept of having Railway Workshops was created.
The stress was on repair of sub-assemblies rather than replacement and
discarding of old components. This concept has undergone a revision for diesel
loco maintenance. Most of the items are purchased from trade and the worn-out
parts are replaced rather than repaired. This has emerged due to the nature of
parts, viz. rubber fittings, gaskets ,filters, electrical contactors, precision
machined valves, etc. Even for major assemblies, the concept is to change the
complete assembly in shed rather than repair in position. The assembly is then
sent to the particular section for overhauling and testing. For this purpose, a pool
of important sub- assemblies (unit exchange spares) is kept in each diesel
shed/shops for this purpose.

Diesel locos are allotted a specific homing shed, which is responsible to maintain
it properly. Suitable preventive maintenance schedules, specifying part to be
checked , repaired and replaced are specified to ensure trouble free service on
line.

Various locomotive maintenance schedules, the periodicity and time required for
undertaking them is given below :

Schedule Periodicity Place

Trip 20/30/40 days* Any shed

M4 4 months Home Shed

M8 8 months Home Shed

M12 12 Months Home Shed

M24 24 months Home shed

M48 48 months Home Shed

POH 8 years Workshop

Rebuilding 18 years DMW

* As per RB letter 2003/ M(L)/466 dated 27.6.08,Loco with pure air brake,
microprocessor control system and roller suspension bearing. Loco should be
kept under monitoring. Also as per RDSO letter no.SD.WDM.2.9 dated
24/27.05.13

After 18 years, locomotive is sent to DMW/ Patiala for rebuilding/

remanufacturing.

Diesel shed records- Important records maintained by diesel sheds are:

Daily position sheet - gives details of loco outage, dead locos on lines, locos
undergoing schedules, locos expected to go out and come into shed

Repeated Booking Register

Wheel profile register

History of Repairs carried out - Locowise

Load test results.

Diesel oil Consumption /Specific fuel consumption Register

Lub oil consumption Register.

Availability

A Rolling stock is said to be ‘ineffective’ if it is not available for the whole day i.e.
from O hrs to 24 hrs. The present target for ineffectiveness of WDM2 locos is
10% (earlier it was 12.5%). However, its outage (availability for train operations)
is also watched on 4- hourly basis for which a further allowance of 10% is given
for running repairs. So, the sheds are required to maintain on 4- hourly basis an
outage of 81% of Diesel Locos for Train operations. However for Passenger
Locos the outage is to be maintained as per Locos Links.

Target Outage calculation

Total holding of diesel shed ------ = X

10% allowance for heavy repair----10% of X = 0.1X

Available for traffic= X-0.1X = 0.9X

Passenger link say =Y

Available for freight operation = 0.9X-Y

Running repair 10% = 0.1(0.9X-Y)

Net target freight outage = (1-0.1)(0.9X-Y)

Multiple Unit Operation

The Diesel-electric locos are capable of being coupled together to work in

Multiple Unit Operation in which only Leading Loco is required to be manned ,
whereas all the trailing locos are controlled by Leading Loco to run at the same
notch and produce power accordingly. In case of multiple loco operation trailing
locomotive can be notched up or down from the same controls available with the
driver of leading locomotive. Similarly Brake application on trailing locomotive will
be as per brake aspects on the leading locomotive.

GM/EMD Locomotives:

Indian Railways have purchased the following:

1. 13 assembled WDG 4 locomotives

2. 9 partly knocked down WDG 4 locomotives.
3. 10 assembled WDP 4 locomotives.
4. Technology for manufacturing of these locomotives at DLW/Varanasi
from M/s General Motors, USA.

DLW has started manufacturing this loco,

Features of GM/EMD Locomotives:

1. 4000 HP locomotive equipped with 16-710 G 3B engine.

2. 540KN starting Tractive Effort.
3. 270 KN Braking Effort.
4. 4% improvement in fuel efficiency.
5. AC-AC technology.
6. Micro processor based traction control.
7. Electronic brake system.
8. High adhesion and high speed bogie.
9. 90 days trip schedule.
10. Bogie overhauling after 1.6 Million kms.

