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The Development of Land Transport
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The Development of Land Transport
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The NOHAB Diesel Engine
In the 1950s steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives. One of the most iconic representatives of this revolution was the locomotive manufactured by the Swedish company, NOHAB, based on the original plans of the American General Motors Electro-Motive Division company.
Its technological maturity, the little maintenance it required and its reliability were some of the reasons why many railway companies all around the world preferred to use this type of locomotive. This NOHAB
is powered by a diesel-electric transmission system which means that the task of the diesel engine is to generate electricity for electric motors that drive the wheels of the locomotive. This solution is very effective when starting the engine. Despite the fact that NOHABs were only manufactured until 1969, many of them were still in use in the early 2000s.
Properties of the locomotive
Data
Track gauge: 1435 mm
Drive wheel diameter: 1040 mm
Power output: 1435 kW (1950 hp)
Maximum speed: 105 km/h
Total length between buffers: 18,900 mm
Height: 4295 mm
Width: 3090 mm
Wheel base within the bogie: 4000 mm
Service weight: 106 t
Cooling fan
The cooling of the engine and the electric devices was aided by 4 high-performance fans.
Exhaust drums
Diesel engine
Fuel tank
Generator
The locomotive functions with a 16-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine. It works as a conventional propulsion system, where the electric current (600 V) for the traction engines is produced by a DC generator. In case of passenger trains, the steam generator, which is responsible for the heating, produces 750 kg of steam per hour.
Bogies
Traction engines
In total, there are 6 electric traction engines built into the two bogies
of the locomotive.