Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Locomotive |
LocomotiveAdjective1. Of or relating to locomotion. Noun1. Wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine used to draw trains along railway tracks. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "locomotive" was first used: 1612. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of a locomotive running with great speed, denotes a rapid rise in fortune, and foreign travel. If it is disabled, then many vexations will interfere with business affairs, and anticipated journeys will be laid aside through the want of means. To see one completely demolished, signifies great distress and loss of property. To hear one coming, denotes news of a foreign nature. Business will assume changes that will mean success to all classes. To hear it whistle, you will be pleased and surprised at the appearance of a friend who has been absent, or an unexpected offer, which means preferment to you. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Electrical Engineering | A motor vehicle running on railway tracks, intended to haul other vehicles, and not carrying any payload. Source: European Union. (references) |
Literature | Locomotive or ~~~Locomotive Engine. Locomotive Engine. A steam-engine employed to move carriages from place to place. (Latin, locus moveo, to move one's place.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Mining | An electric engine, operating either from current supplied from trolley and track or from storage batteries carried on the locomotive. The locomotive may be powered by battery, diesel, compressed air, trolley, or some combination such as battery-trolley or trolley-cable reel. Used tomove empty and loaded mine cars in and out of the mine. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A locomotive is a vehicle that provides the motive power for a railway train. Traditionally, the locomotive or locomotives are positioned at the front of a train, pulling passenger carriages and/or freight vehicles. This requires the locomotive to be moved from one end of the train to another when a change of direction is required. However, it is now common for the locomotive for a passenger train to remain at the same end of the train. A driving cab is provided in the outermost carriage, with controls which communicate with the locomotive through wiring along the train. The train is thus pulled by the locomotive when moving in one direction, and pushed in the other. A variation of this occurs when a train consists of a set of carriages with a locomotive at each end, both of which are controlled by a driver in the leading locomotive.
Drivers are instructed by signals when they may start or must stop. see railway signaling
A steam locomotive at the Gare du Nord, Paris, France, in 1930.
Long freight trains sometimes have locomotives at the front and rear, and even in the middle of the train. This reduces the force on the couplings between the freight vehicles. In this case, control signals are usually sent from the leading locomotive by radio.
Trains which do not have locomotives are referred to as multiple units.
Steam
The first railway locomotives (19th century) were powered by steam engines. Because of this, the some people took to informally calling the steam locomotives themselves "steam engines". The steam locomotive remained by far the most common type of locomotive until after World War II.
The all-time speed record for steam trains is held by an A4 Pacific class locomotive of the LNER in England, Mallard which pulling six cars (plus a dynamometer car) reached 203 km/h (126 mph) on a slight downhill gradient down Stoke Bank on July 3, 1938. Locomotives from other nations such as Germany and the United States attained speeds very close to this, and this is generally believed to be close to the practicable upper limit for the direct-coupled steam locomotive.
Before the middle of the 20th century, electric and diesel locomotives began replacing steam locomotives. By the end of the 1960s, most countries had completely replaced steam locomotives in commercial service. Other designs, such as locomotives powered by gas turbines, have been experimented with, but seen little use.
Well before the end of the 20th century, almost the only steam power still in regular use in the USA and Western European countries was on railroads specifically aimed at tourists and/or railfans. Steam locomotives remained in commercial use in parts of Mexico in to the late 1970s. Steam locomotives remain in regular use in China, where coal is a much more abundant resource than petroleum for diesel fuel. In some mountainous and high altitude rail lines, steam remains in use because it is less affected by reduced air pressure than is diesel.
Diesel-mechanical
Diesel locomotives differ in the form of transmission used to convey the power from a diesel engine (or engines) to the wheels. The most simple form of transmission is by means of a gearbox, in the same way as on road vehicles. Diesel trains or locomotives which use this are called diesel-mechanical.
It has however, been found impossible to build a gearbox which can cope with a power output of more than 400 horsepower without breaking, despite a number of attempts to do so. Therefore this type of transmission is only suitable for low powered shunting locomotives, or lightweight multiple units or railcars.
For more powerful locomotives other types of transmission have to be used.
Diesel-electric
The most common form of transmission is electric; a locomotive using electric transmission is known as a diesel-electric locomotive. With this system, the diesel engine drives a generator; the electrical power produced then drives the wheels using electric motors. In effect, such a locomotive is an electric locomotive which carries its own generating station along with it.
Diesel-hydraulic
Alternatively, diesel-hydraulic locomotives use hydraulic transmission to convey the power from the diesel engine to the wheels. On this type of locomotive the power is transmitted to the wheels by means of a device called a torque converter. A torque converter consists of three main parts two of which rotate and one is fixed, all of which are sealed in a housing filled with oil.
