Properly set up, they will all be about the same.   It  takes ex amount of
horsepower to move a given weight at a given  speed.    It will take roughly the
same amount of fuel if there  are more locos used.    The locos have to work
less hard for a  given load if there are more of them so they burn less fuel
each.   By adding another locomotive you are adding another 180 tons  to the
train weight but you can go up steeper grades.   The locos are  coupled
electrically to share the load and depending just how well they are  coupled the
efficiency can vary.    Sometimes the locos are  deadheading in a train.     An
empty coal train going  west from the Great Lakes to the Powder River Basin may
only have 1 loco doing  the lions share.   On the way back, loaded, it will
probably take all  the locos working hard on the up grades.

CSX dont tell you that a loco just idling, going nowhere at all, might burn
200 gallons of diesel in a day.    Thank fully the modern locos  burn much
less.

In a message dated 3/13/2008 12:04:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
groundhogging@mac.com writes:

So if  you have a multiple engined train- say with 300 cars, is the
individual fuel  consumption of the engines higher or lower?

On Mar 12, 2008, at 11:50 PM, Steve Cotsford wrote:

That ad is misleading.   Diesel locomotives burn lots  of  fuel.   Its just
that they can pull lots of tons too.
The rolling resistance of a train can be as low as  10 lbs per ton, about
1/5th of a road going truck.
A loaded freight car weighs about 130 tons and a  train can be 100 cars
long.
    That adds up to 13000 tons.    CSX says it can  carry  1 ton 432 miles on
1
gallon of diesel fuel.   If that train goes  432 miles, it uses 13000
gallons.

Steve

In a message dated 3/12/2008 11:14:41 P.M. Eastern  Daylight Time,
_inua@CHARTER.NET_ (mailto:inua@CHARTER.NET)  writes:

Duh! Am   I dumb - I didn't get it.
CSX Railroad has an advertisement going right  now  touting 432 mile  per
gallons. It the autmobile  being carried 432  miles that makes the  mileage.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

John   Rodgers wrote:

Here's a question  ............. what current  multiwheel (greater than
two) vehuckes gets 432 miles to the  gallon???

Yes - it's for real!

John   Rodgers

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