Coolent in locomotives
Author: David Maxwell
Date: 10-18-2007 - 17:28
This may be a stupid question but I;ve never seen it covered in this forum or in Trains mag. Why can't coolent be used in the diesel engines in locomotives? It seems that only water is used, which means that the engine must be kept warm (by running it all the time or having a timer or sensor to start the engine from time to time). Is the engine designed in such a way that it isn't sealed and coolent would get into the cylinders or the oil? Could it be that EMD set it up that way 70 years ago and no one has questioned it since? Diesel trucks can use coolent though there is an order of magnitude in the size of engine. I'm sure coolent would cost a lot more than water but I can't believe it would so much as to show up in the bottom line (at least in a class one RR). I'm sure it is common knowledge but I've never seen it. Thanks in advance!
David Maxwell