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2 V16 engine has massive cylinders, each displacing more than 11 litres. Note ports for easy service. 3Radar helps prevent wheelspin and maintains

a two percent wheel slip for added traction.1Four exhaust valves per cylinder on the two- stroke diesel, with cam-driven fuel injectors. 5Six-foot-tall alternator turns mechanical energy

to electric energy and replaces gearbox.* 6Massive one-tonne turbo-supercharger works as a supercharger at low speed, then as a turbo*.46000-litre diesel tank is compartmentalised

for added safety. Top-ups only in the loco yard.

SEpTEmBER 2009 AUTOCAR INDIA 169168 AUTOCAR INDIA SEpTEmBER 2009 www.autocarindia.comwww.autocarindia.com

‘This hybrid diesel electric locomotive uses

technology we will see on cars of the future.’

Trains are an integral part of life in India. As common as trees, shrubs, the neighborhood bus- stop and the dosa joint around the corner, they

are part and parcel of our country’s furniture. And the statistics are mind-boggling. Approximately 63,000 kilometres of track, 6.2 billion passengers and 730 million tonnes of freight transported every year. The Indian Railways is the largest employer of manpower in the world and it even has its own Railway Budget! But you know what happens to things we get too familiar with. We tend to ignore them. Well, that’s all about to change, as Autocar India takes an in-depth look at the General Motors WDG4 (Wide Diesel Goods 4000bhp) diesel locomotive that’s made by the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi. What makes it tick, how it manages to pull those massive loads, what it’s like to drive (yes, even that) and whether there’s enough space for your mum’s luggage.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING HHHHHHHHII

The GT 46 is simply massive. Seventy feet long, 14 feet tall and

10 feet wide, no road-going vehicle can compare for size. And its weight is even more extreme. How much? Try getting your head around 126,000kg; roughly the weight of 100 family cars, but for volume no more the size of twenty. Imagine your family car weighing in at a suspension-squishing five tonnes and you’ll get some idea of how densely this beast is packed. But without the weight the locomotive would have no traction, with its steel wheels running on the steel rails. And without traction there’s no way you are pulling anything forward.

But why does a train run steel wheels in the first place? It’s all got to do with reducing rolling friction. The rubber tyres your car sits on may seem like they are inflated solid, but they still flex and bend as they roll forward, adding to rolling friction. Some 25-30 percent of the fuel you burn in your car is wasted while pushing against this resistance. A train wastes almost nothing in comparison, making it the most efficient way to transport people or goods.

This GM loco’s primary function is to pull heavy goods and passenger trains, some as heavy as 5,500 tonnes. So each of its six wheel sets, or 12 individual wheels, ◊

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l Price Rs 11.5 crore l On sale Now l 0-60kph 30.53sec l Top speed 120kph l Fuel efficiency (overall) 0.25kpl FOR massive pulling power l corners on rails AGAINST poor visibility l No air-conditioning

MODEl TESTED GM GT 46

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WDG4 diesel-electricThere’s no steering or accelerator but for a lethal combination of brute strength and technical sophistication, nothing comes close.

4 Safe on the move. Magna O variant

gets dual front airbags.5Front seat headrests are

non-adjustable. 6Auto-down function for the driver’s window.

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Inside out

4 Safe on the move. Magna O variant

gets dual front airbags.

∆ drive the locomotive (passenger locomotives, which don’t need as much start-up traction, drive only four wheel sets.) Each set of six wheels is called a bogie (not to be confused with a wagon) and each loco has two. But these massive 21- tonne bogies aren’t rigidly fixed to the frame of the loco. Some degree of passive steering is allowed to help negotiate tight corners.

Above the bogies sits the main frame or chassis of the locomotive. This holds the heavy diesel engine and all the electric and electronic components needed to transfer power to the rails. Closest to the driver’s cab sits the control cabinet, where all the various computers, governors and controls systems are housed. This is the nerve centre of the locomotive and modern electronics play a big role in making these very complex beasts easy to live with and drive. Ahead of this are the traction control cabinets, with a pair of massive fans and heat exchangers placed on top. In front of that is the main generator/alternator that has a six-foot diameter, the main diesel engine, air compressor and a radiator the size of a small hut.

