eli5 how a diesel train works
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The diesel engine is a very large and powerful motor that is used not to turn the wheels of the train, but to turn a large electric generator. It is actually electrical power driving electric motors that moves the train along the tracks.
Most modern trains are “diesel-electric” – they have a diesel generator that powers electric motors.
Trains use this because electric motors can apply massive torque at zero RPM – starting an enormously heavy train from a dead stop without the need for some complicated clutch system or torque converter.
The 24,000+ pound 2-stroke diesel engine is coupled to an electric generator that rotates about 900 rpm at full speed and powers the electric motors that power the wheels. The generators are MASSIVE because each of the traction motors that turn the drive axels can draw over 700 amperes of power. Each traction motor can weigh around 6,600 pounds by itself.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/diesel-locomotive.htm
It has at least one diesel engine.
The key feature that makes an engine a diesel engine is that when the fuel is in a piston, the piston essentially squeezes it hard enough that it explodes, rather than using another component such as a spark plug to combust the fuel.
Most trains right now are diesel-electric, where the mechanical output of the engine turns an electrical generator which powers motors attached to the propulsion system. There are also diesel-mechanical trains which use the mechanical output is connected directly to the propulsion system, but those are less common.
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