GN class W1
| Great Northern Railway W-1 | |
|---|---|
| Numbering: | 5018 and 5019 |
| Number: | 2 |
| Manufacturer: | General Electric |
| Year of construction (s): | 1947 |
| Retirement: | 1956 |
| Axis formula : | (Bo'Do ') (Do'Bo') |
| Gauge : | Standard gauge (1435 mm) |
| Length over coupling: | 30,785 mm (101 ft ) |
| Height: | 4,724 mm (15 ft 6 in) to the top of the roof |
| Width: | 3,358 mm (11 ft 3/16 in) |
| Smallest bef. Radius: | alone 104 m otherwise 176 m |
| Service mass: | 327 t (720,000 lb ) |
| Friction mass: | 327 t (720,000 lb) |
| Top speed: | 105 km / h (65 mph ) |
| Continuous output : | 3,728 kW (5,000 PS ) |
| Starting tractive effort: | 529 kN (119,000 lb f ) |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1,067 mm (42 in ) |
| Power system : | 11 kV , 25 Hz |
| Power transmission: | Overhead line |
| Number of traction motors: | 12 GE746 with 313 kW (420 PS ) each |
| Translation levels: | 1: 4.1 |
| Brake: | Compressed air |
| Locomotive brake: | Compressed air brake, multi-release |
| Train heating: | no |
The class W-1 of the Great Northern Railway comprised two electric locomotives built by General Electric with the axle formula (Bo'Do ') (Do'Bo') . With 3.7 MW each , it was for a time the most powerful electric locomotives ever to be used in North America .
history
Increased traffic on the transcontinental route of the Great Northern Railway makes the purchase of additional locomotives for traffic on the 11 kV , 25 Hz -Einphasen AC voltage electrified 117 km long part of the network between Wenatchee and Skykomish in the State of Washington and the 12.5 km long Cascade Tunnel is required. The use of diesel locomotives was severely limited in this due to the inadequate ventilation.
The two vehicles , numbered 5018 and 5019, were built by General Electric at the Erie, Pennsylvania plant in 1947 . Because of their size, the machines were also known as the " Big Boys of North American electrification". In passenger transport, the locomotives reached a speed of 105 km / h. The locomotive was able to carry a 1,814 t freight train over the incline without additional push locomotives . During the descent, the braking power of the locomotive was sufficient to brake the train even without the train's air brake.
After an improved ventilation system was installed in the Cascade Tunnel in 1956, the Great Northern ended the electric train service on this section on July 31, 1956. Both locomotives were decommissioned. Locomotive 5019 was scrapped in 1959. Locomotive 5018 was sold to the Union Pacific Railroad , which used the chassis to mount their experimental pulverized coal turbine locomotive UP80 on it.
Constructive features
It was converters - locomotives , where the alternating current from the overhead line first at 1350 volts stepped down was, and two 25-hertz synchronous motors drive. This exaggerated turn two each DC generators to which GE 746- twelve low-noise DC - traction motors supplied. The traction motors were externally excited , which enabled braking energy to be fed back into the overhead line . Two excitation machines on each shaft of the synchronous motors served as the excitation system . The smaller main pathogens (Engl. Main exciter ) was self-excited there and delivered the exciting current for the synchronous motor , the direct current generators and a larger pathogens (Engl. Regenerative exciter ) of the excitation current for the traction motors supplied. The braking power including the regenerative brake was 5750 hp.
The frame of the locomotive was made of cast steel and was in two parts. In the middle of the locomotive, the two parts were connected. The streamlined structure was welded. The locomotives had two cabs. These were equipped like the diesel locomotives. The transformers, the main generator units, fans and control units were arranged in the middle of the vehicle. The air compressors and auxiliary generators were housed in the noses of the vehicles.
literature
- Newton K. Gregg: Train Shed Cyclopedia No. 66 . 1978, ISBN 0-912318-99-6 .
- William D. Middleton : When the steam railroads electrified . 2nd revised edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN 2001, ISBN 978-0-253-33979-9 (American English).
