What's the most realistic/reasonable source for an electric self propelled railcar conversion in rural New England? angielski

tychosmoose, 42 minuty temu

It’s unclear if you’re imagining that power is provided along the line or if these will need to be self-powered.

If you’re looking in New England specifically then the rolling stock of MTA Metro North or CT Rail might be of interest. Assuming the protagonists will have access to a power source. I think Hartford Line CT Rail uses both third rail and overhead power, so that might make for a point of discussion about them seeking out these specific units for their more flexible powering options and voltages.

JacobCoffinWrites, 28 minut temu

I’ll take a look at those! I was imagining overhead wires but perhaps only in/near towns as resources are constrained (with the self propelled railcar using batteries when disconnected) but they’re building towards a full line eventually. Not sure how realistic that is

litchralee, 50 minut temu

Do I understand the inquiry is for how to build a line-powered electric, single railcar by retrofitting? In terms of engineering complexity, starting with an EMU and cutting it down to a single railcar would work.

If not that, then a battery electric railcar would work as a base, since it would only need the line power equipment (eg pantograph, trolley pole) added, and disabling/removing the battery pack.

If not that, then a diesel railcar – or DMU and cut it down – and swap the diesel generator for line power equipment. The criteria is that for any self-propelled vehicle – rail or otherwise – having to reconstruct the propulsion mechanism is a big ask.

For that reason, the conversion of an unpowered railcar – like a passenger coach or a freight wagon – is way down the list, as any existing vehicle with propulsion makes for a better starting candidate.

So well before that, we would look to putting other land vehicles onto the rails. A motorcoach bus is a good candidate, but if hauling unpowered wagons is allowed again, a tractor-trailer cab (aka 18-wheeler) could be electrified and then tasked with pulling a consist of trailers converted with passenger seating.

I wish to reiterate that the effort to add a drivetrain to an unpowered vehicle is very high. Some vehicles might not even make this possible: imagine starting with a wellcar. There wouldn’t be any room to put the drive motors near the bogies, without cutting and modifying the frame. And then it would need an operator cab, overhead power equipment, all manner of electric wiring, and so on. And that would still only yield a freight self-propelled railcar. More work would be needed to bring this into passenger service, unless the passengers are fine riding on an open car.

JacobCoffinWrites, minutę temu

This is really good information, thank you for explaining where the complexity really starts! I especially appreciate the heirachy of practicality. This is exactly what I was asking. So far it seems like there is a much wider range of options than I expected so I’ll think on what best fits the setting.

Thanks again!

Tolookah, 57 minut temu

I would imagine the little maintenance cars would thrive in that environment. thevintagenews.com/…/speeder-motorized-vehicle-fo… I don’t know the world background, but if it’s rebuilding after some catastrophic event, the might be some car modifications to make them rail ready, stealing the wheels off of larger defunct trains.

HakFoo, godzinę temu

I could see repurpose from subway equipment, since it’s already powered and usually set up for short trains. America doesn’t have too many above-ground EMU (electric multiple-unit) models to work with; the 50-year-old Metroliner comes to mind, and some Pennsylvania Railroad predecessors.

The infamous British Rail Pacers were effectively bus bodies with flanged eheels, so that sort of retooling has precedent.

Are you thinking battery, third rail, or cantenary? The latter two are much more infrastructure heavy so you might not see them at the outer edges of a network.

Locomotive hauled trains might be another viable option, one small battery-powered engine (see Norfolk Southern 999) and one or two ancient coaches.

JacobCoffinWrites, 31 minut temu

Are you thinking battery, third rail, or cantenary? The latter two are much more infrastructure heavy so you might not see them at the outer edges of a network.

I was picturing a kind of jury-rigged ‘both’ where each town or village has set up cantenaries extending our as far as they can manage, and it uses its batteries between villages. I imagine it’d stop for a moment and raise or lower the pantographs, sort of similar to the silver line in Boston. I don’t know if that’s realistic but it felt like splitting the difference in an interesting way.

ShoeThrower, godzinę temu

“Old” diesel-electric converted to pure electric and powered via cable