COMPUTERS
GM locomotive is provided with 3 computers:

1. Main computer named as EM 2000 which –

a. Does total control over diesel engine performance including safety
aspects.
b. Does trouble shooting and self diagnosis.
c. Alpha numeric display.
d. Archive memory and data logging.
2. Siemens computers which controls converters.
3. Knorr computer.

Comparative Performance of WDM2 and WDG4 (GM) is as under:

S.No. Indices WDM2 WDG4 (GM) %

Gain
1 Weight of train that can be hauled 4500 9400 109
on level track (Tons)
2 Weight of train that can be hauled 3085 5455 77
on 1:200 gradient
3 Balancing speed with 4700 ton 59 85 44
 trailing load
4 Availability (Locos on line/locos 81% >90% 12
owned)
5 Trip Schedule 20 to 30 90 days
days
6 Shop attention 8 years 16 years 167
7 Reliabilility (Track KMs) 1 lacs 4 lacs 300
8 Lube Oil consumption (% of Fuel 1.5 0.5 66
oil consumption)
9 SFC (gms/ bhp/hr) 164.24 151 9
10 HP Output 2600 4000 54
11 Starting adhesion 27% 42% 55%
12 Starting Tractive effort 30.4 T 52T 74

TECHNOLOGY PROGRESSION:

Remote Monitoring and Management of Locomotives:

With the help of remote monitoring (ALCO) following are the advantages:

1. On line health monitoring and fault diagnostic of locomotives is

possible.
2. Conditional maintenance of locomotive can be done resulting in
increased periodicity of shed recall power.
3. Feasibility of advanced train control is possible.

Introduction of IGBT Traction Control Converter: EMD Locomotive

1. Traction Control Converter, the heart of AC-AC traction system, is

basically a computer controlled inverter. High voltage GTO is used in
existing TCC as main switching device. IGBT has been recently
introduced in these applications because of better efficiency,
characteristics and reliability.
2. Indian Railways Diesel Traction has timely adopted this new
technology and manufactured first locomotive equipped with IGBT
based converter in Nov ’06.
3. After successful field trials, IGBT has been introduced in series
locomotive production from Sept ’07 onwards.

4500 HP Power Upgradation:

1. 1st 4500 hp loco (12114) with EMD IBT was commissioned in field in
May ‘2007.
2. Two more locomotives equipped with IGBT were commissioned
subsequently.
3. Series production of 4500 hp EMD locomotives has started.
4. Existing fleet with GTO TCC is also being planned to be upgraded to
4500 hp.

Operational advantages:

Load Balancing speed (KMPH)

4000 HP 4500 HP
Freight operation 58 BOXN 85 92
Coaching 18 Non AC + 6 123 130

Improvements in EMD Passenger Locomotives:

Introduction of EMD IGBT has lead to new series of EMD passenger version
named WDP4B with 4500 HP and 6 TMs configuration.WDP4B will have maximum
speed potential of 130 kmph.
3.Hotel Load:

Hotel load module of 500 kVA capacity, 750 Volts, 3 phase for BOG rake is being
developed.

Benefits:

1. Significantly higher efficiency.

2. Reduced tare weight of train. Additional Passenger capacity will be
generated by replacement of power cars.

Two WDP4 locomotives with hotel load have been turned out in 2010
and trials are on.

Further improvements planned in EMD locomotives are as under:

1. Electronic Fuel Injection System

a. Fuel saving upto 2%
b. Engine emission Tier – 2 complaint.

2. Enabling Distributed Power Operation: Following are the advantages:

a. Long haul operation of freight trains.
b. Train set operation for passenger trains.
c. Support 200 Car trains or longer.
d. Allow increased average speed, reduced cycle times.
e. Reduce coupler forces.
f. Push pull train operation.
g. Reduce energy consumption, derailment risks, wheel wear.
h. Improve safety based upon reduced stopping distance.