A Unique Propulsion System for tion recognized the serious plight of the

commuter railroads in the Philadelphia

area. Realizing the contributions that
the railroads could make toward minimiz-
Electric Mvlultiple-Unit Cars FOr ing area-wide traffic problems, they de-
veloped a bold new philosophy to en
Philadelphia-Area CommuterService courage commuter operations; the rail-
roads would supply more frequent service
at reduced fares, and the city would meet
H. S. OGDEN the increased costs of the expanded ser-
FELLOW IEEE vice. It was hoped that the resulting
convenient and economical commuter
service would attract and retain enough
Sunimary: This paper describes the ultra- and operating difficulties due to whleel riders to obviat.e the allotment of munici-
modern commuter car design which has slip vanished; in addition, maintenance pal funds for vastly expanded expressways
been developed and applied by the Penn- sts were mratlyreds tx d
and downtown parking facilities.
s
sylvania Railroad with the financial help costs were greatly reduced.
of the City of Philadelphia and the general However, the requirements for com- The earlv results were successful enough
guidance of a local consulting firmn. Test muter cars underwent substantial changes to encourage the city to initiate still
runs and service operation to date are from 1950 to 1960; these changes were further improvements in the area's rail-
included. based on the concept of lightweight high- road commuter services. To this end,
speed passenger cars. The ideas were re- a program was established by which the
THE PENNSYLVANIA Railroad fined and finally crystallized in the design city could finance the design, construc-
TCompany started operating electric and construction of the 6-car prototype tion, and procurement of new high-per-
commuter trains in 1915, and the Read- multiple-unit train for the Pennsylvania formance and high-comfort commuter cars
ing Company in 1930. The traction Railroad;* the cars had great customer to replace obsolete rolling stock. The
motors on the early Pennsylvania Rail- appeal because of their interior arrange- city's investment in these new cars would
road cars were of the "doubly-fed" type ments, such as comfortable seating, air be amortised bv leasing them to the opera-
with what might be termed a starting conditioning, fluorescent lighting, etc. ting railroads over a nominal period of
and low-speed connection, as well as a Although the electric propulsion equip- time.
high-speed connection. Although opera- ment furnished for these cars is of an To assure that the proposed new cars
tion was successful, maintenance tended advanced design incorporating the trans- would meet the highest criteria of perform-
to be high. It was therefore decided to formation and rectification of catenary ance, comfort, and economy, a local firm
adopt the a-c series motor which was power on the cars and lightweight d-c of consulting engineers was commissioned
being developed for locomotive applica- traction motors, unfortunately the actual to work with city and railroad representa-
tions in the late 1920's and early 1930's. performance was little or no better than tives to develop appropriate specifications.
The newly developed motors were applied that of the 1915 vintage cars. The im- As a first step in the city's new procure-
to the Pennsylvania Railroad commuter portance of improved performance in ment program, 55 cars have been built
car fleet that was being expanded to addition to passenger comfort was em- to these specifications (see Fig. 1); 38
take care of electrified lines to Wil- phasized when these cars failed to deter have been leased to the Pennsylvania
mington, Wllest Chester, Trenton, and the diversion of commuter traffic to the Railroad and 17 to the Reading Company.
Norristown. This type of motor also automobiles travelling over the expand- Most of these cars have now been in
furnished propulsion for the original fleet ing and improving expressway system in commuter service for several months.
of the Reading Company cars and is still the area. Extensive acceptance testing proved that
in use today. About this time, the city administra- the new cars and their electric propulsion
On the other hand, the Pennsylvania equipment meet all specified performance
Railroad was faced with the necessity of * PROTOTYPE ALTERNATING CURRENT MULTIPLE equipmetet ci
parameters with aa comfortable r margin;
UNIT TRAIN OP THE PRR, K. H. Gordon, V. F.
replacing some of the original high Dowden, E. W. Ames. Conference Paper 59-248, this indicates that, when the faster sched-
maintenance cars and, about 1950, decided AIFE Winter General Meeting, New York, N. Y-' ules made possible by these cars go into
upon a modification of the a-c series motor
design for additional cars. Fundamen-
tally, this involved making a small motor,
so that it would be economical to have
every axle motored. Changes in the con-
trol were developed, and the time-honored
preventive coil-tapping contactor system
was replaced with resistor acceleration
and tap change by means of a motor-
operated power controller.' Perform-
ance of these cars was highly successful,
Paper 64-258, recommended by the IEEE Land
Transportation Committee and approved by the Fig. 1. Passenger
IEEE Technical Operations Committee for pre- S p
sentation.at the IEEE-ASME Railroad Conference, Service Improve-
Cleveland, Ohio, April 14-15, 1964. Manuscript ment Corporation
submitted January 17, 1964; made available for car of type in service
printing February 19, 1964. onPnslaiad
H. S. OGDEN iS with General Electric Company' on Pennsylvrnia and
Erie, Pennsylvania. Reading Railroads
NOVEMBER 1964 Ogden-Propulsion System for Electric Multiple- Unit Cars 329

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effect, "on-time" performance will be 55 volts aud use 478 amperes when which is applied to the main rectifier
readily achieved. accelerating. Each of the four motors rate bank, can be varied from a small amount
The smooth operation of the cars, par- 156 hp(horsepower)on an hourly basis of use to the full value bv means of two mercurv-
ticularly on welded track, has led to com- 6. The transformer has a kilovolt-ampere arc Ignitron-tube rectifiers, which are
plete customer acceptance. This opera- (of ,0 volts, and secondariary voltages of connected and controlled to act as a
tion has encouraged the Pennsylvania 637/546/572 volts. It weighs 7,260 pounds. voltage "valve." The regulation of this
Railroad management and others to con- . valve is the fundamental principle of this
sider these cars, with some equipment The cars are mounted on inside journal unique and novel control system.
