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Hydrogen powered locomotive
Last week on public radio there was a program devoted to a hydrogen powered railroad locomotive that someone has built and is being tested. The details were skimpy at best as to whether is uses a turbine engine or another type. Only details I remember are that it is engine over electric compared to piston diesel over elecric and that whatever type engine is used is enough lighter than a conventional diesel that ballast had to be added to maintain traction. There was also some consern about a large volume of high pressure hydrogen getting loose in a derailment or crossing colision.
This seems like something that could work. A locomotive could have a large hydrogen fuel tank behind the locomaotive like an old steame engin had a coal tender behind.
Anyone else know anything about this?
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Hydrogen powered locomotive
Just Google this:
hydrogen + locomotives
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Hydrogen powered locomotive
Auer;
I did like you said. Hydrogen powered locomotives came up as a link to National Public Radio where I heard the report. Clicked on it and zero, zippo, nothing came up. Thanks anyhow.
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Hydrogen powered locomotive
IMO hydrogen is more like a battery than a fuel. Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe and about the most reactive. That means it is always bound up in some other form, like with O2 to make H2O. It takes quite a bit of energy to separate the hydrogen from the O2 but once it's separated it can be used to power something. Sort of like how a battery takes energy to charge up before it can power something. The power to separate hydrogen has to come from somewhere else, nuclear plants, coal, natural gas, etc. So it isn't really a big win environmentally and doesn't seem to do much to alleviate our dependence on oil.
The explosive nature of hydrogen is slightly overstated. Sure, it blows up, but so do tanks of gasoline. But it takes a higher quality tank to hold hydrogen.
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Hydrogen powered locomotive
A friend of mine is involved with a company that makes a neat add-on for diesel engines. It is basically a cell that uses electrolytic action to break distilled water back out into hydrogen and oxygen that is then fed into the intake to boost power, burn cleaner and get better mileage.
They are marketing it towards long haul trucking companies at the moment. The margins are slim in that field that nearly advantage is jumped at these days.
I suspect it will be a long time though before we see alternate fuels like that used as much other than a supplement like this, and not as the principle fuel source.
Best of luck.
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Hydrogen powered locomotive
Really? Google Canada came up with 667,000 hits (including the radio one on the first page) plus suggestions for six other searches.
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Hydrogen powered locomotive
Auer;
I tried again today and bingo tons of stuff.
Rather than all the hydrogen, coal, diesel, atomic, etc. maybe just build a big hill at each end of the track. Gravity gets it going on one end and gravity stops it on the other end. Probably too simple for our high tech world.
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