When I watch documentaries or old movies I always wonder how a single locomotive can drive a train that is often kilometers long. Is there some black magic going on ?
In: Engineering
In addition to some of what has been described here so far, one of the key features of modern locomotives is that the powerful diesel engines are often diesel-electric or diesel-hydraulic. That means the diesel engine isn’t turning a crankshaft that’s coupled to the wheels via shafts or gears. They use the diesel to generate electricity and have electric traction motors that turn the wheels, or use hydraulics (much like how an excavator or tank operates…combustion engine driving a hydraulic motor).
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