Unlike car and truck engines, most locomotives in the U.S. are cooled with water that contains anti-corrosion inhibitors, but does not contain antifreeze compounds.
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Rather, the term is more specific: A freight train can move one ton of weight about 450 miles on a single gallon of gas. To match this mileage, a one-ton car would have to get 450 mpg, and a two-ton vehicle would have to get 225 mpg. To car owners, this seems unbelievable. How can railroads do it?
Chemical holding tanks (retention tanks) are usually included on newer carriages and railcars in wealthier and more densely populated parts of the world. One issue is that the tanks need to be regularly emptied, often at a terminal station or prolonged stop-over.
This can cause up to 30-minute delays. If temperatures climb above 100 degrees, MAX trains cannot go faster than 35 mph. Delays of up to 15 minutes should be expected.
The main reason is because buses and trains are enclosed spaces, so the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system has to be kept on to ensure proper air circulation for everyone on board.
Engines may be left idling to maintain important safety related functions such as maintaining engine temperature, air pressure for the brake system, the integrity of the starting systems, the electrical system and providing heating or cooling to a train's crew and/or passengers.
Engines may be left idling to maintain important safety related functions such as maintaining engine temperature, air pressure for the brake system, the integrity of the starting systems, the electrical system and providing heating or cooling to a train's crew and/or passengers.
Train engines generate thousands of horsepower and take an hour or more to warm up before they can start pulling rail cars. This is one reason there is reluctance to turn them off. Also, particularly relevant for a locomotive attached to a train, the brakes on the cars in the train do not work without power.
When it rains, the tracks become slippery and the train must slow down in order to accommodate for the extra time the train will need to brake. The lack of friction that water causes will cause the conductor to slow the train so that braking won't take so long.
Loading of coal and water and incidental maintenance takes a steam locomotive about 1 hour. A diesel engine can be fueled from a pump in 10 minutes or so.