Electro-diesel locomotive

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An Electro-diesel locomotive (commonly referred to as dual-mode locomotive) is a special type of locomotive that can be powered either from an external electricity supply (i.e. as with a straight-electric "juice jack") or from an onboard diesel prime-mover. For the most part, these locomotives are built to serve regional, niche markets with a very specific purpose.

1 United Kingdom
2 United States
3 Russia
4 France
5 External links

[edit] United Kingdom

Only two types were built; in both cases, their electricity source was a 750 V DC third rail.

British Rail Class 73, dating from 1962 – the more successful design, with some still in regular use
British Rail Class 74 – rebuilt from British Rail Class 71 electric locomotives in 1967 and withdrawn by 1977

[edit] United States

In the US, three dual-mode locomotive types have been built. These also operated off a 750 V DC third rail in electric-only mode. The primary function for these models is to provide a one-seat ride between diesel territory and the New York City terminals (Grand Central Terminal and New York Penn Station), which have ordinances prohibiting locomotives from emitting smoke within the tunnels.

EMD FL9 – primarily diesel-electric, third rail electric mode for short-term use only; nearly (2006) retired from passenger service
P32AC-DM – dual-mode version of the GE Genesis, electric mode only used for first 4 miles of travel.
EMD DM30AC – specific to the Long Island Rail Road

[edit] Russia

In Russia, a number of electro-diesels were built which featured both pantographs and diesel motors; these locomotives were actually multiple-units, with distinct electric, diesel, and motor sections. These included:

ED16 (ЭД16), ED18 (ЭД18), and TEU1 (ТЭУ1) narrow gauge models
OPE1 (ОПЭ1), OPE2 (ОПЭ2), NP1 (НП1), PE2(M) (РЭ2(М)), and EL20 standard-gauge locomotives used mostly in quarries

[edit] France

More recently, Bombardier has built dual-mode variants of its AGC series for the French operator SNCF; the electricity is collected by means of a pantograph in these units.

B 81500 – multiple unit trains using 1.5 kV DC catenary, in service since 2005
B 82500 – multiple unit trains using both 1.5 kV DC and 25 kV AC catenary, currently still being built