Story notes: sequel to 'Frankfurt Calling' · 10:34pm Nov 2nd, 2018
Hello there,
this was quicker than expected, but I had several new ideas right after I finished Frankfurt Calling and the response to that story was rather motivating. 
So now there's a sequel under way, but this time around it's going to be a two-parter because it feels right to split it. It's also written in first person view. Chapter two is halfway done. Writing these stories has been fun and also somewhat strange - I used to be a railway nerd and it seems as if that passion has been somewhat rekindled. Anyway, there are spoilers below.
My protagonist works for a company called Euro Cargo Rail which is a subsidiary of DB Cargo AG. It's headquartered in France but also handles international freight to Spain, Belgium and Germany among others.
Her locomotive is a Bombardier TRAXX 140 MS2, Euro Cargo owns 20 of those.
It's got 7500hp, a top speed of 85 mph (140 km/h) and some serious traction. As a professional driver, she has every reason to love it.
I had a thought about what we think wonderful and what ponies might think wonderful. I love steam engines, they're almost like mythical beasts. But what if they are a simple fact of live and you work on them almost every day? It is not a pleasant work environment. Wouldn't a modern hightech locomotive be absolutely fascinating and wonderful? Earth things are so BIG compared to pony things as well.
The locos we see in the show are fairly small tank engines. Because they are heavy steam engines they have quite a bit of tractive force in relation to their size but are rather lacking in the horsepower and speed departments. For this story I assume that the ponies do have express trains pulled by larger steam engines with a trailing tender which are quite a bit faster if you don't add to much weight. Being pony, they'd still be rather small though. A modern AC electric engine is a wholly different world.
Being a driver is a rather lonely job nowadays, even if some people like that. From a pony point of view, one of the best things about the steam trains is likely the amount of teamwork needed to keep them going. Deprive a pony of that and she may or may not find a suitable substitute. Maybe even discover a latent talent.
All this said, there will be a pink unicorn in the story. Promise.
P.S.: For anyone wondering what kind of obscure thing a pantograph is: 
Yay!
Also relavant:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/5/17/1156030__safe_artist-colon-orang111_cloudchaser_30+minute+art+challenge_absurd+res_db+br193_deutsche+bahn_express+train_flying_galaxy+railway+999_locom.png
4962381
Heh! I had that same image open while writing this post but decided against including it . So thanks for that. By the way, that's a very good drawing of a Siemens Vectron engine, one of the most advanced freight locomotives currently available.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/TRAKO_2013_w_Gda%C5%84sku_%E2%80%93_Siemens_Vectron_electric_%28DB%29.JPG
Flight capabilities not included in the standard version though. There's probably a fic here as well. Not a very serious one though ;)
Im a bit of a railroad nerd myself, though most of my knowledge is good for the steam era and only that. It is really cool to see how modern roads operate and dven cooler to see it from a european perspective. I wait patiantly for the second bit of this tail. If for some reason youx like to do something with steam equipment down the road, maybe a heritage operation, id like to help if i could.
4962406
I just submitted it, so it should be available shortly. And I might take you up on that offer ;)
Eeeeeee!
4962412
By all means. Just give me a shout. Haha
Im wondering what modifications were done to Euro overhead lines to lessen the friction speed wiggle induced in the sliding contact overhead line, given the UK lost a whole section with a new high speed test?
Turn your tap on until you Just get a thin continous flow of water. Place finger at bottom then slowly lift upwards. Eventually the water starts to wiggle and ball.
The math function is that of the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. The answer depends on speed, wing size, and flap rate. Works for Salmon as well.
Though if youre still unsure, you might be looking at the Salmon of Doubt.
Lets see. 7.5kHp? 5 Megawatt? Im impressed. Ive only got 2.5 Megawatt of 200 volt MosFETS. Suprisingly compact. The whole array with cabling, forced cooling ducts etc shouldnt be that different in size to a Road Traction units Exhaust system, and definitely no larger than the fuel tank.
just waiting to see how small graphene electric motors can get, Im expecting a couple thousand HP per litre.
Or lets just stick a Spey turbogenerator on board. Up to 30kHP?
Why are serial hybrids hated so much? You size your motors for power at speed, your batteries for accelerationa nd deceleration, dump banks for braking, and the supply, generator only has to handle cruise in good conditions? That way, when grade and weather get worse, the train remains within controlable limits by restriction instead of going psycho trolly problem?
just be glad the poor sod isnt doing the Chunnel run. Apparently the electrics keep getting fried because theyre open cooled and the humidity change accross the tunnel keeps soaking them?
4962453
I have no idea, but the suspension is some serious engineering. The UK HS2 has so far been a disaster in every aspect anyway, from ppolicy to planning to engineering. Having lived in the UK for a few years I can attest to the shoddiness of their railways, incompetence of politicians and the not fit for purpose privatised franchise system.
5.6 MW actually. The TRAXX also has a tractive force of 300 kN, which is quite impressive for its weight of 85 tons.
The last generation of ICE trains weigh only 400 tons, have 12kHp and 16 motors all along the underside of the carriages.
Do you mean diesel-electric? They are very popular on non-electrified routes because of their efficiency and ease of maintenance. The TRAXX also comes in diesel-electric. Nivhtline's employer has quite a few Vossloh engines like these ;)
66.media.tumblr.com/d397426e00d5471c4aac98b372ba63af/tumblr_phm2wiNFwG1ui23zfo1_1280.jpg
Indeed. I remember they also had a problem with the air intakes being designed in a way that fine snow, mist and spray could get into the engine and short-circuit it. I mean, seriously?
Well...
orig00.deviantart.net/3de5/f/2017/176/e/1/shuppatsu_shinkou_____by_orang111-dbdy0p0.png
All aboard, I guess.
4962706
She better be asking way too many questions!
Also, getting all the lap snuggles.
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More sassy than snuggly I'm afraid ;)
Still contains pony snuggles of a kind though.