Atomic Systems

I was wondering if anyone knew roughly how many miles to a gallon a train gets. Doesnt matter if its a DMU or loco and only an approximate average. I dont want to go causing arguments.

i think it says something about how much fuel an engine uses at full pelt in a trains ENG file, but nothing about miles to the gallon, i will of course stand corrected

i wouldnt want to know, Lets just say that a 108 has 11 litre engines, so its probably rather low

Reckon I heard once on TV that a 47 used one gallon per mile but I've no idea if it's true or under what conditions.

And that's correct John most of the Sulzers were around that figure....R

Everyones favourite, the Napier Deltic can clock up a gallon a mile for each of its two engines, when doing a 'Meatloaf' "Going like a Bat out of Hell"
Bob

johndibben wrote:Reckon I heard once on TV that a 47 used one gallon per mile but I've no idea if it's true or under what conditions.

I heard its something like 1GPM in the summer, and 2 GPM in the winter, due to the fuel thickener added or something
{The thickener crops up in the Ladbrook Grove enquiry, they reckon that made the fire worse}
Best person to ask would be Dale Stewart - Basildd - He owns 2 locos and he used to be NSE power controller, so i expect he knows loco ranges, fuel capacities etc etc

delticbob wrote:Everyones favourite, the Napier Deltic can clock up a gallon a mile for each of its two engines, when doing a 'Meatloaf' "Going like a Bat out of Hell"
Bob

Would that also involve doing a Meatloaf and having an irregular heatbeat?

I remember reading that a 158 used 7miles to the gallon; better than a bus.

I think the small print qualified this by saying that a train did not power all the time but freewheeled when going downhill or slowing.

I read somewhere some time ago that a 153 will do over 20 mpg when crusing ie no stops. I know there . inside but that is good going! Also said article recond that a class60 with a 2000 tonne train did 4 mpg at a constant speed.Compare that to a 38tonne lorry which can manage about 15mpg tops!
JIM

So that would still make railways more efficient than the roads?

My car does 50mpg .... mind you, that's oil

jimmyladd wrote:I read somewhere some time ago that a 153 will do over 20 mpg when crusing ie no stops. I know there . inside but that is good going! Also said article recond that a class60 with a 2000 tonne train did 4 mpg at a constant speed.Compare that to a 38tonne lorry which can manage about 15mpg tops!
JIM

Trust me, a truck running at 38 tons will not be doing anything like 15 mpg.
Try an average of more like 6 or 7mpg.
(A 7.5 tonner might get in the teens.)

My car does 25 mpg, and that is Petrol !

Its when you work out gallons per mile per passenger that the efficiency really shows. Divide by 4 for your car, and by 400 for a full train

And you don't get punctures