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PHOTOGRAPHYASHLEYBAXTER

2V16 engine has massive cinders, each dispacingmore than 11 itres. Note ports for eas service. 3Radar heps prevent wheespin and maintainsa two percent whee sip for added traction.1Four exhaust vaves per cinder on the two-stroke diese, with cam-driven fue injectors. 5Six-foot-ta aternator turns mechanica energto eectric energ and repaces gearbox.* 6Massive one-as a superch46000-itre diese tank is compartmentaisedfor added safet. Top-ups on in the oco ard.168 AUTOCAR INDIASEpTEmBER 2009 www.autocarindia.comwww.autocarindia.com

This helectric locom

technologyon crs of

Trains are an integralpart of life in India. Ascommon as trees, shrubs,the neighborhood bus-stop and the dosa jointaround the corner, they

are part and parcel of our countrysfurniture. And the statistics aremind-boggling. Approximately63,000 kilometres of track, 6.2

billion passengers and 730 milliontonnes of freight transported every

year. The Indian Railways is thelargest employer of manpowerin the world and it even has itsown Railway Budget! But youknow what happens to things weget too familiar with. We tend toignore them. Well, thats all aboutto change, asAutocar India takesan in-depth look at the GeneralMotors WDG4 (Wide Diesel Goods

4000bhp) diesel locomotive thatsmade by the Diesel Locomotive

Works (DLW), Varanasi. Whatmakes it tick, how it manages topull those massive loads, what itslike to drive (yes, even that) and

whether theres enough space foryour mums luggage.

DESIGN & ENGINEERINGHHHHHHHHII

The GT 46 is simply massive.Seventy feet long, 14 feet tall and

10 feet wide, no road-going vehiclecan compare for size. And its weightis even more extreme. How much?Try getting your head around126,000kg; roughly the weight of100 family cars, but for volume nomore the size of twenty. Imagine

your family car weighing in at asuspension-squishing five tonnesand youll get some idea of howdensely this beast is packed.But without the weight thelocomotive would have no traction,

with its steel wheels running onthe steel rails. And without tractiontheres no way you are pullinganything forward.

But why does a train run steelwheels in the first place? Its all gotto do with reducing rolling friction.The rubber tyres your car sits onmay seem like they are inflated

solid, but they still flex and bend asthey roll forward, adding to rollingfriction. Some 25-30 percent ofthe fuel you burn in your car is

wasted while pushing against thisresistance. A train wastes almostnothing in comparison, making itthe most efficient way to transportpeople or goods.

This GM locos primary functionis to pull heavy goods and passengertrains, some as heavy as 5,500tonnes. So each of its six wheelsets, or 12 individual wheels,

lPrice Rs 11.5 rore lOn saeNowl0-60kph30.53se

lTop speed 120khlFue efficienc (overa)0.25kl

FOR massive ulling owerlcorners on rails AGAINSTpoor visibility lNo air-onditioning

MODEl TESTED GM GT 46

No 533Rail TesTIndIaWDG4 diesel-electricTheres no steering or accelerator but for a lethal combination of brute

strength and technical sophistication, nothing comes close.

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4Safe on the move.Magna O variantgets dua front airbags.

5Front seat headrests arenon-adjustabe. 6Auto-down function for thedrivers window.

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Inside ou

4Safe on the move.Magna O variantgets dua front airbags.

drive the locomotive (passengerlocomotives, which dont need asmuch start-up traction, drive onlyfour wheel sets.) Each set of six

wheels is called a bogie (not to beconfused with a wagon) and eachloco has two. But these massive 21-tonne bogies arent rigidly fixed tothe frame of the loco. Some degreeof passive steering is allowed to helpnegotiate tight corners.