Between the bogies is placed the locomotive’s fuel supply, a 6,000-litre diesel tank as well as a radar that helps the traction computers gauge the state of grip. All modern locomotives also use sand, sprinkled between the wheels and rails, to improve traction in difficult conditions or wet weather, and this loco has eight automated sand boxes that sprinkle sand as soon as some slip is detected.

ENGINE & GEARBOX (TRANSMISSION)

HHHHHHHHHI

If you’re wondering why the word transmission has been placed in brackets, it’s for a very good reason. This locomotive has no traditional gearbox with toothed gears. This may seem strange when there is quite obviously so much torque multiplication to be done.

So why is there no gearbox? The engine is simply too big. A gearbox made to transmit 4,000 horsepower would be almost as big as the engine itself. And then there would be the not-so-small matter of transferring all that power through to the six wheel sets, with individual driveshafts and transfer cases. It would also be extremely inefficient,

with a whole lot of the original power being simply wasted.

To overcome these shortcomings, the locomotive actually functions like a hybrid car, with the big 16- cylinder diesel engine having no direct connection to the wheels. The spinning crank is mated to a giant-sized rotor in a huge six-foot-tall generator and the heavy current thus produced is then transferred to individual traction motors, one for each axle. Because electric motors produce massive torque even from start-up, you don’t need a gearbox.

Managing all this high voltage and ampere current is the job of the locomotive’s microprocessor-based control system. Known as the EM2000, it liases with the two traction computers and helps them deliver the power in the smoothest, most effective way. It also matches the speed of the diesel engine with the demand for electric current and can carry out a series of self-tests.

So just how big is the engine? Think massive and then multiply that by a factor of ten. 10,000cc is ridiculously small, 50,000 isn’t even close and even 150,000 is still some way off! With 16 massive cylinders, EACH displacing 11 and something litres, the engine displaces a humongous 186,160cc; enough to swim in. The holes for the piston are large enough to put your head through (we did), and the sump of the engine holds 950 litres of engine oil. The size is essential because it has to run at almost full power all day, day after day, for decades. This is also the reason why the engine runs at speeds your car engine idles at. Try running your car at full power all the time; it won’t last a month.

Peeking under the hood, something we like to do with all cars, is easier than you would expect. With an engine of this size you don’t so much open the bonnet and peer in; you stroll down the walkway on the side of the engine, open a couple of cupboard-like doors and look sideways at the head.

The huge 45deg, two-stroke V16 is finished in light grey metal and is squeaky clean. It has regular service ports at almost all levels and the cam covers can be easily opened like the top of a grand piano. Camshafts the size of your leg, four massive valves per cylinder and a fuel injection system that functions like VW’s unit injector are instantly evident. Each direct injection unit has its own pump and the injectors are also very easy to access. ◊

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2White-on-black dials make it easy to read the speed. We checked real speed versus the speedo, but there was hardly any error.

4 Handbrake to be used in emergencies only. Innocuous lever could be nudged by mistake. 6Brake lever on the right allows you some

feel, but you have very little direct control.

1Without the right pressure in the system, there’s just no way you can drive the loco. 3Tractive effort is the key to

the performance of the loco.

5Knife switch on left selects direction, large lever is throttle notch control.

Upturned engine block, crankshaft and camshaft; size really matters here.*

Notching up the throttle gives you a real buzz, especially from this high perch.

Simple layout to the dash makes it easy to drive for hours at a stretch.

Traction motors sit between the wheels*; computers and sand help traction.

EM2000 computer controls the loco; cylinder head bigger than human head*.

