From: gl4317@yahoo.com   
      
   In article <204bed49-0960-4353-a1f9-6fdfced83dc8@googlegroups.com>,   
    hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:   
      
   > 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.   
      
      
   What age of car is your previous 6 cylinder car though?  1950s like the   
   Budd RDC?  The transition from that era to today, with all the extra   
   equipment is fairly substantial.   
      
   Today such engines would require a charge air cooler, which is an   
   additional heat exchanger and is quite large.  Exhaust after treatment   
   plus noise dampening requires a larger muffler.  Running the air   
   conditioning directly from the engine has proven very troublesome for   
   railroad passenger cars over the years, and it really works best with a   
   higher pressure refrigerant anyway - one that won't work with an engine   
   driven compressor.  So, you need a source of three phase power.  Either   
   an inverter or a separate diesel engine will take up more space.   
      
   The power electronics requires a fair amount of cooling, which takes up   
   more space.   
      
   Sadly, it just hasn't gotten any smaller.  Sure, regular low voltage   
   consumer electronics can do a lot more in a more compact space, but   
   power electronics is a different animal because of the high currents   
   involved.  You need a certain amount of space to take the power.   
      
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