The inner rotating part of a torque converter is called a centrifugal pump (or impellar), the outer part is called a turbine wheel (or driven wheel), between them is a fixed guide wheel, all of these parts have specially shaped blades to control the flow of oil.
The centrifugal pump is connected directly to the diesel engine, and the turbine wheel is connected to an axle which drives the wheels.
As the diesel engine rotates the centrifugal pump, oil is forced outwards at high pressure, the oil is forced through the blades of the fixed guide wheel and then through the blades of the turbine wheel, which causes it to rotate and thus turn the axle and the wheels, the oil is then pumped around the circuit again and again.
Diesel-hydraulic locomotives are slightly more efficient than diesel-electrics but are mechanically more complicated and more likely to break down. They are now greatly outnumbered by diesel-electrics.
Gas Turbine
Locomotives powered by gas turbines, were developed in many countries in the decades after World War II. These used jet-type engines (similar to the turboshaft engines in a turbine helicopter) driving an output shaft. The normal method of transmitting power to the wheels involved an electrical transmission similar to a diesel-electric locomotive -- the turbines running at constant speed driving a generator, feeding to large electric motors driving the wheels.
Gas turbine locomotives are very powerful, but also very noisy (they sounded rather like a jet aircraft). Their efficiency was quite low, but this was initially not a problem; fuel was cheap, and some gas turbines were fuelled with cheap 'Bunker C' heavy oil. This cheap fuel source vanished when improved refinery techniques allowed it to be 'cracked' into lighter petroleum grades. After the oil crisis in the 1970s and the rise in fuel costs, gas turbine locomotives became uneconomic to run, and many were taken out of service. This type of locomotive is now rare.
Electric
Electric locomotives are externally supplied with electric power, either through an overhead pickup or through a third rail. While the cost of electrifying track is rather high, electric trains and locomotives are significantly cheaper to run than diesel ones, and are capable of superior acceleration as well as regenerative braking, making them ideal for passenger service in densely populated areas. Almost all high-speed train systems (e.g. ICE, TGV, bullet train) use electric locomotives, because the power needed for such performance is not easily carried on board.
However in the 1970s British Rail in the United Kingdom, developed a high-speed diesel electric locomotive called the High Speed Train, which is capable of reaching speeds of up to 284 km/h (176 mph), although in service it only reaches speeds of 200km/h (125 mph).
The world speed record for a wheeled train was set in 1990 by a French TGV which reached a speed of 515 km/h (320 mph).
While recently designed electrified railway systems invariably operate on alternating current, many existing direct current systems are still in use—e.g. in South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, Netherlands (1500 V), Belgium (3000 V).
Magnetic Levitation
The newest technology in locomotives is magnetic levitation (maglev). These electrically powered trains have a special open motor which floats the train above the rail without the need for wheels. This greatly reduces friction. Very few systems are in service and the cost is very high. The experimental Japanese magnetic levitation train has reached 552 km/hr.
See also
- The Rocket
- Steam engine
- Diesel multiple unit
- Geared steam locomotive
- List of locomotive builders
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Locomotive."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
LOCOMOTIVE | English | Low-Cost Moving symbols recognition Through Intelligent Vision Engineering | Computing, European Union |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: LocomotiveSynonyms: locomotor (adj), engine (n), locomotive engine (n), railway locomotive (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Carrier | Noun: carrier, porter, bearer, tranter, conveyer; cargador; express, expressman; stevedore, coolie; conductor, locomotive, motor. |
Journey | Adjective: traveling; Verb: ambulatory, itinerant, peripatetic, roving, rambling, gadding, discursive, vagrant, migratory, monadic; circumforanean, circumforaneous; noctivagrant, mundivagrant; locomotive. |
Vehicle; automobile, train, bus, airplane, plane, autobus, omnibus, subway, motorbike, dirt bike, off-road vehicle, van, minivan, motor scooter',trolley, locomotive; legs, feet, pegs, pins, trotters. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | You better do something, you idiot, because in ten minutes you're going to have two hundred tons of locomotive smashing through Central Station on its way to Marshall Fields (Silver Streak; writing credit: Colin Higgins) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) Tommy's Locomotive (1910) The Locomotive Wheel (1898) Locomotive (1999) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Far shot of Locomotive Rock, Lakeview District. Credit: Terry Spivey. |  | Caption: Primary Battery Applications, Locomotive Approaching Railroad Crossing Signals Which Are Adjacent to Tracks, Inset of Edison Primary Battery; Unknown Date; {05.100/7} (jpg). |
