Why are trains no longer streamlined ?

[Cd]

Yes - I know passenger trains such as the TGV, and Japanese bullet trains are all beautifully designed for good aerodynamics, but what about freight trains ?

You would think that they could at least do a half arsed attempt at it with the freight trains. Looking at freight trains, it almost looks as if they design the trains like a trailer house - complete with exposed ladders, wind catching roof overhangs, and exposed railing.

Even at the slower speeds that they travel, they would probably save several thousand gallons of fuel each year simply by a more 'retro' streamlined design.

So where did the old streamliner designs fail so badly that the newer trains had to throw the old designs to the wind ?

[shovel]

There are still trains?

[Frank Lee]

My guess is, there's too much variation in cars and containers to even bother with it. And, they don't really get going all that fast.

[Duffman]

Aero drag has to be darn near negligible compared to the frictional losses of umpteen thousand tons.

[Johnny Mullet]

At least they would look cool

[ConnClark]

Actually they are looking aerodynamics. They have looked at placing dividers in empty coal cars and reduced drag by 21%.

[Ryland]

well, they claim to be able to move a ton of freight over 400 miles on a gallon of fuel... and if their design allows for better maintenance and that allows for a longer lived train and a reduction in fuel used then I say to stick with the utility design.

[Clev]

The more squared-off shape is probably because repairs are easier. And since the aerodynamics of the leading locomotive on a 100+ car train is probably only a tiny portion of the overall drag.

For short trains, such as Metrolink commuter trains, the nose of the locomotives are now made rounded, and there are body skirts and smooth exteriors on the cars. I just wish they'd use Green Goats on them, since they tend to accelerate/decelerate every three miles, and bleeding off the momentum in the brakes and dynamics.

[Piwoslaw]

I'd like to see lightweight removable boattails on the end of the last car on long distance express trains. It should be easy to take off at the terminal station and put it on another train that's heading out. With speeds of 80-160 km/h here, and over 200 km/h in western Europe (and I don't mean TGV), maintained for hundreds of kilometers, the boattail and the extra work around it would quickly pay for itself.

[wagonman76]

There are still trains?

Yeah really. They ripped up nearly all the tracks around here 20 years ago. The one piece of line that is left I have never seen being used.

well, they claim to be able to move a ton of freight over 400 miles on a gallon of fuel...

I have always wondered about that commercial. Notice they only say fuel. Maybe it's uranium or plutonium.

They probably design them the way they do because it is cheaper and easier. It is always easier to build a box out of steel than any curved shape. And probably for industry standardization as well. Just like tractor trailers.