Turbojet train

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ER22 turbojet train

A turbojet train is a train powered by turbojet engines. Like a jet aircraft, but unlike a gas turbine locomotive, the train is propelled by the jet thrust of the engines, rather than by its wheels. Only a handful of jet-powered trains have been built, for experimental research in high-speed rail.

Steam and diesel engines, due to their weight, are usually designed into a dedicated locomotive car; because turbojet engines, similarly to gas turbine engines, are lighter, they have been built with the engine incorporated into a railcar combining both propulsion and passenger accommodation rather than as separate locomotives hauling passenger coaches.

Turbojet engines are most efficient at high speeds[note 1] and so they have been applied to high-speed passenger services, rather than freight.

M-497

Main article: M-497 Black Beetle

The first attempt to use turbojet engines on a railroad was made by the New York Central Railroad in 1966. Their railcar M-497 was able to reach speeds up to 184 miles per hour (296 km/h).[1][2]

SVL

Monument at the rail-car factory in Tver depicting a Turbojet train

Another turbojet railcar, SVL (High-speed Laboratory Railcar), was built in the USSR in 1970.[3] The SVL was able to reach a speed of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph).[4] This locomotive was built on a basis of the main engine railcar of ER22 electric multiple unit. It had a mass of 54.4 tonnes (including 7.4 tonnes of fuel) and was 28 metres (92 ft) long. The power car was planned to be used as a part of "Russian troika" express.[4]

See also

A German propeller-driven railcar of 1929
A contemporary French hovercraft train, also powered by a jet engine

Notes

  1. ↑ Their efficiency increases as vehicle speed increases to the speed of the exhaust jet, although this is considerable more than railway speeds.

References

  1. ↑ "It's a Jet! It's a Train! It's M-497". Dark Roasted Blend: Weird and Wonderful Things. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2008-03-21. 
  2. ↑ Wojdyla, Ben (2008-02-21). "Retro: New York Central's M-497 Jet Powered Train". Jalopnik.com. Retrieved 2008-03-21. 
  3. ↑ "Турбореактивный вагон СВЛ (Turbojet engine SVL)" (in Russian). Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Flying on rails". Pravda. 1972-03-17. 

External links

High speed trains in Russia
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Turbojet powered
Electric powered
Experimental and prototype high-speed trains
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  • See also: Category:Experimental and prototype high-speed trains
  • High-speed rail
  • List of high speed trains


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