modifications, as the possible basis for trucksanbrknispoiebvir
s, and braking iS provided by air- The output of the main silicon-cell
high-speed intercity trains between New oprtddisc
operated Ii trainso Theycarmay Pobe
brakes. 1-15 power rectifier is fed through a main
York, Philadelphia, WVashington, and, operated smoothing reactor to the traction motors;
perhaps eventually, Boston. For this vlSion has been made for operation with these motors are permanentlv connected
service, cruising speeds of 125 mph (miles tractilon motors cut out Acceleration of in series pairs, and two such series pairs are
per hour)
per with equipment
hour) with capabilities of
equipment.capabilities of conne.individual
cars may be checked by a
speciallv calibrated milliammeter plugged
t i a
150 mph are contemplated. The fundamental principle of operation
The power circuitry and method of con- into a convenient outlet. consists of timing or phase retarding the
trol will be covered in some detail, with MAIN CIRCUITS point on the basic voltage wave at which
emphasis on the more novel elements. A simplified schematic diagram of the
the mercurv-arc Ignitron rectifier tubes
are fired, i.e., allowed to pass current,
Electrical and other Features maincircuitsis shownin Fig . A study to select the value of the volt-seconds
of the main motor circuitry, along with passed by them. When the h Ignitron-tube
Each car seats 125 passengers in a 3-2 the~~~~~~~~~ prplso control
the propulsion control apaats
apparatus, will thmwill gnton
firing control is fully, phase retarded, a
seat arrangement; fluorescent lighting clarifyoperationofthissystem minimum amount of volt-seconds is
and complete air conditioning are pro- PROPULSrON CONTROL OPERATION passed or applied to the currenit flowing
vided. Multiple-unit operation is ob- through them. When the firina control is
tained with the usual control trainline By means of the Faiveley pantograph, fully adanced, the maximrim amount of
wires, carried between cars in the auto- 11,000-volt single-phase 25-cycle a-c volt-seconds of the output voltage wave
matic couplers which provide mechanical power is collected from the overhead dis- of low-voltage winding A is applied
coupling and air line connections. These tribution system and supplied to the high- to the current passed through the Ignitron
automatic couplers mav be controlled voltage winding of the Pyranol*-filled tube; the resultant voltage is then ap-
from the operator's position or from the main transformer. The transformer out- plied to the main silicon rectifier bank
ground without the operator. put comes from three separate low-voltage and, from there, applied to the traction
The following are the principal statistics windings: A, B, and C. motors.
applying to the car: Each low-voltage winding is connected The voltage of transformer low-voltage
l. The power supply consists of 11,000
to a bridge circuit of silicon-cell rectifier
winding .A applied
is to the Ignitronvalve
volts at 25 cycles. ' . . . . tubes when contractor -l is closed. With
bridge circuits are connected in series to Ignitron-tube firing control fully re-
2. The length over the couplers is 85 feet. form the ir
bridge main power rectifier, inoser
are cectie whose otout- the
tared a miiu.olaeiapidt
3. A light car weighs 101,400 pounds, a put is determined bv the amount of the tarded a m'nimum voltage is applied to
loaded car (125 passengers at 155 pounds t t o the main silicon-cell power rectifier and,
each) weighs 120,800 pounds, and the total transformer low-voltage wmding from there, to the traction motors. The
electrical equipment weighs 28,066 pounds. connected to it at any given instant, firing control is then advanced until the
4. The maximum speed is 85 mph. The output of low-voltage winding A, desired maximum accelerating current
5. The motors carry a normal voltage of * Registered trade-mark of the General Electric flows. Under the control of the current-
425 volts with a maximum (no load) of Company. measuring reactors in each motor circuit,
the Ignitron-tube firing control is regu-
lated to keep the accelerating current
constant, while voltage applied to the
motors is increased at a rate commen-
PLR surate with the increase in car speed.