Above the bogies sits the mainframe or chassis of the locomotive.This holds the heavy diesel engineand all the electric and electroniccomponents needed to transferpower to the rails. Closest to the

drivers cab sits the control cabinet,where all the various computers,governors and controls systemsare housed. This is the nerve centreof the locomotive and modernelectronics play a big role in makingthese very complex beasts easy tolive with and drive. Ahead of thisare the traction control cabinets,

with a pair of massive fans andheat exchangers placed on top. Infront of that is the main generator/alternator that has a six-footdiameter, the main diesel engine, aircompressor and a radiator the sizeof a small hut.

Between the bogies is placed thelocomotives fuel supply, a 6,000-litre diesel tank as well as a radarthat helps the traction computersgauge the state of grip. All modernlocomotives also use sand, sprinkled

between the wheels and rails,to improve traction in difficultconditions or wet weather, andthis loco has eight automated sand

boxes that sprinkle sand as soon assome slip is detected.

ENGINE & GEARBOX(TRANSMISSION)HHHHHHHHHI

If youre wondering why the wordtransmission has been placed in

brackets, its for a very good reason.This locomotive has no traditionalgearbox with toothed gears. Thismay seem strange when there isquite obviously so much torquemultiplication to be done.

So why is there no gearbox?The engine is simply too big. Agearbox made to transmit 4,000

horsepower would be almost as bigas the engine itself. And then there

would be the not-so-small matter oftransferring all that power throughto the six wheel sets, with individualdriveshafts and transfer cases. It

would also be extremely inefficient,

with a whole lot of the originalpower being simply wasted.

To overcome these shortcomings,the locomotive actually functionslike a hybrid car, with the big 16-cylinder diesel engine having nodirect connection to the wheels. Thespinning crank is mated to a giant-sized rotor in a huge six-foot-tallgenerator and the heavy currentthus produced is then transferred toindividual traction motors, one foreach axle. Because electric motorsproduce massive torque even fromstart-up, you dont need a gearbox.

Managing all this high voltageand ampere current is the job of

the locomotives microprocessor-based control system. Known asthe EM2000, it liases with the twotraction computers and helps themdeliver the power in the smoothest,most effective way. It also matchesthe speed of the diesel engine withthe demand for electric current andcan carry out a series of self-tests.

So just how big is the engine?Think massive and then multiplythat by a factor of ten. 10,000cc isridiculously small, 50,000 isnt evenclose and even 150,000 is still some

way off! With 16 massive cylinders,EACH displacing 11 and somethinglitres, the engine displaces ahumongous 186,160cc; enough toswim in. The holes for the pistonare large enough to put your headthrough (we did), and the sump ofthe engine holds 950 litres of engine

oil. The size is essential because it hasto run at almost full power all day,day after day, for decades. This is alsothe reason why the engine runs atspeeds your car engine idles at. Tryrunning your car at full power all thetime; it wont last a month.

Peeking under the hood,something we like to do with allcars, is easier than you wouldexpect. With an engine of this size

you dont so much open the bonnetand peer in; you stroll down the

walkway on the side of the engine,open a couple of cupboard-likedoors and look sideways at the head.

The huge 45deg, two-stroke V16is finished in light grey metal andis squeaky clean. It has regularservice ports at almost all levelsand the cam covers can be easilyopened like the top of a grand piano.

Camshafts the size of your leg, fourmassive valves per cylinder and afuel injection system that functionslike VWs unit injector are instantlyevident. Each direct injection unithas its own pump and the injectorsare also very easy to access.

170 AUTOCAR INDIA SEpTEmBER 2009 www.autocarindia.comwww.autocarindia.com

2White-on-back dias make it eas to read the speed. We checkedrea speed versus the speedo, but there was hard an error.

4Handbrake to be used in emergencies on.Innocuous ever coud be nudged b mistake. 6Brake ever on the right aows ou somefee, but ou have ver itte direct contro.

1Without the right pressure in the sstem,theres just no wa ou can drive the oco. 3Tractive effort is the ke tothe performance of the oco.

5Knife switch on eft seects direction,arge ever is throtte notch contro.