 | Caption: Edison Electric Railway Locomotive and Car with Inset Printed with Caption Pioneering in Electric Transportation at Menlo Park, New Jersey, 1880-1882; 1880-1882; {15.110/6} (jpg). |  | The people's line--Take care of the locomotive. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Janesville's first locomotive. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The "best friend," the first locomotive built in the United States for actual service on a railroad. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Jackie Coogan leaning out of window of locomotive, with sign "Capitol limited", Jackie Coogan, owner and chief engineer". Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Virginia. Locomotive on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | City Point, Va. Another locomotive at the same point. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Locomotive number 501 and tender, Chicago & Alton railroad. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Locomotive" by Kenn W. Kiser Commentary: "Old steam locomotive pulling passenger cars." | "Old locomotive" by Radek Siechowicz Commentary: "Old locomotive." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
William C. Bryant | Truth gets well if she is run over by a locomotive, while error dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | These high-speed locomotive vehicles and heavy-load freight train cars depend on imported machine tools. (references) | |
Based on plans in 1997 for large-scale technical renovation, the locomotive factories have an additional several billion yuan to conduct further renovation. (references) | ||
Economic History | Brazil | The best prospects for U.S. firms include: refurbished locomotives, locomotive spare parts, breaking systems, couplings, diesel engine parts, communication systems, signaling systems, track maintenance equipment and services, and railroad ties of concrete and wood. (references) |
Bulgaria | The Bulgarian Government has a railway restructuring project which focuses on the repair of 414 km of main tracks, construction of an automated locomotive system, procurement of new railcars and repair of existing stock, and improvement of information and technical services. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Russia | For example, in June members of a locomotive engineers' union in Syzran filed suit against management, demanding back payment for delayed bonuses. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Locomotive" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.20% of the time. "Locomotive" is used about 747 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.2% | 741 | 9,171 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.8% | 6 | 143,867 |
| Total | 100.00% | 747 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| India | Tata Engineering & Locomotive Co. Ltd. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "locomotive": Consolidation locomotive ♦ diesel locomotive ♦ electric locomotive ♦ electrical locomotive ♦ Locomotive boiler ♦ Locomotive car ♦ locomotive engine ♦ locomotive engineer ♦ locomotive power ♦ mogul locomotive ♦ railway locomotive ♦ shifting locomotive ♦ steam locomotive ♦ tank locomotive. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "locomotive": locomotive-drawn, locomotive-hauled, locomotive-manufacturing, locomotive-testing. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "locomotive"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | lokomotivë (engine), lëvizor, lëvizës (ambulatory, going, live, mobile, motional, motive, motor, movable, moving, peripatetic, propellent, traveling, travelling), që shtyn. (various references) | |
Arabic | متحرك (animated, bascule, dynamic, mobile, motor, movable, moveable, moved, moving), قاطرة (engine, loco), تنقلي, تحركي (locomotor), سيار (circular), سفري. (various references) | |
Basque | lokomotore (engine). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | на движение (locomotor), за движение, локомотив (boiler, engine), двигателен (driving, locomotor, motional, motive, motor, propellant, propellent, propelling, propulsive), движещ се (moving). (various references) | |
Chinese | 机车, 機關車 . (various references) | |
Czech | lokomotiva (engine, locomobile). (various references) | |
Danish | lokomotiv (engine). (various references) | |
Dutch | motorisch (motor, motorial). (various references) | |
Esperanto | mova (motorial). (various references) | |
Farsi | متحرک (Gradient, Mobile, Remote, Versatile), نیروی محرکه (Propellant, Propulsion), لوکوموتیو, وابسته به تحرک , حرکت دهنده (Motor). (various references) | |
Finnish | veturi (engine). (various references) | |
French | locomotive (loco). (various references) | |
German | lokomotive (engine, railway engine), bewegend (affecting, budging, motively, moving). (various references) | |
Greek | κινητήριοσ (actuating, motile, motive, motor), μηχανή τρένου, μηχανή (engine, machine, motor, motorbike, motorcycle), προωθούμενοσ δι' ίδιου μηχανισμού, ατμομηχανή σιδηροδρόμου. (various references) | |
Hebrew | קטר (engine, loco, steam engine). (various references) | |
Hungarian | lokomotív, mozgató (actuating, locomotor, motive, motor, movement, mover, moving, propulsive), mozdony (engine, iron horse). (various references) | |
Indonesian | lokomotip. (various references) | |
Italian | locomotiva (engine, railway engine). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | ロケット発射筒 (location hunting, logo, logos, logotype, Los Angeles, rocket launcher, rococo, rosary, Russia), 機関車 (engine). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ロコモーティブ , きかんしゃ (engine, returnee). (various references) | |
Korean | 기관차. (various references) | |