THR -Js1
>, } ; OLRMI WOLRM2 hen the firing control of the Ignitrol
-TA OLRI REV. REV tubes becomes fully advanced, the maxi-
, oOOV mum voltage from transfortner low-volt-
A W age winding A is applied to the main
power rectifier. At this point in the
PIN ION accelerating cycle, two events occur
A2OLR2 REV. 2 MI RELAY MI3 REV.4
simultaneously: contactor A,2 is closed
a OR the full output voltage of trans-
|to applylow-voltage
>; | 9 ~~i
t
ci92sl;
ft OtR i'former
l l

(3
winding B to the
main rectifier, and, at the samne time,
|| A3OLR T4 the Ignitron-tube firing control is fully
; > 1 X '<~~~ retarded. In effect, this applies the out-

;
0 1 |tl09 CMRXI >CMRX2 put voltage of transformer winding B,
ov A { ; _ < | | ~~~~~~~~~~instead A, to the traction
of winding
-4t g * ,1\M2 M4Fig. 2. Simplified motors.
l T~~~~~~~~~~~,1
AUX. LOADS main circuit digam I the next paeof the car aclrto
330 Ogd en-Propulsion System for Electric Mzfultiple- Unit Cars NOVEMnER 196j4

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cycle, the fully retarded firing control of Fig. 4. Voltage regulation 70 VOLTS TO 674 VOLTS
the Ignitron tubes is advanced again, by delayed fring of lgnitron (ONE HALF OF AC SINE WAVE SHOWN)
with regulation from the current-measur- tubes
ing reactors, until the full voltage of
transformer low-voltage winding A is VA FI VOLTAGE AT MAX.
VARIASLFIR_ FIRING DELAY
again applied to the main rectifier bank. ING ANGLE "A"
IWINDING
For traction purposes, this voltage is
added to that of winding B. At this A
point, the final double event occurs: MN. COMMUTATING
contactor A3 is closed to apply the full ANGLE 674 VOLTS TO 1256 VOLTS
output voltage of transformer low-voltage AREA OF
winding C to the main rectifier, while VAROIABGLE
simultaneously, the Ignitron-tube firing IN'A"WI NG
control is again fully retarded. In effect, AREA O
this substitutes the combined output / /CONSTANT VOLTAGE
voltages of transformer windings B and "B" WINDING
C for the summation of the output /
voltages of windings A and B.
The final phase of the acceleration cycle operating). This feature simplifies the rent-flow directions with the battery
consists of advancing the Ignitron firing procedure of cutting out faulty motors, as polarity reversed.
control again, until finally the full output it is necessary only to open the controlling The lower bridge is similar, except that
voltages of all three transformer windings, contactors Ml and 1M12 or M13 and Mr4, de- an a-c transformer in which the polarity
A plus B plus C, are being applied to the pending upon which pair of motors is to is continually reversing is substituted for
main rectifier and the traction motors. be isolated. the batterv. Thus, if the battery is ap-
After this point, it is no longer possible to plied to the upper bridge by closing switch
maintain maximum accelerating current OPERAtTIONOF MAINSMOOTuINGREAcTOR A2, or if the transformer is applied to the
through the traction motors. Accelera- AND RECTIFIER BRIDGES lower bridge by closing switch A3, or if
tion of the car to balancing speed will con- Reference to Fig. 3 will clarify the oP- both 12 and A3 are closed, current will
tinue at a steadily diminishinig rate in eration of the main power circuit. The flow through both rectifier bridges, the
accordance with the inherent charac- upper part of this figure is a basic circuit smoothing reactor, and the motor since
teristic of the traction motors. diagram showing two rectifier bridges, a all are in series. With only alternating
A unique feature of this control system smoothing reactor 11MSX, and a motor power available from the main trans-
is the use of a current-measuring reactor il_; the upper rectifier bridge circuit in- former low-voltage windings, power will
in each of the two motor circuits; the cludes a battery. The currents flowing flow through the closed series circuit, but
effect on the rate-regulating system is such through the branches of the rectifier will pulsate from zero the maximum
that the reactor measuring the higher cur- bridge when switch A2 is closed are in- value of the original alternating voltage
rent controls the rate regulation. Thus, dicated by arrows and plus (+) and minus wave. This is shown in the lower part of
rate regulation is not affected if either pair (-) signs. Those signs enclosed in Fi. 3.
of motors is cut out for any reason (the parentheses indicate current-flow direc- Obviously, if another source of power
effective rate of car acceleration is, of tions with one battery polarity, while the were injected anywhere in the circuit ex-
course, halved if half the motors are not signs without parantheses indicate cur- ternal to the rectifier bridges, current
would be forced through the closed series
msx circuit; the smoothing reactor ,IfSX
serves as such an additional power source.
The main smoothing reactor is a copper
) (M
N(++2) winding on an iron core. As the a-c
'K / <wave starts to buildup through the circuit,
flux is built up in the iron core of the reac-
tor. Then, as the a-c wave tries to fall to
zero, the collapse of flux in the reactor core
induces a voltage in the reactor winding
which tries to perpetuate the flow of cur-
rent through the series circuit.