Upturned engine bock, crankshaft and cam

Notching up the throtte gives ou a rea bu

Simpe aout to the dash makes it

eas to drive for hours at a stretch.

Traction motors sit between the whees*; c

EM2000 computer contros the oco; cind

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silent and simply amazing.We spend a couple of minutesunderstanding the EM 2000s

information screen and togglingthrough its menu system in the cabin.Suddenly the motor slows down evenfurther to just 200rpm and becomesalmost Rolls-Royce-smooth. Youget an impression of the perfectlymachined huge pistons pumping up

and down in their massive oil baths.The secret of the GM engines

success is the fact that this is a two-

stroke motor. It produces twice thenumber of thumps for any givenengine speed, which simply meansit can make much more power. Butarent two strokes inefficient? Notturbo-diesels, as this one is 11 percentmore efficient than the four-stroke

motor of the older Alco loco. Unlike apetrol two-stroke, where fuel and airare allowed into the inlet ports, just

as exhaust is escaping the other end,there is only compressed air from theturbo blown into the diesel two-strokemotor. The air pushes the spentexhaust gases out, and some cleanair is even wasted before the exhaustvalves are closed. Diesel is only

injected into the head muccloser to when the comprea maximum, making the d

stroke far more elegant meFinally were ready to g

with a toot of the horn andbreath, the throttle is advanotch one. Nothing muchfor the first second or so, bslowly we notice the scene

Whatll it doFIGURING THE RajdHaNI

We kneW THe aswr, bt w

AutocarV-Box has timed a sorts; visibiit from ong hood is ver imited; speedometer approaches 90kph during test; V-Box records data earier in

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WDG4autocar verdHHHHHHHHHBrute force meets technical

TEST SCORECARDcoMFort

HHHHHHIIII

No air-conditioning and a lack ofspace make the cabin a squeeze.

PerForMaNce

HHHHHHHIII

Incredible pulling power, but coulddo with a bit more top-end power.

reFiNeMeNt

HHHHHHHHHI

The two-stroke diesel is incrediblysmooth, very un-diesel-like.

vaLue

HHHHHHHHII

It costs 11.5 crore, but its cheap if youconsider cost per kg or passengers.

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Road TesT Read all our road tests at www.autocarindia.comAUTOCARINDIAttrultar protctdbyworld copyrightandmay notb rproducdwithoutthditorwrittnprmiion.Powrandtorqu-to-wightfigurar calculatduingmanufacturrclaimdkrbwight.

WHAT IT COSTSENGINEFue DieselInstaation Mid, longitudinalTpe 16 cyls in-vee, 1,86,160cc,

Unit-injector, directinjection, two-stroke,turbo-super-charged

Bore/stroke 230.19/279.4mmCompressionratio 16.1:1Vave gear 4 exhaust valves per cyl,

inlet portsPower 4132hp at 904rpmPower to weight 31.74bhp per tonneSpecific output 22.21bhp per litreWeight of turbocharger 953kgMax tractive effort 53,000kg

TRANSMISSION

TpeAll-wheel drive (12 wheels)GearboxElectric motor transmissionFina drive90:17Aternator max votage2600 Volts DC

CHASSIS & BODyConstruction Body on frame chassis,

supported by twin bogiesWeight 1,26,000kgWhees Solid steelTres NAWhee ife 6,00,000km approx.Axe oad 21,000kg per axle

SUSPENSION Front and rear Non-independent coil

springs, axle-hung,tapered roller bearing

STEERINGTpe Passive steer, yaw

compensation system

BRAKESFront & Rear Air brakes, direct contact

of brake shoe on wheelAnti-ock Radar-based

lIqUID CAPACITIESOi sump capacit 950 litresFue tank 6000 litres

WDG4 DIeSel eleCTRIC lOCOMOTIVe

SPECIFICATIONS PERFORMANCE

0-10 6.52

0-20 11.54

0-30 17.54

0-40 23.18

0-50 28.67

0-60 30.53

0-70 45.27

0-80 52.91

0-90 68.61

1/4 mie 45.82

ACCElERATION *

KPH TIME (sec)On-rai priceRs 11.5 croreWarrant NA

RAnGe AT A GlAnCeENGINES186.0 Diese(WDG 4)4132bhp Rs 11.5 crore186.0 Diese(WDP 4)4132bhp Rs 11.5 crore

