are trains affected by air resistance?

Question

trains at low speed of 100kmph, thats about 66 mph, does air resistance really affect it?

Answer 1

Trains are affected by air / wind, big time, and not just when considering fuel consumption.

Take the case of the lowly bulkhead flat. On most Class I’s, they’re restricted to 40 mph. Turns out the bulkheads act like sails and can create lift as well as adversely affect stability, not to mention the associated air drag.

Open doors on empty box cars create drag as well. For a time, at least one carrier, as far back as the mid-80's, had rules requiring all doors to be closed, for fuel conservation purposes.

Areas of regular or frequent high winds are problematic, too. In some areas, if train speed is reduced by more than 5 mph due to high winds and the associated resistence, the trains must reduce speed, even if more power is available by opening the throttle.

There are documented cases where high winds have blown cars off the track, and not just in tornadoes or hurricanes.

Answer 2

Yes they are, more than you would think, even at speeds as low as 30 mph, freight trains much more than passenger of course. On a windy day if you have a mixed freight with a lot of bulkhead flatcars or boxcars with open doors it can and does slow you down. It certainly effects fuel usage. I have seen where wind has blown train cars off the track and not just empty cars.

Answer 3

Definitely. Trains usually aren't particularly aerodynamic (unless we're talking about the TGV in France or bullet trains in Japan here), and air resistance affects them a lot at 100 kilometers per hour.

Answer 4

Yes. Air resistance can be a factor at speeds as slow as 25 mph.

Trains are big and they move a lot of air. The less they have to move the more efficiently they can run.

Answer 5

Absolutely. As a car retarder, wind comes into play EVERY single day. I've seen cars roll up hill before during winds around 15-20 mph. Other factors include rail, snow, heat, and employee attitude :)

Answer 6

Air resistance effects everything. Even the people who race in the tour De france. thus the areo dynamics of the helmets and the smoothness of thier clothing. It allows the air to slip over them better and produce lower resistance.

Answer 7

Air resistance at any speed causes drag, are you wanting to know how it effects fuel efficiency at 66mph? If so you need to state more details. What type of train, what type of fuel, whether conditions.

Answer 8

aerodynamic trains are less susceptible to air resistance than flatter ones

Answer 9

Yes but probably not as much as it affects planes.

Answer 10

yes