RECTIFIER OUTPUT VOLTS Thus, the reactor serves as a temporary
source of power to the traction motor dur-
ing the interval when the pulsating volt-
-IO OLTS age from the rectifier bridge or bridges
\ / ~~..ORIGI NAL WAVE would normally fall to zero and then build
\ ' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~up
again, as shown in Fig. 3. The effect
'-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~of
the main smoothing reactor is shown in
- - N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the
lower trace of Fig. 3. Here, it is
seen that the voltage from the main
I s\ WITH MSX
/ 'smoothing reactor is effective when the
- '/ - - - - 0 VOLTS Fig. 3. Addition of voltages in applied voltage would fall to zero; thus,
RECTtFIED WAVE silicon rectifier the system voltage applied to the traction
NOVEMBER 1964 Ogden-Propulsion System for Electric Mlultiple- Unit Cars 331

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 motor is continuous, although rippling in
nature. The effect of the main smoothing
reactor is to decrease the peak value of the
applied rectified voltage wave, as a result
of energy stored in the reactor, and to
§°{discharge
X4 this energy to prevent the recti-
^^
M% L 1 | fied voltage wave from falling to zero be-
_____________________. _ tween waves. The resultant current
.4 8 t 1
,o 8 B | wave rippling between maximum and
t e w _ e minimum values, rather than pulsating
546 VOLTS 572 _VOLTr
-
r 63btwenVero th
between zero and the maximum value,
L1s
I I WqrS I +: i I provides a more even tractive effort from
ondtors and much better commutating
the m
bA w ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~conditions.
0

l |~~~~~~~III
rl r D > > TW
OPERATION OF PHAS,E-C ON-TROLLED
IGNITRON RECTIFIERS
The operation of the phase-controlled
lN|B|* oN i | Ignitrons will be understood better by
studying Fig. 4, which depicts their opera-
tion in applying the alternating voltage of
transformer low-voltage winding A to its
silicon rectifier bridge. Curve .l of this
figure shows that, if the Ignitron tube is
not fired until the low-voltage-winding
alternating wave is near zero on the latter
half of the wave, only a relatively low
1rlr Mr ~ Jvalue of the available voltage is applied to
the rectifier bridge.
In practice, a phase delay of 145 de-
0 Mr grees in the Ignitron firing circuits results
lix lip M |in approximately 70 volts being available
to force current through the rectifier
bridge and, from there, through the main
d~_ I_)F_ --)H
rtr rr I1~l
Ivr: @X 1smoothing reactor and the traction motors.
!m t
|| tAt 1 tot tAt t | The phase
delay is then reduced gradually
LJ . on a simple time basis until sufficient
voltage is available to force the desired
LD | .accelerating
l Z ll current through the traction
| tu~r_ 1 n.~ri
Oi motors. From this point, the rate at
&-jr Is t twhich the phase delay is reduced further
4H 0- " @ ^ ^ lis controlled by the current-measuring re-
<0*
*Xo' actors in each motor circuit, so that de-
sired accelerating current is maintained at
a constant value as the car speed increases
x C r lI < < proportionally with continually increasing
transformer output voltage applied to the
rectifier bridge.
lWhen the phase control of the Ignitron
firing circuits reaches its minimum delay
(determined by minimum commutating
period of the Ignitron tubes which, in
turn, is dependent upon the characteristics
of the main transformer and the associated
distribution system supplying alternating
| nnz | - | X l power to the car), the maximum value
I X w ,s t¢__ * ... , a a | the alternating voltage wave of low-
~~~~~~of
_<_ | sr~~~oltage winding A (637 volts) is applied to
the rectifier bridge.
l ______________________________________ WShen this occurs, tap contactor A
is closed to apply the full voltage of low-
voltage winding B to its rectifier bridge
at the same time that the phase delay of
Fig. 5. Silicon-cell power rectifier connections the Ignitron-tube firing circuit is returned
332 Ogden Propulsion System for Electric Mlultiple- Unit Cars NOVEMBER 1964

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 to the maximum delay of 145 degrees. In TRAIN LINE CONTROL
effect, this substitutes the voltage of wind- AC VOLTS
ing B, plus the 70 volts minimum of ON OR OFF
winding A, for the previously applied full NOTCHING COMMAND
voltage of winding A. The phase control (TUBE VOLTS) SW'NOTCH' C
of the Ignitron-tube firing circuit is ad- NOTCH IC
vanced as before under control of the cur-
rent-measuring reactors until the full - FIRING FIRING CNRQO IR z
voltage of winding A is superimposed on IGNITRO TUBES PANEL ICARDS COMMAND c

the voltage of winding B, as shown in TISCO ACVOLTS

trace B of Fig. 4. 1AC SYNCHRONIZING
The third and final phase of the com- AC SIGNAL
plete acceleration cycle (not shown in Fig. VOLTS CMRX ISOLATED CURRENT
4) occurs when low-voltage tap contactor l MCLAT CURRRIN
A3 is closed, as has been previously CARD SIGNAL
described.
