-=> Quoting Alec Cameron to Raymond Bethell <=-
 AC> Hi Raymond
 AC> On (05 May 97) Raymond Bethell wrote to All...
 RB> Rail Fans" out there.It is impossible to even contemplate linking
 RB> (Yecch)diesels or electrics with true rail power,nothing beats the sheer
 RB> power
 RB> of a" STEAM LOCO" as it pulls anything upto aproox 100Tonnes of 
eight.I
 AC> Steam locos are great. A pity they are so feeble. Diesel locos pass
 AC> thru my village frequently, hauling up to 4000 tons.
 AC> The first electric loco made in NSW [1952] was rated 3780 HP. More
 AC> powerful than EVERY steam loco in Australia at that time. And charging
 AC> downhill, it ran as a generator, supplying other trains off the same
 AC> trolley wire thus saving big money on brake shoes wear. Try that with
 AC> your steam kettles!
 AC> Cheers.....ALEC
I can't let this one go by!!
The pulling power of a locomotive is a function of the weight of the 
locomotive
drivers on the rails (assuming the gearing is not arranged for ultimate 
peed)
Of course a mainline locomotive of 1952 is going to pull more than a steam
locomotive thirty or more years older, just as a car of today will outperform
its equivalent of 1967.
The horsepower rating is more indicative of the maximum speed that the
locomotive can maintain with its rated load than the size of the load itself.
Mixing of steam, diesel and electric power was often done in many countries,
although rarely all three at once! You forgot turbine power by the way!
The British tended to keep steam from electrified lines because of the low
mounted overhead wires and the perceived danger of flash-over.
Steam locos could often start heavier trains than diesels or electrics
(comparing equivalent total weight on drive wheels) because diesels and
electrics are limited in the amount of current they can pass through their
axle motors from starting. A small steam shunter might start twice the weight
that an equivalent diesel electric shunter could.
Ok, I vote for steam :-)
Greg.Procter.
  
... Catch the Blue Wave!
--- FMail 1.02
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