On Tuesday, August 19, 2014 1:53:50 AM UTC-4, Glen Labah wrote:   
      
   > Yes, the Budd RDCs crammed all that into a very compact locker at the    
   > end, but that was a much simpler era.  Electronically controlled engines    
   > and transmissions require a lot of electronic equipment.  Compare the    
   > amount of stuff under the hood of today's automobiles to the era of the    
   > RDC for a good comparison of all the new control equipment for engines    
   > and transmissions today.   
      
   Well, by way of comparison, my four cylinder car is more comfortable and more   
   powerful than my prior 6 cylinder car, yet the motor and accessories fits in a   
   much smaller space under the hood.  I can't help but suspect that electronics   
   and modern    
   equipment is smaller than that of years past.  For instance, in cars, a/c used   
   to require an 8 cylinder engine, but today run fine off of a 4 cylinder.   
      
   I suspect that if a new Budd RDC were to designed today, with the same   
   performance specs, the propulsion and auxillary equipment would take up less   
   room, and the unit would be more fuel efficient.   
      
      
      
   >    
   >    
   >    
   > Then we get into things like HEP equipment.  The Colorado Railcar DMUs    
   >    
   > had a separate engine for providing HEP.  This is also how the Danish    
   >    
   > Flexliner did it.  There aren't too many 480 volt 3 phase inverters that    
   >    
   > are large enough for HEP that run from the 72 volt standard locomotive    
   >    
   > battery voltage, and in the case of the Colorado Railcar DMUs the    
   >    
   > engines weren't even available with a 72 volt electrical system.  They    
   >    
   > had to use a 24 volt DC starting battery system for the main engines, so    
   >    
   > the amount of power available off of an inverter from the battery system    
   >    
   > was even more limited.  Really, the separate 480 volt HEP generator made    
   >    
   > a lot of sense, but it also meant more controls to find somewhere to put.   
   >    
   >    
   >    
   > --    
   >    
   > Please note this e-mail address is a pit of spam due to e-mail address   
   >    
   > harvesters on Usenet. Response time to e-mail sent here is slow.   
      
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