A more detailed circuit diagram show-
ing the connections of the silicon-cell TRACTION MOTOR
power rectifier is shown in Fig. 5. The
silicon cells of the main rectifier and the Fig. 6. Firing and notching system block diagram
two Ignitron tubes are air-cooled. Ven-
tilation is supplied by a centrifugal blower
driven by the blower motor-alternator set
that also supplies power for battery
The equipment necessary for control- trolley-up surges, it provides the notching
chargstg, lightaig, and control. t ing acceleration of the car is contained on back through the stages when these condi-
In past installations of Ignitron tubes, two card panels mounted in one end of the tions occur just after an upward transfer.
it has been necessary to bring the tubes main control group. The cards mounted
to room temperature before they are in the semiconductor control circuitry are
fired. The air-cooled tubes used in this Protective Equipment
of the plug-in type and automatically con-
equipment are simple anode-cathode type trol the operation of the car after the Wheel-slip indication is provided by
having no control grids in their make-up:
the simpictco *their cnstr pe- operator has selected the desired opera- alternators from the intermediate gear
mits successful optheirat downstruction- C The ting position on the master controller. in each traction gear unit. Protection
succentigloperade),thich i th0the a pilotoutput
(degrees of these card panels is fed as from wheel slip on any axle of the car is
(freezg pontigrof mercury. Heatn signal to the firing panel, where the provided by signalling the current-meas-
frezignironint
ignitrons in cold weaterury.ISi therefore
cold weather
a
ther un- signal amplified
firing
is
pulse fed to
and used to trigger the uring circuit to reduce power on the car
the igniter circuits of the to a level which will not support continued
necessary, and ventilation remains the
same throughout the year. Ignitron tubes. The cards also provide wheel slip. When the slip has ceased,
With the described control system, it is an output signal that controls the closing traction motor current is reapplied grad-
possible to provide the traction motors of the second and third stage contactors ually up to the preslip value. In addition
with optimum voltages and currents and, A2 and A3. Basically, the signal that
thus, to make the most of any basic motor causes the transfer from stage to stage is
design. In the case at hand, no field Table I
shunting was needed, and an exceedingly Ignitron tubes. When the tubes are
simple motor circuit resulted. Space operated at low output with the igniter Circuit Indication Location
limitations imposed by the inside-beann firmg at full retard, the tubes will have
truck limited the physical size of the maximum voltage across them. As the Ground ........,,.Local .... Main control group
motor. Since this system supplies opti- car accelerates and the igniter firing ap- Overload . . Local .... Main control group
Hot transformer. Local . Main control group
mum voltages and currents, it is possible proaches full advance, the voltage across General fault ...... Train line.. Each operator's
to use a basic d-c motor and to meet initiates the transferzero;
the tubes falls to this condition position
from one stage to
output requirements in a manner that the next. The block diagram of Fig. 6
could not be approached by a constant-
voltage d-c system. It would be impossi- sanhotheytare f the sys-
ble to meet these requirements with an a-c nals and how they are fed mto the sys-
motor such as the type used on the tem.
Pennsylvania Railroad cars with vari- b lit to of throughrlaE
able voltage supply which were purchased system is its ability to notch back through
in 1950. g P Y Pthe three stages under the command of
the operator, the wheel-slip protective
THE CURRENT REGULATING SYSTEM system, or a signal of overcurrent from the
Semiconductor components are used for current-measuring reactors. This fea-
phase control of Ignitron-tube firing, ture is not found in previously built multi-
step switching signals, and main-power ple-unit car control. In long high-speed
rectification; the system provides stable runs, it provides a convenient means for
operation and a properly controlled cur- operating the car close to authorized
rent build-up rate. speeds. During slipping conditions and Fig. 7. Motor-altemator set
NOVEMBER 1964 Ogden-Propulsion System for Electric Multiple- Unit Cars 333

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 Table II. Acceptance Test Results to giving wheel-slip indication, the axlk-
alternators provide an over-speed indica-
Test Specification Performance tion. Traction motor power is cut off
when the maximum permissible car speed
Initial accelerating rate ............... 1.7 mph per second ot more .... 2.0 mph per second to 40 mph is attained; if car speed increases further,
Time to reach 70 mph................ 70 seconds or less ............. In 70 seconds speed was 70.5 mph . h t
Distance travelled in 70 seconds ... 0.85 miles or more ............ 0.94 miles the air brakes are applied. Wlien the car
from standing level tangent track speed has been reduced by a predeter-
Speed attained on 1% adverse grade.. .70 mph or more ............. 73.5 mph in 4 miles, 73.0 mph in
in 5 miles 5 miles* mined amount below the operating point
Power consumption for round trip... 11 kwh per car milet .......... 10.74 kwh per car mile+§ of these relays, the air brakes may be
on local service'l
Power consumption for 5-stop 90- ..250 kwh per car trip . 386 kwh per car trip § removed and power reapplied.
mile run on express servicelII Wheel slip or slide protection is also
* Operating slowdown required on cLrve at abotrt 3 miles. provided when the air brakes are in use.
t Calculated at motor input. The semiconductor circuitry of the wheel-
I Tested with single car train.
