GB1271216A - Gas turbine engine propelled railway vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

1,271,216. Locomotives. KLOCKNERHUMBOLDT-DEUTZ A.G. 23 Jan., 1970 [23 Jan., 1969], No. 3343/70. Headings B7H and B7L. A railway vehicle has at least one gas turbine engine 4 as a motive power unit, the or each engine being mounted on the roof of the vehicle and means being provided for transmitting the power output of the or each engine to the drive axles of the wheels of the vehicle. An hydraulic pump 17 is coupled to the turbine of engine 4, either directly or via a reduction gear unit, and transmits the engine output to the drive axles by oil pressure ducts housed in a hollow shaft 19 and hydraulic traction motors mounted on the wheel sets, the pump and traction motors together forming the transmission means. The turbine pump and an exhaust gas silencer 18 are housed in a casing 4a rotatable through 180 degrees about the shaft 18 so that an air inlet scoop 20 may be positioned to face in the direction of forward travel. In an alternative embodiment, Figs. 7-9, not shown, the engine (4) is coupled to a reduction gear unit (24). The power output of the gear unit (24) is transmitted via a bevel-gear transmission to a vertical, rotatable shaft (25) and then via an hydraulic clutch (26) and reduction- and reversing-gear unit (27) to the drive axles. In a further embodiment, Figs. 1-3, not shown, the turbine is coupled to a high-frequency electric generator (5) which together with electric traction motors forms the transmission means. In a vehicle or train of vehicles having more than one gas turbine engine the maximum capacity of the turbine of each engine is substantially equal to the maximum power output of the vehicle or train required divided by the number of engines per vehicle or train respectively.