Currently, the railway connection is quite developed. In order to move massive cars, traction rolling stocks are used. To date, these structures include locomotives, as well as motor carriages.
Locomotive Overview
The locomotive is a self-propelled power tool. It belongs to the traction rolling stock, which is designed to move along the railways of railways.
Today there are two main types of locomotive - it is thermal or electric. Naturally, the difference between them lies in the power source, thanks to which they are able to move.
In turn, thermal traction rolling stocks are also divided into several types. These include diesel locomotives, steam locomotives, motor locomotives. They are all united by the fact that they are equipped as a source of energy for movement by an internal combustion engine, namely a diesel engine. Actually, that's why they belong to autonomous traction rolling stocks.
Types of thermal locomotives
You can start considering traction trains with a heat engine from a steam locomotive. A steam boiler is used here as an energy generating unit. Both liquid and solid materials can be used as fuel.
Coal is usually used from solid raw materials, fuel oil or oil is used from liquid. During the combustion of any of these materials, the water in the steam boiler is converted to steam. Then it is fed into a special machine, in which the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy is carried out. There is one significant drawback in the operation of traction rolling stock of this type - a very low efficiency. Its efficiency is only 5-7%.
The device of the locomotive, for example, is much simpler. This traction train uses a diesel engine as a power unit. By means of hydraulic, mechanical or electric transmission, the movement of the wheelsets of the vehicle is communicated. A similar device has a gas turbine. Only instead of a diesel engine does it have a gas installation, which also, through a certain transmission, signals the movement to the wheelset.
Types of traction rolling stock with a heat source of energy include another locomotive in their category - a motovoz. Its main difference is that it has significantly less power than other varieties. As a power plant, an internal combustion engine is located here. It can be either a carburetor or a diesel type.
Electrical options
With the classification of traction rolling stock with electrical energy sources, everything is much simpler. These include only electric locomotives. Here it is immediately worth noting that such a locomotive does not have an installed power unit. Its power is supplied through the contact network. Energy is supplied to it through stationary suppliers, that is, from power plants. On board the locomotive there is only a traction electric motor, which, in fact, converts the received electrical energy into mechanical energy.
Due to such a device of traction rolling stock, it does not belong to autonomous types of locomotive.
Efficiency of compositions and classification by occupation
Efficiency is the most important characteristic of traction trains. The reliability of the traction rolling stock is quite high regardless of its efficiency, but the parameter is too important to ignore.
This coefficient characterizes the degree of use of the energy source to obtain useful work. This value will be the higher, the better the primary power plant. If we talk, for example, about electric locomotives, then their efficiency is in the range of 25-32%. Modern types of autonomous locomotives, as well as a group of motor-car diesel trains, reach 29-31%.
Further, it is important to note that such traction trains are divided into several classes, depending on the type of work. In other words, there are locomotives used to move passenger cars, freight and shunting. Among all, the carriage composition stands out quite strongly. He is able not only to move wagons attached to him, but also to carry passengers himself.
Differences between freight and passenger trains
For freight trains, the most important characteristic is a large traction force, which will allow moving cars with a huge mass. For passenger locomotives, it is necessary to develop greater speed in order to ensure the fast transportation of people from one end of the road to the other. To date, the modernization of traction rolling stock has allowed the creation of a passenger-and-freight locomotive. It has the required characteristics for both compositions, that is, its traction force, as well as the developed speed are at a high level.
Designation of traction trains
Rolling stocks both on Russian railways and on foreign ones have a special marking: series. This category is assigned to him at the factory. As for the Russian marking system, it is alphanumeric.
For example, old-style electric locomotives are marked VL, which means Vladimir Lenin. The numbers usually carry information about the technical characteristics. Next is a dash, and after it indicates the number of the locomotive in this issued series. For example, marking the composition of VL80k-0145.
In this case, it is an eight-axle electric locomotive operating on alternating current. It has a silicon rectifier, as evidenced by the letter "k". In this series of locomotives, its serial number is 145. As for trains that are assembled at foreign enterprises, but for Russian railways, they also have an alphanumeric designation.
For example, the Czechoslovak manufacturer was engaged in the production of passenger electric rolling stock. ChS2 is a designation of a six-axle electric locomotive with one section, working on direct current. ChS7 is already an eight-axle and two-section locomotive, also operated on direct current. ChS4 and ChS8 are electric locomotives operating on alternating current and at the same time they are six-axis and eight-axis, respectively.
General design of the locomotive
Since all thermal rolling stocks are autonomous, it is worth considering them in more detail.
Diesel locomotives can be single, double and multi-section. The main single-section type of railway transport is characterized by the presence of two driver's cabs. Two-section also have two cabins, but at the same time one in each of the sections. As for the device of a multi-section locomotive, the driver’s compartment is absent in its intermediate sections. Management of the composition is carried out directly from the head cabin.
The device of the main parts of the locomotive
This locomotive has several main components of which it consists. This includes the prime mover, gear, bodywork, crew part, control equipment and accessories.
For thermal locomotives, the prime mover is diesel. In order to make the locomotive wheel pairs move, a special transmission of forces from the engine is required. As for the type of power unit, it is usually two-pin uncompressed internal combustion engines. As for the power of the power plant, it is completely proportional to the amount of fuel that is burned. But it’s worth considering that the more raw materials go, the more air is required.
Transmission can be mechanical, electrical, hydraulic. It is with its help that the effective engine power is transmitted to the wheelsets.
As for the crew part, it consists of a trolley frame and wheel sets with axle boxes, as well as spring suspension. As a control unit, a special controller is used, located in the driver's cab on the remote control.