§ Measured at pantograph.
slip circuits will indicate which truck is
No car heating or cooling. slipping and operate an air brake valve
Evidently calculated at rail. to bleed the air quickly from that truck.
When the wheel-slip system indicates no
further slipping, air is reapplied at a con-
oC - Fig. 8. Characteristics of trolled rate up to the pressure called for
I_ _ car with four GE1252 motors by the operator's brake valve.
500 loC i (two in series and two series
ACCEL.AMPS ---
pairs in parallel), 32-inch
wheels, a 5.07 to I gear ratio,
FAULT INDICATING LIGHT SYSTEMt
9C t and an II ,000-volt line Each car is provided with indicating
-MAX, SPEED t--MAX. SPEED/ LLS
LL lights to assist in locatingt troubles; these
400 80 - l,- are shown in Table I.
cn 0- l I\ @
MOTOR
~~~~CURRENT
CURRE sIT /1
o
\Y hen the operator s fault light conies
E 70\ \ on, he moves the controller to the off
position, makes a service air-brake ap-
30060 \ _/ l plication to forestall an emergency brake
application, and then removes his control
cc w
a-
X
50 |
l |\ 1/ |
\
X SPEED
75
| X l l l__plug from its normal position and places it
in the reset hole. This will operate the re-
V. set coils on all remotely resetable devices.
200 40 7 x SPEED If the operator's fault light is extinguished,
II/183 V. he knows that an overload was tripped
-
or - somewhere in the train and that it has
-SPEEDV been reset: if the lamp remains lit, a
100 20 637 ground relay has tripped or a transformer
has overheated or developed a fault, and
lo _ the car is dead as far as propulsion is con-
cerned.
0 o i1 I Car inspectors can quickly determine
2 6
0 4 8 l0 12 14 the particular car in trouble by observing
TRACTIVE EFFORT (4MOTORS )-THOUSAND POUNDS the indicator lamps in the main control
groups through the window as they walk
beside the train.
..
ACCEPTANCE TEST PERFORMANCE 1 5/19/631 BLOWER MOTOR-ALTERNATOR SET
70
The blower motor-alternator set sup-
60 plies 3-phase 48-cycle 220-volt power
.- oz ; \ CALCULATEI to the car lighting system, under the
0 _ _ _ - CAR
PERFORMANCE control of a static semiconductor type
W
w/ 5/ regulator. Both this set and the motor-
,, 40 alternator set have 2-pole 25--cycle driving
motors and 4-pole generators; at s-n-
cM30 __/__ c l l l l \ WIhronous speed, this would give a 50-cycle
/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~output.
Because of the slip of the induc-
'J'20 __ ___ __ tion driving motor, the net frequency at
/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~full
load is 48 cycles. Emergency battery
Io7C lights come on when lighting switches are
/ ^\ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~closed
and the blower motor-alternator
O 10 2\0 4 0
TIME - SECONDS
0 7 0 9 Fig. 9. Calculated Set is not delivering voltage. This set
and actual car supplies several power outlets for vacuum
PSIC CAR PERFORMACE (PRR TYPE MP85CEI) performance cleaners used by car-cleaning personnel.

334 Ogden-Propulsion System for Electric Multiple- Unit Cars NOVEMBER 1964

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 The car battery-charging d-c control Fig. 10. Typical
and other d-c loads are supplied through a traces of motor cur-
3-phase transformer with secondary ad- rents and Ignitron-
justing taps on the low-voltage winding tube voltages
and a 3-phase bridge rectifier. A 32-volt
d-c line regulator maintains constant
direct output voltage with load for devices
requiring a closely held direct voltage.

MOTOR-ALTERNATOR SET
The motor-alternator set (Fig. 7) sup-
plies 3-phase 48-cycle power to a large
number of induction motors. Because
their usage requires that they be started
on a random basis, provision has been
made that not more than one of the three
larger motors may be started at one time.
