1964 ideea about gas turbine trucks

[Telecolor 3007]

There where gas turbine automobiles, locomotives, but some one had plan for trucks: https://www.fleetowner.com/fleet-man...hind-the-wheel

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

There where gas turbine automobiles, locomotives, but some one had plan for trucks: https://www.fleetowner.com/fleet-man...hind-the-wheel

I've heard of those....they never got off the ground because of intrinsically bad fuel economy.

[MadMan]

Ah, the 60s, the jet age. I believe there are now some large trucks in Europe that are turbine powered. If I am mistaken, perhaps it was a concept model.

In the 60s, Chrysler started working on their gas turbine engine. They made successful test cars, like 50 of them, and gave them to normal people to drive. They were reliable and well-liked. Most were destroyed, as concept cars always are. They persisted, however, after about 20 years of research and development, they were finally ready to tool up a factory and make the New Yorker with a gas turbine engine... in the 1980s.

At the time, they had been bailed out by the US government, and they said 'nope' because it was considered a risky business endeavor. And that was the end of the gas turbine in automobiles. They do have gas turbine engines in tanks, though, and I think that engine has its roots in Chrysler's turbine.

Their R&D did have some good results, though. They made big advances in metallurgy. They were able to use regular metals for the turbine blades, where jet engines still use titanium alloy. They also made big advances in turbine technology and efficiency. In the 60s, they would've been roughly as fuel efficient as a comparable regular engine car. I realize that's not a flattering comparison, but that was a massive improvement on the technology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2A5...Leno%27sGarage

[Hawkwind]

Edited blurb,

This film from Ford shows the company's experimental gas turbine semi truck, known as "Big Red". It dates to approximately 1965. The film starts out with shots of the Cabana Motel in Atlanta before showing a map of the nation's new interstate highway system. At :54 a superhighway is shown with its many interchanges. "When this network is completed, true long-range hauling at sustained speeds with all city traffic bypassed...will become a practical idea for the first time.

Download or Stream...


https://archive.org/details/xd10344bigredvwr

[nasadowsk]

The French had some gas turbine trains (the TGV was supposed to be gas turbine at first).
They then came to their senses and solved the issue of high speed current collection.

The US government was fixated on gas turbine passenger trains from the 60's onward, until the late 90's. None were remotely successful (The various RTL versions built by the French were the closest, but they weren't that great either). None could match the power or fuel economy of a conventional US diesel.

And given how US passenger trains are the bottom bar for both, in the entire world (US passenger diesels have laughably low power outputs ), that's saying a lot. But US rail, especially passenger is the Special Olympics of railroading...

[Telecolor 3007]

There was also a increase in fuel prices that made gas turbines not good in terms of costing. The basic ideea of gas turbine was that it had less moving parts, so more relaible, less meintenace.
The where gas turbine cars - "Chrysler" - some one mentioned them.
Gas turbine locomotives - "Union Pacific" haves one unit preserved. They also know as bird burners - if any bird got to close to the exhaust
And gas turbines trains, succeful - in Canada - "Turbo Train".

[nasadowsk]

The Turbo train wasn't amazingly successful, though that was more due to Canadian National's refusal to upgrade the track. It had technical issues, too, and the rail industry hated it because it was made by an aircraft company. A common theme in the US rail industry, even though the BART cars made by ROHR, and the DC Metro ones made by ROHR too, lasted an amazingly long time, and worked well*. Established builders (Pullman, St Louis Car, ACF, etc), couldn't get their act together and went under.

UP's turbos were a goner after the chemical industry found a use for the 'bunker oil' that they burned. It was previously a waste product, basically free. Then plastics became a thing, and guess what they needed as a feedstock...

*I still remembered watching in astonishment, as a kid, how on the DC metro, the driver would punch a start button, the doors would close, the train would start itself, and he'd watch the platform side as it pulled out, then close the window and walk over to the control console and monitor operation.

[Telecolor 3007]

Oh, yes, the "bunker oil". True. I forgot about that. But those locos had power, more power then a Diesel-Electric.

[nasadowsk]

That's not saying much. US diesel locomotives have pretty much no power. Passenger ones are worse because they have to supply the cars with lighting, etc. So the '4000' HP passenger loco maybe puts 3000 to the rails.

We were so stupid in not embracing electrificaton.