Re: Tractive effort, horsepower, and tractive power

Quote
Tim Zukas - PRR FAX
> a PRR B1 (0-C-0) electric that has a rating
> of 50,000 pounds of "tractive power"...
> 1) Can TE be converted to horsepower?

Tractive effort is something you can measure--
horsepower is always calculated, from
measurements of other things.

Just keep in mind: power is tractive effort times speed.
So one way to calculate power is to measure the
tractive effort, and measure the speed, and
multiply. If you're measuring tractive effort in pounds,
and speed in miles/hour, and power in horsepower,
then the last step is to divide by 375, since as it happens
Watt's horsepower is exactly 375 mile-pounds per hour.

Don't pay too much attention to "rated" power or
"rated" tractive effort for a locomotive. 90+% of
the "rated" tractive efforts you see for diesel
locomotives are calculated by dividing their weight
on drivers by 4-- as if anyone needed to know that.