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IN THE CAB(IN) HHHHHHIIII

For a vehicle that’s as long as this, cabin space is pathetic. As the locomotive can be driven either way, it’s also extremely cabin-forward or not depending on your direction of travel. Like in an aircraft, there are two sets of controls but they face in different directions. It’s easier to drive this apartment block-sized machine through the pair of windscreens, so we make sure we are going in the right direction. There is no steering wheel, no pedals or seatbelts but the seat adjusts for height, and there is a handbrake (of course no handbrake turns – but can you imagine!). All control is done via a set of levers, there’s one for the throttle and two for the brakes (for the locomotive

and the rest of the train). Ahead of the driver is an array of dials that provide all sort of information on the loco speed, dynamic power being applied to the wheels and the pressure in the braking system.

Behind on the wall are a bank of toggle switches, the control panel for the central computer and a programmable screen that allows you to keep an eye on functions you pre-select. Wipers for both front and rear windscreens and, of course, a set of air horns loud enough to work as a cattle prod on a ruminating bovine’s backside, even at the distance of almost a kilometre. It’s seriously loud up close, enough to make your heart sound like an Enfield Bullet. The other safety device built into the loco prevents it from becoming a ‘runaway train’. The loco’s computer takes over control in a phased manner unless

the driver uses one function or another every 60 seconds. First an alarm is sounded, then the throttle is brought to an idle and the loco will finally apply the brakes as well.

ON THE RAIlS HHHHHHHHII

There’s actually no risk of nodding off here. Sitting at the controls of something so massive and powerful for the first time is like a double-shot of espresso and then some. But you don’t just turn a key, start

up the locomotive; the process is a complex set of checks and smaller individual start-ups where pumps are primed, electric components switched on and everything is readied to churn out huge power. Eventually, the massive diesel stumbles into life, the heavy and slow low-frequency thumps from the 16 large cylinders very smooth and effortless. This diesel is a far cry from the older Alco locomotive we had been driving the previous day and there is not even a hint of diesel clatter, or rattling. It’s hushed ◊

‘It feels as unstoppable as a force of nature once you get upto speed and experience its Himalayan momentum.’

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∆ silent and simply amazing. We spend a couple of minutes understanding the EM 2000’s information screen and toggling through its menu system in the cabin. Suddenly the motor slows down even further to just 200rpm and becomes almost Rolls-Royce-smooth. You get an impression of the perfectly machined huge pistons pumping up

and down in their massive oil baths. The secret of the GM engine’s

success is the fact that this is a two-stroke motor. It produces twice the number of thumps for any given engine speed, which simply means it can make much more power. But aren’t two strokes inefficient? Not turbo-diesels, as this one is 11 percent more efficient than the four-stroke

motor of the older Alco loco. Unlike a petrol two-stroke, where fuel and air are allowed into the inlet ports, just as exhaust is escaping the other end, there is only compressed air from the turbo blown into the diesel two-stroke motor. The air pushes the spent exhaust gases out, and some clean air is even wasted before the exhaust valves are closed. Diesel is only

injected into the head much later, closer to when the compression is at a maximum, making the diesel two-stroke far more elegant mechanically.

Finally we’re ready to go and so with a toot of the horn and strained breath, the throttle is advanced to ‘notch one’. Nothing much happens for the first second or so, but then slowly we notice the scenery ◊

What’ll it do FIGURING THE RajdHaNI

We kneW THe answer, but we just had to ask. “Can we do an acceleration test?” seemed like a dangerously stupid question. But we blurted it out anyway, and they said yes. An older-tech Alco loco was about to be transported from the shed to the platform, where it would be hitched to the Rajdhani and, signals willing, we could do our test in between. As simple as that.

So we jumped on and prayed that the 35-odd kilometre stretch was full of green lights. We hooked up our V-Box timing gear and waited, as the loco left the low- speed tracks for the main line. “We must be quick across this piece of track, so that we don’t delay other trains, so there is no problem,” said the gentleman driving the engine, and we agreed. Still it was surreal when it happened. “Okay this is a good three-and- something kilometre stretch. Come to a full stop, V-Box triggered; now GO GO GO!”