Manx | traen (railway train), jeshaght (contraption, engine, instrument, machine, utensil), gleashagh (affecting, moving, stir, stirring, touching). (various references) | |
Norwegian | lokomotiv, bevegelses-. (various references) | |
Occitan | locomotritz (engine). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ocomotivelay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | locomotiva (engine, iron horse, loco). (various references) | |
Romanian | locomotor, locomotivã (engine, steam engine, stream-liner), voiajor (itinerant, traveller, voyager), de locomoţie. (various references) | |
Russian | локомотив. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | lokomotiva (dolly, traction engine), putujući (ambulant, itinerant, peregrin, travelling), pokretan (ambulatory, floating, impellent, maneuverable, manoeuvrable, mobile, motile, movable, moveable, moving, personal, shifting), koji se pomera sa mesta, koji se kreće. (various references) | |
Spanish | locomotora (engine, loco, puffer, railway engine). (various references) | |
Swedish | rörlig (agile, alert, brisk, floating, fluid, limber, loose, mobile, movable, moveable, moving, vivacious), lokomotiv (engine, loco). (various references) | |
Turkish | lokomotif (engine, iron horse, loco, locomotive engine, puffer, steam engine), harekete geçiren (driving, impellent), hareket ettirici (driving, motive, motor, mover). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | руховий (motional, motive, motor), рушійний (driving, motive, motor, moving, propellant, propellent, propelling), локомотив. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | loco. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "locomotive": locomotives. (additional references) | |
| |
"Locomotive" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: locamotive, locomotif, Lokomotiv. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "locomotive" (pronounced lō'kumō"tiv) |
| 6 | -u m ō" t i v | automotive. |
| 5 | -m ō" t i v | motive, nonautomotive. |
| 3 | -t i v | accommodative, abortive, accumulative, accusative, acquisitive, active, adaptive, addictive, additive, adjective, administrative, adoptive, affective, affirmative, alliterative, alternative, anticompetitive, appointive, appreciative, argumentative, assaultive, assertive, attentive, attractive, authoritative, captive, causative, cognitive, collaborative, collective, combative, commemorative, communicative, comparative, competitive, conductive, congestive, connective, consecutive, conservative, constructive, consultative, contemplative, contraceptive, cooperative, corrective, corruptive, counterproductive, creative, cumulative, curative, deceptive, decorative, defective, definitive, degenerative, deliberative, demonstrative, derivative, descriptive, destructive, detective, digestive, dilutive, diminutive, directive, disincentive, disparages, dispositive, disruptive, dissipative, distinctive, distributive, duplicative, effective, elective, elucidative, eruptive, evocative, executive, exhaustive, expletive, exploitative, exploitive, facultative, Federative, festive, figurative, fixative, formative, fugitive, furtive, generative, hyperactive, hypersensitive, illustrative, imaginative, imitative, imperative, inactive, inattentive, incentive, indicative, ineffective, infective, infinitive, informative, initiative, injunctive, innovative, inoperative, inquisitive, insensitive, instinctive, instructive, interactive, interpretive, introspective, intuitive, invective, inventive, investigative, irrespective, iterative, laxative, legislative, lucrative, manipulative, meditative, narrative, native, negative, neoconservative, noncompetitive, noncumulative, nonexecutive, nonnative, nonproductive, normative, nutritive, objective, obstructive, octave, operative, overactive, palliative, participative, pejorative, perceptive, perspective, photoconductive, plaintive, positive, predictive, preemptive, prerogative, preservative, presumptive, preventative, preventive, primitive, proactive, probative, productive, prognosticative, prohibitive, projective, prospective, protective, provocative, punitive, putative, qualitative, quantitative, radioactive, reactive, receptive, reconstructive, recuperative, redemptive, redistributive, reflective, refractive, regulative, rehabilitative, relative, remunerative, rep, repetitive, representative, reproductive, respective, restive, restorative, restrictive, retroactive, retrospective, secretive, sedative, seductive, selective, sensitive, speculative, stimulative, subjective, substantive, suggestive, superconductive, superlative, supportive, talkative, tentative, ultraconservative, unattractive, uncompetitive, uncooperative, unimaginative, uninformative, unproductive, unreceptive, unrepresentative, vegetative, vindictive, vituperative. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-e-i-l-m-o-o-o-t-v" | |
-2 letters: locomote. | |
-3 letters: telomic, vicomte. | |
-4 letters: citole, coelom, coolie, cootie, motile, motive, ocelot, oolite, violet, vomito. | |
-5 letters: celom, civet, clime, cloot, clove, comet, comte, covet, evict, looie, lotic, melic, molto, motel, movie, oleic, olive, ovoli, ovolo, telic, teloi, toile, voice, voile, volte, volti, vomit. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-e-i-l-m-o-o-o-t-v" | |
+1 letter: locomotives. | |
+4 letters: macroevolution, microevolution. | |
+5 letters: macroevolutions, microevolutions. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Company Usage | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Abbreviations 18. Acronyms 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
