gregc
Apprentice Modeler
i had read that the average friction of a rail car is about 7 lbs / ton. this would be the force an engine needs to produce just to keep a train in motion on flat ground.
using a little trigonometry, i was curious about what grade would be equal to this friction force and found it to be 0.35%. this would mean the load on the engine is double. at 0.7 it's 3x, 1.05 4x, and so on ...
i was surprised to see that a 1% grade quadruples the hauling load on an engine, and can now appreciate why a 1% grade is so significant.
do these number sound correct?
using a little trigonometry, i was curious about what grade would be equal to this friction force and found it to be 0.35%. this would mean the load on the engine is double. at 0.7 it's 3x, 1.05 4x, and so on ...
i was surprised to see that a 1% grade quadruples the hauling load on an engine, and can now appreciate why a 1% grade is so significant.
do these number sound correct?