According to the two academic writings.
1. H.F. Brown Ph.B.: (????) Economic results of diesel-electric motive power
2. William Sherrick: The End of Steam , http://hawkdawg.com/rrhist/am.htm ,also cited to Alco - Baldwin marketing reserach on the feasibility of Diesel Electric production retooling.
And the reality that every (or not really so) Diesel Locomotive operators are 'leeched' by the operation costs, maintenances and (Diesel) fuel bills due to the nature of Diesel Locomotives.
I need to know
1. What grades of Diesel fuels do the locomotive burns? Is it 'light' diesels used by trucks and ... to some extent, cars? Or is it Marine diesels (anything close to sticky Fuel Oil)?
2. What contributes to the high costs to run and maintain a diesel locomotive compared to either Modern (coal-firing) Steam or Electric locomotive, supposed that the 'fuel prices' are the same and the locomotives are of similar size (and rides the same track gauge) and yield the same HPs, And what are the reasons a Diesel Locomotive has a short lifespan (and ages very fast, 8 or 10 years!!)
- Diesel Engine itself
- Transmission system (Most diesels locomotive uses electric transmission, however, Diesel Hydraulics are also considered)
- Other... Tell me what it is.
3. Does the 'NGV-Diesel' a solution to any RR enterprise operating a fleet of Diesels?
This is a case study of Shortline RR enterprise that runs entirely on Diesel and still reap a profit
Napa Valley Wine Train
The original rail line was one called the Napa Valley Railroad. Inagurated in 1864 by Samuel Brannan, the railroad spans from Vallejo to Calistoga (which Brannan himself also founded as a tourist recreational resort of the Valley itself), later merged with Cal-P -> Central Pacific, and later... the mighty Southern Pacific (I guess C.P. Huntington had a hand on this eventual merger) the line remained with Espee for almost a century until SP pruned this line out in 1986 when the company began to shamble (possibly due to the 'Dieselization Poisoning', other says that in the 60s, SP managers made a series of TERRIBLE MISTAKES, which it explains why UP survives, BNSF survives, but SP bled dry) few moments later, an Italian-American food tycoon--Vincent DeDomenico bought the whole line and rebuilt it as a 'Five Star Restraurant on Tracks' modelled after the famous "Orient Express". the Line owns a fleet of 6 Diesels locomotive and about 18 luxury steel passenger cars bought from Milwaukee RR. the Locomotives includes 4 MLW FPA-4 (bought from canadian VIA RAIL :P , Actually it is Alco FPA licensed to other manufacturers), which operates in pairs, back-2-back doubleheading. another 2 Diesels are 1 GE-built, and 1 Alco-bult road switchers (both looks similar to EMD GP Seven). A train itself has 9 cars (including a dome car and 1 "Kitchen" car. ) hauled by a paor of FPA-4 (as i've said before) here.
http://www.american-rails.com/napa-vall ... train.html
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_25geSN9XcnM/TTuQq ... T_FA73.jpg
^ The train itself
^ 2 FPA-4s back 2 back.
It's supporting Napa Valley wineries and local californian (Hi-end) food growers are supporting the Wine Train's luxurious services, and thus a VERY high ticket price. one that you might say it offsets fuel prices and yet! the company is looking to the bright future of expansion, towards few more serious freights (but I don't think the NVWT welcomes PFE, NVWT simply wants to make its very own fridger freights instead :P but who knows?).
Recently the shopmen convered 2 FPA-4s into an NGV, that is. a Diesel locomotive compatible to burn Natural Gas. the Wine Train claims that it is due to a tighter environmental restrictions. but another reasons weights equally, Diesel fuel prices! For now NGVs are popular because the engine is compatible with BOTH light petroleum distillate (Gasoline and Diesels) and Natural Gas (Which it is VERY cheap Here (in Thailand) and There (US and the World)). so it means that eventually all Diesels owned by NVWT will be CNG compatibles. This is interim solutions. I don't think the Wine Train will stay with Diesels for long, sooner or later I THINK the whole system will be electrified using third rail system* (and four FPA-4s will be converted into a full electric locomotive).. 'till someone build new coal-firing Steam Locomotives for them to buy.
I don't really know how well other short lines operating by Diesels financially are. but some short lines run by associations of railfans. anyone knows?
*The reasons using Third rails is to 'preserve' the railroad original aesthetics. Overhead wire might not be welcomed by Wine Train clients.