equIPMenT CHeCk lISTCD paer/MP3 NA

Steering NA

Air-con NA

ABS nFogamps nTraction contro sstem n

Seat height adjust n

Reading ampsn

Trip computer nHandbrake n

Air horns n

Seatbelts NA

NA=Not Available, D=Driver, O=optional

moving towards us as the locogathers speed.

Full speed on this locomotive isnotch eight, but you need to advancesmoothly through each notch. Thelever is advanced to notch two andthe loco gathers even more speed

with a slight lurch. The generatoris told to produce high current andlow voltage at low speeds and thisgradually changes to low currentand high voltage as speeds

build. Think of current as torqueand voltage as power and youllunderstand it better.

We can now feel the weight of theloco crushing down on the rails andthe steel wheels screech in protest as

we change tracks. The view from thecab is a bit like peering out of yourfirst-floor apartment window, andeven though we dont get anywhere

near the top speed, you can feel thesheer effortlessness of this 4000bhplocomotive rolling forward. Does theloco strain to pull a full train forward,

we ask. Only if it is a fully loadedfreight, and even then the strainisnt too much. Passenger trainsfeel as light as a feather. Amazing.

And even though you dont haveas much control over this massivemachine and you cant steer it, theoverwhelming feeling of power

you get taking it down the trackis a real buzz. Pulling a passengertrain from one city to another at

average speeds of 100kph mustbe simply awesome. As with thethrottle, you only deploy the brakes.There is a semi-detached feel to the

whole experience of stopping thelocomotive but this lever feels moredirect as compressed air rushes in

to make the brake shoes bite. Youcan also use dynamic or engine

braking, where the alternatorworks in reverse to help slow downthe train, the power generated

being dispersed from the top of thelocomotive in the form of heat.

While stopping a light loco iseasy, getting approximately 4,000tonnes to stop in a hurry with steel

wheels on steel rails takes morethan a bit. This can take almost halfa kilometre from say 100kph, andthats without factoring a wet trackor a slope. The GM loco brakes much

more efficiently compared to theolder Alco locos and this allows theIndian Railways to use a softer (onlycomparatively) horn as well!

The WDG4 has been configuredto pull goods and passenger trains,so its top speed is around 120kph,

and it will do that pulling a trainall day. But passenger locos in thefuture will go much faster, up to160kph, especially along the GoldenQuadrilateral (actually a railwayterm that has been used for decades)

where the Indian Railways plan toupgrade the tracks.

FUEl ECONOMyHHHHHHHHHH

Rail travel is amazingly efficientand this GM locomotive is slatedto be 11 percent better than the

Alco loco. Over a long haul, with notraffic, efficient rails and very littlestart-stop, this loco uses merely fourlitres of diesel for every kilometre,or 0.25kpl, even when pulling a fullyloaded train! Even a Nano cantcompete with that.Whie the oco is simpe to drive, getting

it primed to go is a ver compex process.

21240mm

4160

BRAKING

80-0kph 400-500 m (estimated with

full train load)ECONOMyTesT Cit NA

Raiwa 0.25kpl

mAkARANdpo

TdAR

Theres no doubt

that a oco is

sow to acce-

erate but as one

IR officia tod

us, Were not in

the racing busi-

ness. And with

ver itte start-

stop, overa

speed is much

more important.

A arge number of safetdevices work in series.

*AccELERATioNfiguRESfoRALcoLoco

www.autocarindia.comwww.autocarindia.com176 AUTOCAR INDIA SEpTEmBER 2009

GM oco is a massive 21 metres ong thats amost as ong as two Vovo buses.