Snow Madness

[Chromatix]

Well, it depends. In Britain or North America, locomotives are generally diesel-electric or pure electric, but DMUs normally use hydraulic transmission. The Yanks export a fair amount too. AFAIK, eddy-current brakes are not normally fitted to British or American trains. The Americans prefer to use rheostatic braking, where the traction motors are turned into generators and the energy is dumped into resistor grids.

However the Germans and Finns do prefer hydraulic transmission for diesel locomotives as well as DMUs. The Germans like to export too. I understand that the high-speed trains in Germany are electric-powered and carry these brakes, but I don't know whether the French ones do as well. However, high-speed trains run on their own special tracks, where the signalling can be designed around the trains, not the other way around.

[Racket_Man]

I have traction control, not sure if that's the same as ABS.

I still drive as if I don't have it. It doesn't matter, once it starts snowing, every intersection, the annoying little "!" shows up on my dash and the warning LOW TRACTION comes on. I am so sick of seeing that.

Electronic Traction control systems help limit tire slip on slippery surfaces
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/28000-...-explained.htm

I absolutely HATE the traction control system on my GM car. Esp in SNOW. the littel bugger has, more times than I can count, almost gotten me stuck in a minor amount of snow. I sometimes can not get the speed I need to either plow through an intersection drift/pile or get out of a minor amount of snow.

during or just after it snows I will turn it off every time I get into the car for a delivery

[Daemonmonkey]

Well, it depends. In Britain or North America, locomotives are generally diesel-electric or pure electric, but DMUs normally use hydraulic transmission. The Yanks export a fair amount too. AFAIK, eddy-current brakes are not normally fitted to British or American trains. The Americans prefer to use rheostatic braking, where the traction motors are turned into generators and the energy is dumped into resistor grids.

However the Germans and Finns do prefer hydraulic transmission for diesel locomotives as well as DMUs. The Germans like to export too. I understand that the high-speed trains in Germany are electric-powered and carry these brakes, but I don't know whether the French ones do as well. However, high-speed trains run on their own special tracks, where the signalling can be designed around the trains, not the other way around.

Here normal braking of electric / Diesel-electric locomotives is made firstly in the same way as you describe it, the difference is that electric ones feed the energy back into the grid, and the Diesel-electric use this energy to charge the on-board batteries. More serious braking is made the traditional way,and finally they have mounted eddy-current brakes for the panic. This one is especially useful when the tracks are slippery, as eddy-current brakes act on the rail itself and not on the wheels.

Interesting discussion...