Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.
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The two stroke marine diesel engine was introduced in 1922 and remains in use today. It is the most efficient prime mover, with models over 100,000 horsepower and a thermal efficiency of 50%.[1] The market share of steam ships peaked around 1925 (a few sailing ships remained) and by the early 1950s diesel ships held over 50% of the market.[2]
In rail transport, dieselisation refers to the replacement of the steam locomotive or electric locomotive with the diesel-electric locomotive (often referred to as a "diesel locomotive"), a process which began in the 1930s and is now substantially complete in the US, UK and Latin America. Elsewhere, electric traction has mostly taken the place of steam locomotives in the main lines and diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic locomotives are used in less frequently used side lines.
The replacement of either steam or diesel haulage with electric locomotives is known as electrification. Whereas the benefit of replacing steam traction is indisputable, there is some dispute as to whether it is best replaced by dieselisation or electrification. Electrification has a high initial capital cost but the operating costs are lower. The overall savings depend on the effect of the investment cost compared with the savings due to lower operational and maintenance costs and the influence of better acceleration and tractive effort on railroad throughput. These are obviously different for e.g. urban networks and very long-distance networks with low frequencies. However, many railway commentators are increasingly suggesting that the ability of railways to operate with electricity not produced from fossil fuels may offer a decisive advantage over diesel power. In some countries, such as Switzerland, Sweden and Japan, electrification ended the use of steam power.
Dieselisation took place largely because of the reduction in operating costs it allowed. Steam locomotives require large pools of labour to clean, load, maintain and run. They also require extensive service, coaling and watering facilities. Diesel locomotives require significantly less time and labour to operate and maintain.
Diesel engines have thermal efficiency above 40% compared to about 6% for single expansion steam. Diesel engines also have higher power-to-weight ratios.
Steam engines caused more hammer blow to the rails than diesel engines.
The small initial market for diesels was created by the New York's Kaufman Act of 1923, which prohibited operating steam locomotives in New York City and adjacent towns. Mainline passenger railroads had already been electrified, or their electrification had been planned regardless of Kaufman Act. Electrification of numerous freight yards was uneconomical, and railroads turned to diesels. The first ALCO boxcab was put in operation in 1925 by Central Railroad of New Jersey at its 138th Street[3] waterfront terminal in The Bronx.[4] The second was delivered in the same year to Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's yards on Manhattan. Both worked into the late 1950s and survive in museums to date.[5]
In North America, railroads looked to cut costs in the face of stiff competition from trucks, planes and automobiles. Railroads in America at this time also had an image problem, viewed as archaic, a fact that was re-enforced in the war when retired equipment was pressed into service. This left a lasting impression on millions of servicemen who were delayed for days in often obsolete, uncomfortable cars in obscure locations. Locomotive size also became an issue, as steam engines became so big in the 1940s that the cylinder and boiler dimensions were pushing the limits that the loading gauge would allow. Fireboxes became so big that firing a steam locomotive became an extremely difficult job without the aid of mechanical stokers.
Unlike steam locomotives, diesel locomotives are scalable, with the added benefit of multiple unit (MU) operation (additional locomotives coupled together under the control of a single crew). Use of MU allows longer trains, exploiting economies of scale. Diesels can also operate for greater periods of time before needing servicing, so small division points were closed as operating districts were lengthened.
Diesels slowly gained the advantage. Weighing against the cost of, and inertia against, replacing the large investment that railroads had in existing steam power was the dramatic increase in efficiency of the diesel: The diesel locomotive can be operated by a single person, with no need of a fireman to shovel coal. Also, diesels use much less fuel and no manpower when idling, something locomotives often do. Diesels can be parked running for days unattended, whereas steam engines must be constantly tended to if not completely shut down. Bringing a steam engine boiler up to operating temperature is often regarded as both an art and science, requiring much training and experience. A diesel starts and shuts down just like an automobile. Diesels pro-rate their fuel usage to the length of trains, which a steam engine cannot do. General Motors signed proprietary contracts with the major railroads, who were replacing their worn out wartime equipment, with diesels. With the GM contracts came articles that GM would supply training, facilities and maintenance, while the railroads would scrap their steam engines and remove them from competition. Due to the modern advantages of diesel locomotives, railroads in North America had retired 90% of their steam locomotives by the mid 1950s."[6][7][8] Also, major cities and their railyards became unhappy neighbors in post-war America. People were no longer content to endure the mammoth amounts of soot and smoke that coal burning steam engines produced. Early diesels, while dirty by today's standards, were a gigantic improvement in air pollution over steam.
Steam engines lasted well into the late 1950s on major American railroads, and in isolated cases into the middle 1960s on small common carrier roads, primarily for yard duties such as switching. The last steam locomotive fleet in everyday use (i.e. not a restored fleet) was retired in the late 1970s. Now they are only found in historical and sightseeing roles, where the steam engine is once again the star of the show. Retired steam engines, many of which were quite new when made obsolete, often did find a second life in developing nations due to their cheap labor for maintenance and crewing, ready supplies of coal, and lack of environmental concern.
With the exception of the United Kingdom, the trend in Europe was to replace steam traction in the main lines with electric traction. Diesels were used as an interim solution during electrification and as a permanent solution for side lines with less traffic and as switchers. Electrification is nowadays widespread in Europe. Even in sparsely populated large countries (Finland, Sweden) electrification has proven to be more economical than diesels.
In the United Kingdom the railway companies had been deploying diesel railcars and shunting locomotives for a while before the war, and the south east had an extensive electric network whose reach had grown throughout the century. Other less successful research went into more efficient and easily maintained steam locomotives. War efforts froze developments and progress restarted in 1947. Large scale change began in 1954 as post war financial squeezes ended.
This was solved after the adoption of an American marine diesel from the Liberty class freight ship, an unusual 10 cylinder 2000 hp design with opposed pistons. After a minor redesign in the USSR, the engine was essentially acceptable for rail use, and was employed in (circa 1950) the TE3 (ТЭ3 - "teplovoz electricheski 3" - diesel engine with electric transmission version 3) locomotive - 4000 hp in 2 sections.
Asian nations used steam until the 1970s when those nations modernised.
Steam still in use.
Narrow-gauge steam operations continue until today.
Broad (5 foot 6 inch) gauge - last new passenger steam 1967.
In terms of road transport, diesel gained popularity first with commercial hauliers, throughout the later 20th century, and then with passenger car users, particularly from the 1970s onwards, once diesel engines became more refined and also more readily available in passenger cars. Diesel had by this point long been a popular choice for taxi operators and agricultural users.
In Europe as a whole, Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz in particular developed reputations for high-quality passenger-car diesel engines, whilst VM Motori developed some significant motors for four-wheel drive vehicles.