The locomotive starts slow in notch one, but soon it’s bellowing blue murder, like a T-rex gone mad. “notch up faster,” we yell as the loco picks up speed, horn rammed down hard repeatedly. What did we do? We record 0-90kph time for the Rajdhani’s loco. Still don’t believe it!

Autocar V-Box has timed all sorts; visibility from long hood is very limited; speedometer approaches 90kph during test; V-Box records data earlier in the run.

The same loco we tested pulling the Rajdhani Express later in the day. It rocketed past us at an estimated 110kph.

Simulator at Sabarmati shed gives you the feel of driving a real train; all sorts of scenarios possible to train drivers.

WDG4

Public transport is essential for a country of over 1.2 billion people. Goods, people, cattle and machines all need to be transported to the farthest ends of our country at the lowest cost possible. That’s where this prime mover comes in.

Nothing can match the Varanasi-made GM GT 46 as far as cost per kilo per kilometre and flexibility go. For the weight it pulls, the GM loco uses very little fuel and because you can get diesel anywhere, it can pull trains across the length and breadth of India without depending on an electrified overhead line. It even makes electricity more efficiently than some power stations. That it also happens to be a totally hi-tech piece of heavy engineering comes as a total shock. Here is a railway loco that uses technology we will see on cars in the future. Its electronically controlled two-stroke diesel runs at its most efficient engine speed and the transmission of force through electric motors and steel wheels makes it super-efficient. In India we tend to think of the Railways as low-tech load and people-haulers that sit at the bottom of the technology pyramid. Most of us pay trains no respect or attention. What a mistake, for clearly this is no common rail diesel! AI

autocar verdict HHHHHHHHHIBrute force meets technical wizardry.

TEST SCORECARDcoMFort HHHHHHIIIINo air-conditioning and a lack of space make the cabin a squeeze.

PerForMaNceHHHHHHHIII Incredible pulling power, but could do with a bit more top-end power.

reFiNeMeNtHHHHHHHHHIThe two-stroke diesel is incredibly smooth, very un-diesel-like.

vaLueHHHHHHHHIIIt costs 11.5 crore, but it’s cheap if you consider cost per kg or passengers.

SaFetYHHHHHHHHIIVigilance Control Device keeps driver from nodding off, but no seatbelts on offer.

rideHHHHHHHHIILow-speed ride is good, but you get some rocking at higher speeds.

HaNdLiNG HHHHHHHHHICorners like it’s on rails; no really!

BuiLd StreNGtH & QuaLitYHHHHHHHIII Tough as a rhino, but fit and finish quite crude.

teSterS’ NoteSThe turbo works as a crank-driven supercharger at low speeds.

It corners on rails and pulls like a locomotive (couldn’t resist saying this).

9/10

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Road TesT Read all our road tests at www.autocarindia.comAUTOCAR INDIA tests results are protected by world copyright and may not be reproduced without the editor’s written permission. Power and torque-to-weight figures are calculated using manufacturer’s claimed kerb weight.

WHAT IT COSTSENGINEFuel DieselInstallation Mid, longitudinalType 16 cyls in-vee, 1,86,160cc, Unit-injector, direct injection, two-stroke, turbo-super-charged Bore/stroke 230.19/279.4mmCompression ratio 16.1:1Valve gear 4 exhaust valves per cyl, inlet portsPower 4132hp at 904rpmPower to weight 31.74bhp per tonneSpecific output 22.21bhp per litreWeight of turbocharger 953kgMax tractive effort 53,000kg

TRANSMISSIONType All-wheel drive (12 wheels)Gearbox Electric motor transmissionFinal drive 90:17Alternator max voltage 2600 Volts DC

CHASSIS & BODyConstruction Body on frame chassis, supported by twin bogies Weight 1,26,000kgWheels Solid steel Tyres NAWheel life 6,00,000km approx.Axle load 21,000kg per axle

SUSPENSION Front and rear Non-independent coil springs, axle-hung, tapered roller bearing STEERING Type Passive steer, yaw compensation system