This is accomplished by means of a
system of pilot relay combinations coupled
with a pair of time delay elements in thc
form of semiconductor circuitry. The
poor power factor of these motors while
starting makes it difficult for the reg-
ulating system to maintain the alternator
output voltage at the proper value if two Fig. 8 shows the characteristic curves Conclusions
or more motors are started simul-
taneously. The three motors involved in of these carswithrectifier and transformer The cars described in this paper niay
this sequential starting system are the losses included In Fig 9, the original revolutionize the thinking of that part
two 9-hp Freon compressors motors for the calculated performance curve of speed of the railroad industry concerned with
air conditioning and the 71/4-hp air com- versus time (March 14, 1962) is com- commuter operations. If the low over-
pressor motor. A no-voltage relay as- pared with the actual performance which all electrical maintenance expected from
sures the presence of alternator output had been recorded during the acceptance the use of semiconductor control of accel-
voltage before any starting attempts are tests eration materializes, these cars will make
made. Current and voltage traces showing the their mark in railway history.
control performance over the full accel-
erating range are given in Fig. 10; these
Operation traces were taken on a complete car just References
before its acceptance for railroad service. I. A-C MULTIPLE-UNIT
MKINT, W. S.
CAR CONTROL RQUIP-
O'Kelly. AIEE Transactions, vol.
To date, the operation of the propul- The tube volts are shown as a full sine 70, pt. 1, 1951, pp. 752-56.
sion equipment on these cars has been wave at the start of acceleration and dur-
highly successful. An indication of this ing the 8 or 10 cycles in transferring from _
is contained in the results of acceptance stage to stage. As the car speed
tests made May 17-22, 1963, on a 6-car increases, it will be observed that the
test train with a simulated passenger load area of the tube-volts envelope grad- Discussion
of 19,325 pounds per car; these results are ually decreases until a point is reached
shown in Table II. wvhere the peak value begins to fall off. J. W. Irwin (The Pennsylvaniia Railroad
During the testing, an 83-mile run Some time after this, the peak voltage Comiipaniy, Philadelphia, Pa.): The author
from Harrisburg to Paoli was made in reaches a value low enough to initiate the has prepared an excellent paper on the
64 minutes, in comparison with the transfer to the next stage. principles of operating the propulsion and
schedule time of 78 minutes for the The motor ampere trace shows the Budd-built stainless-steel electric multiple-
Railroad's "Broadway Limited." controlled rate of current build-up at unit cars being used by the Reading antd
At a speed of 80-85 mph (where per- standstill and low speed, as well as the Pennsylvania Railroads in P'hiladelphia
mitted), the 90.5 miles from Philadelphia's slight dip during the stage-to-stage suburbaii commuter service.
Street Station
30th Street30thStation to
to NewNew York's
York's transfer.
transfer. ~~~The cars and, specifically, the propulsioli
svstem have been designed with minimui
Pennsvlvania Station were covered in I The change in ripple current from stand- inspection and maintenance costs in mniiid.
hour and 35 minutes; this included five still and low speeds until the car is on The static card-type phase-control iietliod
intermediate stops of 3 minutes each. the motor curve is very evident; the of varying applied voltage to the traction
An interesting sidelight on Philadelphia- ripple is minimum at first and then motors all but eliminates the large number
New York runs was the effect of head and becomes maximum when the full voltage close under load. The sequence relays
tail winds on power consumption; north- is applied. have also been eliminated, as have the
bound, with a 25-mph tail wind, the power To indicate the wave shapes more countless interlocks associated with the
consumption was 362 kwh (kilowatt-hour) clearly, the second set of traces with the conventional tap-switch method of varyinig
per car trip, while southbound, with a fast paper speed shows the events during locks had hecoiiie standard in this type of
25-mile head wind, the power consump- the transfer from one stage to the next equipmiient.
tion was 410 kwh per car trip. stage. As a result, electrical inspection costs
NOVEMBER 1964 Ogden-Propulsion System for Electric Mllultiple- Unit Cars :335

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on these cars have been reduced by an that the same effective treatment might come moisture trouble, but placing this
estimated 50% in comparison to costs on be tused in solving some of the other prob- rather sizeable device in the transformer
the older equipment. So far, the savings lems in commuter traffic. tank would compromise a design already
in maintenance costs have been even The cost of commuter cars for class 1 severely limited by height. The device
greater, and, while it is realized that the railroads is just one of these problems. could be liquid-cooled separately, but the
cars should have a relatively lower level Modern cars are needed to replace cars electric equipment on the cars was built
of maintenance simply because they are that are 40 and 50 years old, and sometimes with a stringent weight limitation in mind.
new, these costs are not expected to increase even older. Yet replacement is proceeding Any liquid-cooled design would have a
substantially with the cars' age. at a painfully slow rate because cost is severe weight penalty which we could not
As Mr. Ogden points out, a-c power is high and money scarce. afford to consider.
supplied to operate the auxiliaries at 220 While the passenger is interested in We feel that the corrections to the
volts by a 3-phase, 48-cycle blower motor- schedules and fares, his basic requirements smoothing reactor and its ventilating
alternator having a 14-kw capacity, and a are safety, reliability, and comfort. To system will afford trouble-free operation
motor-alternator having a capacity of 33 reduce the cost and enable the purchase of for this device during future winters.
