Re: 82's Leading Patricks West- Question on 82 cl gear ratios & what

["Rod" <berlina@bigpond.com>]

Maurie Daly wrote in message ...
>>>>SRA 90s pulls approx 1200 litres / hour in 8th notch compared with the
>>>GE7FDL-16 engine in the NR which uses only 860 litres / hour in 8th
notch.
>>>Things are better now with the removal of the fuel excise.
>>Dear Maurie,
>>                        The figures you quote seem extremely weighted
>>towards the NRs, and if it were true no railway would go near an EMD
engine.
>
>> BUT, from what I could get off the US internet, the fuel consumption
rates
>>are as such:
>>(NB: these are in US gallons)(SD70 nearly the same as a 90 class, and a
>>Dash9-40 nearly the same as an NR)
>
>>SD70  = 3.0 gallons/hour at idle,  191 gallons/hour at full load.
>
>>Dash 9-40C = 3.6 gallons/hour at idle, 2.5 at low idle and 190
gallons/hour
>>at full load.
>
>>Dash9-44CW = 3.6 gallons/hour at idle, 2.5 at low idle, and 210
gallons/hour
>>at full load.
>
>>The source given to me was Norfolk Southern form1014"Condensed List and
>>Description of Locomotives", page 131.
>
>>So it would appear that the fuel consumption rates are nearly the same.
>
>>So maybe the NRC should have looked to Clyde for a better locomotive.
>>I am also not a NR advocate or fan ,and beleive that they were the wrong
loco
>for NRC to buy in that they bought too many and didnt need 4000 HP locos.
>Fuel consumption isnt everything when buying a new loco,there are many
other
>considerations,like price , cost of spare parts,maintenance costs,similar
>other locos in the fleet etc.
>NR claimed at the time of purchase that the NRs were the most fuel
efficient
>loco offered,and presumably went to some effort to find out.
>The Qs didnt exist when NRC was created and when the NRs were ordered so
>maybe in hindsight they would have been a better loco,we will never know.
>What was available at the time was the AN class which one would have
thought
>would be a good candidate ,having the big D87BTR motors and the 710G series
>engine,but obviously not.
>
>MD

I too think theses fuel figures are heavily weighted to push somebody's
special
"cart".
But you should also remember National Rail was started on a Shoe String and
their was nearly no middle management!
The Policy was an upside down triangle with Vince Graham on the point.
Locomotive Crews and Terminal People were far in the majority, and heads
like ex-V/Line  Cab Committee Co-Ordinator Neville Mann, and Union President
Frank Hussey would have had an indecent amount of influence.
Their was very much a risk that "Big Gun" US business [lack of] morality
would have found some very easy marks here to throw there money at.
My only 'axe to grind' is that they are so bloody ugly! apart from that they
seem to sound pretty good, and they are feel powerful, even if they are not.
Rod