BRAKESFront & Rear Air brakes, direct contact of brake shoe on wheelAnti-lock Radar-based

lIqUID CAPACITIESOil sump capacity 950 litresFuel tank 6000 litres

WDG4 DIeSel eleCTRIC lOCOMOTIVe

SPECIFICATIONS PERFORMANCE

0-10 6.52

0-20 11.54

0-30 17.54

0-40 23.18

0-50 28.67

0-60 30.53

0-70 45.27

0-80 52.91

0-90 68.61

1/4 mile 45.82

ACCElERATION *KPH TIME (sec)On-rail price

Rs 11.5 crore Warranty NA

RAnGe AT A GlAnCeENGINES186.0 Diesel(WDG 4) 4132bhp Rs 11.5 crore186.0 Diesel(WDP 4) 4132bhp Rs 11.5 crore

equIPMenT CHeCk lISTCD player/MP3 NASteering NAAir-con NAABS nFoglamps nTraction control system nSeat height adjust nReading lamps nTrip computer nHandbrake nAir horns nSeatbelts NANA=Not Available, D=Driver, O=optional

∆ moving towards us as the loco gathers speed.

Full speed on this locomotive is notch eight, but you need to advance smoothly through each notch. The lever is advanced to notch two and the loco gathers even more speed with a slight lurch. The generator is told to produce high current and low voltage at low speeds and this gradually changes to low current and high voltage as speeds build. Think of current as torque and voltage as power and you’ll understand it better.

We can now feel the weight of the loco crushing down on the rails and the steel wheels screech in protest as we change tracks. The view from the cab is a bit like peering out of your first-floor apartment window, and even though we don’t get anywhere

near the top speed, you can feel the sheer effortlessness of this 4000bhp locomotive rolling forward. Does the loco strain to pull a full train forward, we ask. “Only if it is a fully loaded freight, and even then the strain isn’t too much. Passenger trains feel as light as a feather.” Amazing. And even though you don’t have as much control over this massive machine and you can’t steer it, the overwhelming feeling of power you get taking it down the track is a real buzz. Pulling a passenger train from one city to another at average speeds of 100kph must be simply awesome. As with the ‘throttle’, you only deploy the brakes. There is a semi-detached feel to the whole experience of stopping the locomotive but this lever feels more direct as compressed air rushes in

to make the brake shoes bite. You can also use dynamic or engine braking, where the alternator works in reverse to help slow down the train, the power generated being dispersed from the top of the locomotive in the form of heat.

While stopping a light loco is easy, getting approximately 4,000 tonnes to stop in a hurry with steel wheels on steel rails takes more than a bit. This can take almost half a kilometre from say 100kph, and that’s without factoring a wet track or a slope. The GM loco brakes much more efficiently compared to the older Alco locos and this allows the Indian Railways to use a softer (only comparatively) horn as well!

The WDG4 has been configured to pull goods and passenger trains, so its top speed is around 120kph,

and it will do that pulling a train all day. But passenger locos in the future will go much faster, up to 160kph, especially along the Golden Quadrilateral (actually a railway term that has been used for decades) where the Indian Railways plan to upgrade the tracks.

FUEl ECONOMy HHHHHHHHHH

Rail travel is amazingly efficient and this GM locomotive is slated to be 11 percent better than the Alco loco. Over a long haul, with no traffic, efficient rails and very little start-stop, this loco uses merely four litres of diesel for every kilometre, or 0.25kpl, even when pulling a fully loaded train! Even a Nano can’t compete with that. While the loco is simple to drive, getting

it primed to go is a very complex process.

21240mm

4160

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BRAKING80-0kph 400-500 m (estimated with

full train load) ECONOMyTesT City NA Railway 0.25kpl

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There’s no doubt that a loco is slow to accel-erate but as one IR official told us, “We’re not in the racing busi-ness.” And with very little start- stop, overall speed is much more important.

A large number of safety devices work in series.

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GM loco is a massive 21 metres long — that’s almost as long as two Volvo buses.