Battery electric traction

Don't forget the Prussian State Railways battery railcars, introduced from 1907 onwards.....
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittfeld-Akkumulatortriebwagen
There is one of those preserved in Poland.

 

Part of the problem is the lead acid batteries used in the past are heavy, not very efficient and have a maximum of about 10 years constant use, but modern lead acid batteries are able to be recycled.
I notice there is an update on lithium batteries which are now becoming more cost effective.
https://www.reuters.com/brandfeatur...ering-smart-cities-with-lithium-ion-batteries
But there is problems with lithium mining and the batteries still have a limited life after which the charge is not held.

 

Lithium mining presents no unique issues, when compared with any other commercial mineral abstraction. That's not to say it shouldn't be conducted in the most responsible manner and it rather amuses me to see how environmentally concerned the media proxies of the oil industry have become all of a sudden. Nor is lithium the only viable battery architecture, merely being the current market leader for traction tech.

As to the useful life of lithium cells, it needs to be realised that in traction terms, the generally accepted figure equates to 80% of initial capacity. At that point, a cell is (currently) considered degraded, with regard to it's first life application, but unlike hydrocarbon energy sources, retains a substantial residual value above it's scrap value, being suitable for selling on for re-use in (so far as power density by volume or weight is concerned) less demanding applications, before final recycling.

Currently, even within the clean tech industry, the whole-life cycle of lithium batteries is an unfamiliar emerging market, so exact numbers aren't much more than 'best estimates' (this significant new market represents an entire field of expertise in it's own right), but is already well past the realms of the purely theoretical, thus there's no valid comparison to be made with life-expired lead-acid tech.

I follow as much of the clean tech as possible with keen interest and freely admit I can't keep up with the sheer breadth and pace of developments. Exciting times.

 

Interestingly the Clayton class 18 hybrid will use lead acid batteries. I read that longer life/ more charges is one consideration (and weight and low speed not being such issues with a shunter).

Patrick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for drawing attention to these vehicles.

Bundesbahn built a substantial number of battery electric railcars in the 1950s, but it seems they were not without their problems. They were generally kept to flattish routes, because high current consumption limited the range on steep gradients. In later years, frames tended to sag in the middle due to the weight of the heavy lead-acid batteries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DB_Class_ETA_150

 

Weight is important for shunters. You need plenty of it.

 

I'd be curious to see the considerations which informed thinking in this case and what, if any, alternatives were investigated.

 

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/ar...diesel-hybrid-train-enters-passenger-service/
Porterbrook and Rolls Royce has added a powerful battery to a 20-year-old Turbostar diesel multiple unit for the Chiltern line.
"Warren East, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, which produced the battery, described the project as “groundbreaking”. He said: “In this critical decade of climate action, today’s entry into service of the HybridFLEX train shows what we can achieve through technological innovation and agile collaboration. “This smart piece of engineering enables the acceleration of the UK Government’s ambition to remove all diesel-only trains from the network by 2040, making rail journeys quieter, cleaner and faster.”

Does not say which type of battery is used?

 

Wasn't there a thing called the Drumm battery train tried out in Ireland years ago?

how did that perform?

 

After much searching (most articles were no more detailed than the one on the Porterbrook trains), the answer is Lithium-ion ..... the same as currently used in nearly all EVs.

https://im-mining.com/2021/08/03/ro...echnology-deliver-hybrid-drive-mining-trucks/

Hybrid tech has it's critics and for cars, the spread of the public charging network gives increasing justification for such criticism, but with an expected lifespan of 30-40 years, my own views is that, as an interim measure, extending applications to retrofitting existing (and very expensive, let's not forget) non-life expired stock is a perfectly logical step. My own experience (admittedly with cars, not rail vehicles) is that the tech is reliable and seamless in operation.

Such 'mid-life' retrofits dovetail remarkably well with the indicated (first life) longevity of current battery tech. This additionally provides the much needed breathing space needed for rail, a major economic sector, to formulate designs suitable to take the industry into the medium too longer term future. It should be kept in mind that, even once degraded beyond use in vehicle propulsion, the battery packs retain substantial residual value. Once it's done it's job in an engine, show me so much as a single gallon of recycled diesel.

My own experience of (already near functionally obsolete) hybrid car tech is that, whilst it undoubtedly adds to complexity in cars, this objection doesn't carry the same weight when considering diesel-electric rail applications. The inherent regenerative function provides very significant additional fuel economy. This is immediately obvious when circumstances dictate even a short term return to a "straight ICE" vehicle, in terms of both fuel consumption and braking.

Overall, this is an eminently sensible means of reducing emissions, whilst ensuring stock remains operable for the duration of it's economic life.

 

Viva Rail appoint administrators

https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/vivarail-announces-its-intention-to-appoint-administrators/

Which leaves the field for hybrid electric and battery and something rolling stock open for the international companies with research budgets to match.

Cheers, Neil

 

That's a shame, they achieved much more than most people who try to get somewhere in a very difficult industry.

 

and then there's this:
Clayton Equipment to supply sustainable locomotive to Norfolk Heritage Railway – Clayton Equipment

 

Um, havnt the hybrid loco's for the Snowdon Mountain Railway gone back

 

And the class 18s that were being trialled have been stored with "thanks, but no thanks" from NR and GBRf.

 

… and the LUL Schomas converted from diesel to BE, also stored after seeing little or no use.

It should be noted Viva Rail have not yet entered Administration, but warned that they’ll have to if they don’t find new investors very soon. Their product is good but they simply haven’t sold enough trains and therefore running out of investment capital before going into profit.

 

I suggest product quality is debatable given the time taken to service and mediocre reliability stats.

 

From Locomotive Wiki, the only battery-electric locomotive I think of.

(Image of North Staffs BEL1)

 

A number of points re-LU battery locos i.e. the bespoke BoBo "yellow beasties"

[1] none of them are heritage in the preserved sense except the one under LT Museum care at Acton

[2] all of them are heritage in that some or other components on them are taken from withdrawn tube stock and certain items are now over 100 years old (there are both motors and bogies that old as well as other components)

[3] they were all overhauled and extensively rebuilt between about 2015 and 2020

[4] they all still use lead acid batteries _ new lot fitted at refurbishment; the installed amp-hour capacity is now about twice the original capacity; it has gone up in increments each time the battery is repalced; mainly due to improved manufacture, lighter containers, etc; the last lot installed was not a jump up from the previous lot BUT same capacity fitted in a smaller space due to internal body layout alterations taken up by other features added at refurbishment

[5] none of them work on battery on running lines except INSIDE engineering possessions; working to and from site they are ALWAYS on DC traction rail power

[6] none of them battery charge off the traction rail; they charge only in depot (West Ruislip these days)



And w.r.t. other types :

Schomas were diesel hydraulic converted to battery electric; not all of them have been rebuilt; none are in use BUT the reason for the non use is not related to the battery; it is something quite different that I can't go into (if the reason is in the public domain then someone else can post it; I am not aware that it is)

There are no ex tube car ballast motors these days and have not been any for many a year; that piece of gen upthread must be 20 years out of date; there were other ex tube cars used on stock movement work in the first decade of this century, but not ballast motors in the Lxxx series, and even these went years ago; apart from the two 196o stock cars permanently attached to the track recording car (to be clear, not battery).

 

We're the LU battery loco bogies overhauled in the 2015-2020 timeframe? I think they are currently going through an refurbishment programme, I've been involved with hot riveting the bogie frames back together on some of the ones which had the most intense surgery...