A gas-turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive powered by a gas-turbine engine, using either hydraulic, mechanical or electrical transmission. The term has also been applied to a small number of hybrid designs in which diesel engine exhaust gases drive a gas turbine which is coupled to the driving wheels.
The first locomotive to employ a gas turbine engine was completed in Switzerland in 1941 by Brown, Boveri & Cie who had already built the world’s first industrial gas turbine in 1939. By 1947, twelve gas-turbine engined locomotives were being designed in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
During the mid 20th century, gas turbine engines were seen as a viable alternative to diesel engines, whose reciprocating design limited power-to-weight ratios. Gas turbine engines generate power using high-speed rotating machinery instead of reciprocating pistons, resulting in a lighter and more compact power plant. Ultimately high fuel consumption prevented widespread adoption with diesel and electric locomotives proving more practical and economical.
Hybrid designs using diesel engines Historically the term "gas turbine locomotive" has been applied to a small number of hybrid designs in which a diesel-engine's exhaust gases are used to drive a gas turbine which is mechanically coupled to the driving wheels.
Sweden The Swedish firm Götaverken had started investigating gas generator concepts, where a reciprocating engine’s exhaust would drive a gas turbine, as early as 1923. The fundamental principles and pioneering patents were developed by Erik Johansson, who led gas-generator development at the company until 1959. The first experimental unit was built in 1926, followed by installations in three ships.
In 1933 an existing locomotive was rebuilt at the Götaverken works with a crank-piston gas generator. The gas generator consisted of a four-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine directly coupled to a two-cylinder reciprocating air compressor. There was a single crankshaft connected to both upper and lower pistons. The exhaust from the diesel engine powered the gas turbine, which drove the wheels through reversible reduction gearing. The locomotive was in use till 1937 after which it was scrapped with its gas generator being reused to power a tugboat.
After the World War II, the Swedish State Railways sought a diesel locomotive for lightly trafficked routes where electrification was uneconomic. Existing designs were too heavy for these secondary lines, so Götaverken developed a new gas-generator engine for a locomotive built by Motala Verkstad. Designated T1, it combined a two-stroke opposed-piston diesel engine with reciprocating compressors and a gas turbine driven by engine exhaust gasses. The locomotive was ordered in 1950, and following shop and field trials it entered regular service in 1955.
France
In 1952, Renault built a Class 040-GA-1 turbine locomotive using a Pescara free-piston engine as a gas generator. It was followed by two further locomotives, Class 060-GA-1 of in 1959–61.
The Pescara gas generator in 040-GA-1 consisted of a horizontal, single cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine with opposed pistons. It had no crankshaft and the pistons were returned after each power stroke by compression and expansion of air in a separate cylinder. The exhaust from the diesel engine powered the gas-turbine, which drove the wheels through a two-speed gearbox and propeller shafts.
Soviet Union A free piston gas-turbine–hydraulic freight locomotive designated as type GT101 was developed and produced in 1960 by the Luhansk Locomotive Works. It was intended to consist of two sections of a C-C wheel arrangement, but only one section was built. This section was equipped with four free piston gas generators and gas turbine with a maximum power output of , and a hydraulic transmission. The locomotive did not enter revenue service.
Examples Examples of hybrid diesel engined gas-turbine–mechanical locomotives:
1933 Götaverken, 1-B-1, Sweden, 1952 Renault, France, B-B, 1954 Götaverken, Sweden, 1-C-1, 1960 Luhansk Locomotive Works, GT101,
Gas-turbine–electric
A gas-turbine–electric locomotive (GTEL) is a locomotive that uses a gas turbine engine to drive an electric generator or alternator, producing an electric current which is used to power traction motors. This type of locomotive was first introduced in Switzerland during the 1940s and by 1947, twelve gas-turbine electric locomotives were being designed in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Few locomotives use this system today.
A GTEL uses a turbo–electric drivetrain in which a turboshaft engine drives the electric generator or alternator via a system of gears. The electric current is distributed to power the traction motors that drive the locomotive. In overall terms the system is very similar to a conventional diesel–electric, with the large diesel engine replaced with a smaller gas turbine of similar power.
Union Pacific operated the largest fleet of such locomotives of any railroad in the world, and was the only railroad to use them for hauling freight. Most other GTELs have been built for small passenger trains, and only a few have seen any real success in that role. With a rise in fuel costs (eventually leading to the 1973 oil crisis), gas-turbine locomotives became uneconomical to operate, and many were taken out of service. Union Pacific's locomotives also required more maintenance than originally anticipated, due to fouling of the turbine blades by the Bunker C oil used as fuel.
Switzerland
The first gas turbine locomotive to employ the Brayton cycle used in modern gas turbines and jet engines was completed in Switzerland in 1941 by Brown, Boveri & Cie who had already built the world’s first industrial gas turbine in 1939. The locomotive was built for the Swiss Federal Railways and was intended to serve non electrified branch lines where there were weight restrictions. The locomotive employed an axial-flow compressor and turbine mounted on a single shaft, driving the wheels through an electric transmission.
