Lubrication Problems Arising From Railway Traction Modernization

IN A PAPER ON THE ABOVE SUBJECT presented to The Institute of Petroleum in January by G. A. Dickens and W. B. Broadbent (both of Mobil Oil Co. Ltd.), these authors said that the lubrication problems arising from electrification of railway locomotives are not great and although there may be no entirely new lubrication problems, diesel traction on a large scale is new to the U.K. and in this field, service life between overhauls is very dependent on the quality of crankcase lubricating oil. Dividing diesel traction into three categories, namely shunters, railcars, and main line locomotives, they discussed the differing lubrication requirements of each. Shunting diesel engines are mainly 600/800 r.p.m. units developing up to 4,000 h.p. ; main line and mixed traffic locos utilise diesel units of 600/1200 r.p.m. developing from 800 to 2,000 h.p.; railcar and light weight trains use engines of 1,500/2,000 r.p.m. developing up to 250 h.p.