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The first comprehensive case study of railroad electrification in the United States, this pioneering book highlights a subject of current government and industry studies and a target of billions of dollars of Amtrak rehabilitation funds. Both energy conservation and environmental quality remain at stake together with transportation efficiency. Electric traction on the Pennsylvania Railroad was a technological success handicapped by an economic factor: the onetime relatively low cost of petroleum, which gave diesel locomotives and highway vehicles a temporary advantage. Today the growing cost advantage of electricity--generated with coal; atomic energy; water, wind, and solar power--prefigures a revival of electric railroad traction. Drawing upon previously untapped records of the PRR and its suppliers, notably General Electric, the author traces stages in cooperative risk management. First came challenges of limited scope which steam locomotives were unable to meet: the New York City tunnel extension of 1910 and the Philadelphia suburban modernization begun in 1913. Next came a decade of mainline electrification, 1928-38: first New York to Washington and then passenger and freight extensions to Harrisburg. These projects were preceded by large-scale research and experimentation, followed by constant improvement in equipment and operations. Electric traction is depicted as a program involving not only the railroad but also its consultants, equipment and energy suppliers, and (to a lesser degree) governmental bodies. Locomotive and power transmission design is described in detail--with copious illustrations--as are the creative achievements of managers, engineers, and workers. And the presentation will be clear to readers without specialized technical or business backgrounds.
The most comprehensive history of North American railroad electrification, William D. Middleton's When the Steam Railroads Electrified has been out of print for many years. Now, Indiana University Press is proud to announce the return of this much sought after volume in a new, updated second edition, with a new final chapter, appendixes, bibliography, index, and nearly 800 illustrations.For most of the first half of the twentieth century the United States led the world in railroad electrification. Before the outbreak of World War II, it had some 2400 route-miles and more than 6300 track-miles operating under electric power, far more than any other country and more than 20 percent of the world total.In almost every instance, electrification was a huge success. Running times were reduced. Tonnage capacities were increased. Fuel and maintenance costs were lowered, and the service lives of electric locomotives promised to be twice as long as those of steam locomotives. In many cases, the savings resulting from electric operation were sufficient to repay the cost of electrification in as little as five years.Yet despite its many triumphs, electrification of U.S. railroads failed to achieve the wide application that once was so confidently predicted. By the 1970s, it was the Soviet Union, with almost 22,000 electrified route-miles, that led the way, and the U.S. had declined to 17th place behind such countries as Czechoslovakia, Austria, Norway, and Brazil. For a while, the prospects for electric operation for U.S. railroads brightened during the energy crisis of the 1970s, and as power companies began to consider the major market represented by railroads, and then faded away again.Today, electric operation of U.S. railroads is back in the limelight. The federally funded Northeast Corridor Improvement Program has provided an expanded Northeast Corridor electrification, with high-speed trains that are giving the fastest rail passenger service ever seen in North America, while still other high-speed corridors are planned for other parts of the country. And with U.S. rail freight tonnage at its highest levels in history, the ability of electric locomotives to expand capacity promises to bring renewed consideration of freight railroad electrification.Middleton begins his ambitious chronicle of the ups and downs of railway electrification with the history of its early days, and brings it right up to the present - which is surely not the end of this complex and mercurial story.
Art Peterson is back with more color images from his Krambles-Peterson Archive. This book focuses on freight railroading and features scenes of switching and trains in industrial areas in the Transition and Classic eras. Large photos and in depth captions go beyond just telling what's in the photo - they put the images in context with the greater railroad scene as well as what was going on in the larger society.
The Solutionary Rail vision draws unlikely allies together. It provides common cause to workers, farmers, tribes, urban and rural communities via the tracks and corridors that connect them. Part action plan and part manifesto, this book launches a new people-powered campaign to transform the way we use trains and the corridors they travel through.
Allows the reader to deepen their understanding of various technologies for both fixed power supply installations of railway systems and for railway rolling stock This book explores the electric railway systems that play a crucial role in the mitigation of congestion and pollution caused by road traffic. It is divided into two parts: the first covering fixed power supply systems, and the second concerning the systems for railway rolling stock. In particular, after a historical introduction to the framework of technological solutions in current use, the authors investigate electrification systems for the power supply of rail vehicles, trams, and subways. Electrical Railway Transportation Systems explores the direct current systems used throughout the world for urban and suburban transport, which are also used in various countries for regional transport. It provides a study of alternating current systems, whether for power supply frequency or for special railway frequency, that are used around the world for the electrification of railway lines, long-distance lines, and high-speed lines. In addition, this resource: Analyzes multiple railway systems from a theoretical and realizable vantage point, with particular regard to functionality, electromagnetic compatibility, and interferences with other electrical systems Studies electric traction railway vehicles, presenting various types of drives and auxiliary devices currently in circulation Discusses solutions employed to ensure interoperability of vehicles that run along lines powered by different systems (e.g., DC and AC, at different frequencies) Electrical Railway Transportation Systems is an ideal text for graduate students studying the subject as well as for industry professionals working in the field.