United Kingdom
Two gas-turbine locomotives of different design, 18000 and 18100, were ordered by the Great Western Railway (GWR) but completed for the newly nationalised British Railways.
British Rail 18000 was built by Brown Boveri and delivered in 1949. It was a 1840 kW (2470 hp) GTEL, ordered by the GWR and used for express passenger services.
British Rail 18100 was built by Metropolitan-Vickers and delivered in 1951. It had an aircraft-type gas turbine of . Its maximum speed was .
A third locomotive, the GT3, was constructed in 1961. Although built by English Electric, who had pioneered electric transmission with LMS 10000 locomotives, this used a turbine–mechanical transmission.
The British Rail APT-E, the prototype of the Advanced Passenger Train, was turbine-powered. Like the French TGV, later models used an alternative electric powertrain. This choice was made because British Leyland, the turbine supplier, ceased production of the model used in the APT-E, having lost interest in gas-turbine technology following the 1970s oil crisis.
United States
ALCO-GE built a prototype oil-fired gas-turbine–electric locomotive in 1948, with a B-B-B-B wheel arrangement. After demonstration runs it was acquired by Union Pacific, who were seeking a more powerful alternative to diesel for transcontinental trains."Gas Turbine Locomotive" Popular Mechanics, July 1949, cutaway drawing of development by GE for Union Pacific.
UP ran a fleet of 55 turbine-powered freight locomotives starting in the early 1950s, all produced by Alco-GE. The first- and second-generation versions shared the same wheel arrangement as the prototype; the third-generation version were C-C types. All were widely used on long-haul routes, and were cost-effective despite their poor fuel economy, due to their use of "leftover" fuels from the petroleum industry. At their height the railroad estimated that they powered about 10% of Union Pacific's freight trains, a much wider use than any other example of this class. As other uses were found for these heavier petroleum byproducts, notably for plastics, the cost of the Bunker C fuel increased until the units became too expensive to operate and they were retired from service by 1969.
In April 1950, Baldwin and Westinghouse completed an experimental turbine locomotive, #4000, known as the Blue Goose, also using the B-B-B-B wheel arrangement. The locomotive used two turbine engines, was equipped for passenger train heating with a steam generator that utilized the waste exhaust heat of the right hand turbine, and was geared for . While it was demonstrated successfully in both freight and passenger service on the PRR, MKT, and CNW, no production orders followed, and it was scrapped in 1953.
In the 1960s United Aircraft built the TurboTrain passenger train, which was tested by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later used by Amtrak and Via Rail. The Via remained in service into the 1980s and had an excellent maintenance record during this period, but was eventually replaced by the LRC in 1982. Amtrak purchased two different types of turbine-powered trainsets, which were both called Turboliners. The sets of the first type were similar in appearance to SNCF's T 2000 Turbotrain, though compliance with FRA safety regulations made them heavier and slower than the French trains. None of the first-type Turboliners remain in service. Amtrak also added a number of similarly named Rohr Turboliners (or RTL) to its roster. There were plans to rebuild these as RTL IIIs, but this program was cancelled. The units owned by New York State were sold for scrap and the three remaining RTL trainsets are stored at North Brunswick, New Jersey and New Haven, Connecticut.
In 1966, the Long Island Rail Road tested an experimental gas-turbine railcar (numbered GT-1), powered by two Garrett turbine engines. This car was based on a Budd Pioneer III design, with transmissions similar to Budd's 1950s-era RDCs. The car was later modified (as GT-2) to add the ability to run on electric third rail as well.
In 1977, the LIRR tested eight more gas-turbine–electric/electric dual-mode railcars, in an experiment sponsored by the USDOT. Four of these cars had GE-designed powertrains, while the other four had powertrains designed by Garrett (four more cars had been ordered with GM/Allison powertrains, but were canceled). These cars were similar to LIRR's M1 EMU cars in appearance, with the addition of step wells for loading from low level platforms. The cars suffered from poor fuel economy and mechanical problems, and were withdrawn from service after a short period of time. The four GE-powered cars were converted to M1 EMUs and the Garrett cars were scrapped.
In 1997 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) solicited proposals to develop high speed locomotives for routes outside the Northeast Corridor where electrification was not economical. Bombardier Ltd, at the Plattsburg, N.Y. plant where the Acela was produced, developed a prototype (JetTrain) which combined a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 gas turbine and a diesel engine with a single gearbox powering four traction motors identical to those in Acela. The diesel provided head end power and low speed traction, with the turbine not being started until after leaving stations. The prototype was completed in June 2000, and safety testing was done at the FRA's Pueblo, CO test track beginning in the summer of 2001. A maximum speed of was reached. The prototype was then taken on a tour of potential sites for high speed service, but no service has yet begun.
Russia