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Using a standard tow strap one would use for towing any type of vehicle on a road.
Sorry if I'm not impressed but I've seen rail cars pushed on level ground by a couple of women. The only real hard part is getting the startup inertia going. The amount of contact each rail car's wheel has on the track is roughly the size of a US dime. That's not a lot of friction to overcome even with each car being extremely heavy. If the track had even the slightest decline that truck wouldn't be able to stop the cars and would be dragged along behind them.
If they want to impress us, don't use such an obvious gimmick. Those don't even look like full weight rail cars. Don't let the extra height fool you the exterior walls aren't even solid.
Using a standard tow strap one would use for towing any type of vehicle on a road.
Sorry if I'm not impressed but I've seen rail cars pushed on level ground by a couple of women. The only real hard part is getting the startup inertia going. The amount of contact each rail car's wheel has on the track is roughly the size of a US dime. That's not a lot of friction to overcome even with each car being extremely heavy. If the track had even the slightest decline that truck wouldn't be able to stop the cars and would be dragged along behind them.
If they want to impress us, don't use such an obvious gimmick. Those don't even look like full weight rail cars. Don't let the extra height fool you the exterior walls aren't even solid.
The entire purpose of the wheels are so that you wouldn't need to overcome the friction between the train and the rail.
Last edited by TexasLawyer2000; 08-27-2021 at 07:58 PM..
Rather than endless analysis fo the theory behind advertising gimmicks, there' s a bigger point to consider--
I posted this on the Automotive board here yesterday--
Maybe we oughta re-think this E-Truck thing:
" that’s a problem. For the maximum all-up weight of a truck on U.S. roads is 80,000 lb, or 36 tons. Of that, by the time one takes the massive weight of the batteries into account, the tare weight of a Tesla milk-float will be around 33 tons, leaving less than 3 tons for cargo." https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/08/...rent-worth-it/ That means any fuel savings gained on a per-trip basis would be more than lost by needing to make 5 trips to transport the same amount of cargo as the traditional ICE semi.
...And for the Tesla pick-up (obviously designed by an Ivy Leaguer who never actually loaded or unloaded a PU) 500 mile range goes down to 175 miles when hauling a 5 ton load at 60mph, and 125 miles at 75mph.https://tfltruck.com/2020/01/electri...ight-analysis/
1 million pounds? Are we just not using “tons†anymore? Or maybe they just wanted to use the Dr. Evil voice when they said it. I kind of feel bad for the engineers, you know it’s marketing people that came up with this crap.
Rather than endless analysis fo the theory behind advertising gimmicks, there' s a bigger point to consider--
I posted this on the Automotive board here yesterday--
Maybe we oughta re-think this E-Truck thing:
" that’s a problem. For the maximum all-up weight of a truck on U.S. roads is 80,000 lb, or 36 tons. Of that, by the time one takes the massive weight of the batteries into account, the tare weight of a Tesla milk-float will be around 33 tons, leaving less than 3 tons for cargo." https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/08/...rent-worth-it/ That means any fuel savings gained on a per-trip basis would be more than lost by needing to make 5 trips to transport the same amount of cargo as the traditional ICE semi.
...And for the Tesla pick-up (obviously designed by an Ivy Leaguer who never actually loaded or unloaded a PU) 500 mile range goes down to 175 miles when hauling a 5 ton load at 60mph, and 125 miles at 75mph.https://tfltruck.com/2020/01/electri...ight-analysis/
Your links don't work but the data is really off - first off 80,000 lbs is 40 tons, 36 tons is 72,000 lbs. The Tesla semi truck batteries are reported to be 500KW (Elon interview with Joe Rogan) - 5 times what is in a Model S, the model S weighs just under 5000 lbs / 2.5 tons - even if ignore that the 5 Model S vehicles includes 5 vehicles worth of stuff, more than batteries. If estimate that that the semi weighs about what 5 model S vehicles weigh, that is 25,000 lbs / 12.5 tons, add 10,000 lbs / 5 tons for trailer gives empty truck weight of about 17.5 tons (not 33), leaving 22.5 tons, not 3. Interestingly, the normal weight of an empty diesel semi truck is about 25,000 lbs / 12.5 tons, 35,000 lbs / 17.5 tons with empty trailer - leaving about the same 22.5 tons.
If look at the parts that differ - A model 3 75KW battery weights 1050 lbs so an EV battery weighs approx 14 lbs per KW, at 500 Kw that gives a battery weight of 7000 lbs - so would lose 3.5 tons of capacity if everything else was the same but a semi engine is 2800-3000 lbs and full diesel fuel load is about 5000 lbs, in contrast an EV motor is far lighter at less than 250 lbs - assume 4 gets 1000 lbs so Battery of 7000 lbs and motor of 1000 lbs is essentially offset by an engine at 3000 lbs and fuel of 5000 lbs. Both have same capacity. If the longer range Tesla Semi had 1000kw battery (speculation) - that would add another 3.5 tons of battery weight, reducing the capacity to about 19 tons vs the diesel semis 22.5 tons.
The tfl data is also way off - I actually tow with a model X, mine is lower range version (295 miles rated) and I get about 50% of rated or about 140 miles on a charge towing 5000 lbs in a box trailer at 60 mph - I would expect 500 mile cybertruck to get more like 250 miles range on a charge towing, not 175 or 125. At this point it is all speculation anyway.
Weight of battery vs load capacity is not a linear relationship. That's why the Tesla semi is 4x bigger than the Tesla van but carries only 2x the load.
Weight of battery vs load capacity is not a linear relationship. That's why the Tesla semi is 4x bigger than the Tesla van but carries only 2x the load.
What is the Tesla van that carries 40,000 lbs on a 125 kw battery?
The load capacity has little to do with the battery - the load it can pull is more about rating of motors and tow design. The battery is really about range more than anything else.
Current Model X is 100 Kw battery and max load is 6,800 lbs and max tow 5,000 lbs - just under 12,000 lbs, Tesla Semi reported to have a 500 Kw battery and max load of 80,000 lbs. Range with X full load is about 150 miles, with Semi it is reported at 300 miles.
So Semi has 5x the battery but 6.67 x the load and double the range - sounds like the non linear relationship goes the other way - more efficient with higher load.
I think there's a point being missed here. There's nothing wrong with electric motors. Max torque at zero RPM. Good stuff. The issue is powering them. Put a big diesel generator behind them (which is exactly what most self powered locomotives have done for the last 70 years or so), and your good to go. Power them directly from the power grid, also no problems (except providing the connection to the grid.) The other locomotives not powered by diesel generators are supplied electrical power for pantographs. So this can be made to work. But the infrastructure has to be there
Then there are batteries. They have low power density, long recharge times, limited recharge cycles. This is where the idea fall flat. The pickup can very likely move the train. I don't doubt that. But notice there aren't much in the way of battery powered locomotives out there, even given that nearly all locomotives nowadays are driven by electric motors.
Don't electric vehicles have more torque than regular ones?
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