Why Are Trains Diesel-Electric? Look Inside the Hood

Why are trains diesel electric? A 200-ton freight locomotive's 4,400 hp diesel never touches the wheels. It makes 🎙️ The voice you hear is ElevenLabs, the AI voice studio. Try it: https://try.elevenlabs.io/z0h5vahjtfx1 (affiliate link: we earn a commission if you sign up) electricity, and six electric motors push, the way an electric car drives its wheels. We follow one train from the yard, over the hill and down: why railroads chose wires and motors over a clutch or a fluid gearbox, how the alternator, rectifier, inverters and traction motors work, how a few locomotives start a mile-long train and why a gallon moves a ton nearly 500 miles, why the roof fans roar going downhill, and the battery locomotive that cut a whole train's fuel by more than 11%. 0:00 Why a diesel locomotive is really electric 1:31 Why locomotives don't use a gearbox 3:38 How a diesel-electric locomotive works 5:14 How a locomotive starts a heavy train 6:52 What dynamic braking does 8:12 Battery locomotives and the future of freight Sources: https://www.wabteccorp.com/locomotive... https://www.wabteccorp.com/locomotive... https://www.infineuminsight.com/media... https://www.progressrail.com/en/segme... https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Ca... https://downloads.regulations.gov/EPA... https://fobnr.org/wp-content/uploads/... https://www.energy.gov/documents/fcto... https://www.qca.org.au/wp-content/upl... https://patents.google.com/patent/US7... https://www.aar.org/faqs/ https://www.aar.org/wp-content/upload... https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/17... https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/... https://www.aar.org/issue/freight-tra... https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-19-443... https://www.progressiverailroading.co... https://www.aar.org/issue/freight-tra... https://www.aar.org/freight-rail-fact... https://ir.wabteccorp.com/news-releas... https://www.wabteccorp.com/locomotive... https://railroads.fra.dot.gov/sites/f... https://www.everycrsreport.com/report... https://www.cfd.group/documents/devel... https://patents.google.com/patent/EP1... https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/... https://www.paxmanhistory.org.uk/hi-d... https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engin... https://www.npshistory.com/publicatio... https://www.up.com/about-us/history/s... https://www.ncry.org/about/collection... https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/sw/o... https://www.voith.com/corp-en/drives-... https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-... https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/... https://www.borail.org/collection/cnj... https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/75... https://www.republiclocomotive.com/lo... https://www.wabteccorp.com/media/3641... https://patents.google.com/patent/US2... https://www.responsibilityreports.co.... https://www.aar.org/issue/freight-rai... Footage credits: see the pinned comment. Photos are cropped and animated; some have printed markings retouched. Music: "Crinoline Dreams" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Narrated with a synthetic voice over credited footage and 3D animation; researched from cited sources and approved by a person.