How Efficient Were the "Big Three"?

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Modern, Tier 4 diesel-electric locomotives are the cleanest, most efficient ever built. The only cleaner locomotive is an electric, especially if the power source is "green" -- wind, solar, some would say nuclear.Natural gas/propane can be clean and efficient, but would require a significant infrastructure buildout.Hydrogen fuel cell-powered locos have a major downside in that hydrogen generation is expensive and it is a greenhouse gas.But no mobile, external combustion power source can be built to be cleaner or more efficient than these other alternatives.Ed BellSent from my antique LG K10, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone------ Original message------From: NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-ListDate: Fri, Oct 6, 2023 10:13 PMTo: NW Mailing List;Cc: NW Mailing List;Subject:Re: How Efficient Were the "Big Three"?
        Alright, alright.  I get the overall picture.  So, what if we could design a locomotive that has the virtues of both a steam and diesel locomotive, but without their vices?  If we built a locomotive that burns cheap coal combined it with an electric drive, what exactly would we have? 😉Bill KingArlington, Virginia
        
        
            
                
                
                    On Friday, October 6, 2023, 02:09:14 PM EDT, NW Mailing List > wrote:
                
                
                
                Most revenue service steam locomotives maxed out at about 6% thermal efficiency. Energy of fuel used versus drawbar horsepower.  A modern AC diesel is about 30%.  It gen diesel about 20%.The most efficient revenue steam locomotives where the Andre Chapelon compound passenger 4-8-0s in France.  High single digit thermal efficiency.  There where prototype steam engines that hut thermal efficiency over 10% but steam was dying and it wasn't pursued.Best Regards John Rhodes On Fri, Oct 6, 2023, 10:31 AM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:Greetings,In the rudimentary research I've done on N&W's big three (J, A, Y6/a/b), I've gotten the impression that they were among if not the most efficient steam locomotives built in the United States, in some cases outperforming the first-generation diesels. But exactly how efficient were they? From what I've heard the maximum fuel efficiency of a steam locomotive is about 15%. Did any of the big three have the abil
 Eli Santinity to reach this efficiency level?
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