kw. The separate sources of power were more new cars, whv not design electric As in any situation of this kind, the fault-
incorporated in the design, since it was commuter cars solely around these three indicating light system is a compromise
felt that, if lighting were not isolated from factors? between a more complete svstem of faulty-
the air compressor drive motor and air Any commuter car must have certain apparatus indication and a system provid-
conditioning from drive motor, starting safety standards, and there is no compro- ing enough information for the operator to
would produce an objectionable dip in the mising with this. Reliability is largely an perform his duties intelligently. The
lighting. equipment problem, and the emphasis compromise adopted here seems to meet
Experimentation after the cars were should be on ruggedness of apparatus and this criterion; in fact, it is more compre-
placed in service has revealed that the simplicity of control even at the expense hensive than the apparatus on most other
flicker in the lights caused by starting any of some efficiency or the last degree of cars of this type.
of the motors is scarcely visible, and apparatus protection. Luxury items can Individuals who attended 1964 IEEE-
certainly not objectionable. On this basis, be eliminated easily, and without sacrifice ASME Railroad Conference heard a short
the functions of both machines will be of comfort. The result will be what may discussion of the principles of the static
combined into one in order to reduce the be called an "austerity design" electric control system used on these cars; this
number of rotating-apparatus pieces in commuter car which will provide the information was not included in this paper
any future equipment. greatest return per dollar. because of the additional space that would
Last winter, it was found that the An austerity design car would include have been required.
smoothing reactor insulation was inadequate the maximum seating capacity consistent We agree with Mr. Hatch that the
to withstan-d the moisture from snow being with comfort; this might involve the problem of raising money to replace cars
introduced by way of the cooling air stream. gallerv-type car if clearances permit or is certainly critical, and we have no desire
It has been our experience that air-cooled the single-deck car with 3-2 passenger to minimize its magnitude. It appears,
apparatus in railroad service is generallyr seats designed for 32-inch spacing. Trucks however, that the passenger referred to is
more vulnerable to insulation deterioration would be simple in design and provide of the captive variety, the kind that keeps
than askarel-cooled apparatus. It would comfortable riding at schedule speeds. one of our smaller Eastern passenger
appear, then, that an improvement in Air conditioning would provide for average railroads operating. Mr. Hatch mentions
over-all design might be effected by chang- summer temperatures, not temperatures on safety, reliability, and comfort, as basic
ing the reactor cooling medium and in- the hottest dav simple on-off thermostatic requirements, but he relegates schedules
corporating it into the transformer cooling control would be used. High acceleration and fares to a secondary classification.
system. and braking rates would not be considered The City of Philadelphia, through the
The fault-indicating light system outlined an end in themselves but would conform Passenger Service Improvement Corpora-
under protective equipment has certain to actual schedule requirements. In this tion, has clearlv proved that where the
limitations. When one unit of a multiple- way, equipment might not be so hemmed passenger is not captive, schedules and fares
unit train becomes inoperative because of a in with protective devices. Furthermore, it increase in importance and exceed the
fault which cannot be cleared or reset, is conceivable that moderate acceleration factor of comfort. The initial service
such as ground or overheated transformer, rates would permit smaller traction motors provided by the City's "Operation North
the cab indicating light naturally remains to be used or would not require fortification East" was one of more frequent schedules
illuminated. Therefore, subsequent over- of the external power system. with reduced fares. The result was in-
loads, grounds, etc., in any of the remaining Austerity design of electric commuter creased riding and new customers. Cer-
live cars go undetected; this is undesir- cars would have the additional advantage tainly, the comfort element was completely
able from the standpoint both of oper- of facilitating standardization of such cars overshadowed as the cars involved were
ation and maintenance. between railroads. Although some progress old and, moreover, hot and stuffy in the
Some means should be provided by has been made in this direction, a great summer time.
which train crews could isolate the indicat- deal remains to be done. Naturally, riding has improved further
ing light wire from the train line of the The problem of replacing over-age com- since the introductiotn of the new air-
faulty car with a minimum of effort. This muter cars in railroads which are conditioned cars with their higher speeds.
would extinguish the cab indicating or struggling to maintain this type of service When the experience in Philadelphia is
train line lamp while allowing the local is so acute that all the arts and skills of analyzed and the competition posed by the
lamp on the faulty car to remain activated. design should be employed to make the automobile is evaluated, tne five factors
We had hoped Mr. Ogden would present greatest safety, reliability, and comfort may be listed in the order of their im-
a more detailed explanation of the static available at the least investment. portance as: schedules, fares, comfort,
control-card system of control and current reliability, and safety.
regulation. Quite possibly, however, this I agree that Mr. Hatch's suggestions
could not have been accomplished without H. S. Ogden: In regard to Mr. Irving's will undoubtedly give the maximum number
a sacrifice in over-all simplicity. remarks, it is true that there were some of usable cars for the minimun number of
unfortunate experiences with smoothing dollars. However, if these cars permit
P. H. Hatch (Long Island Railroad Coin- reactor insulation during the first winter the gradual erosion of existing passenger
pany, Jamaica, N. Y.): In reading H. season of these cars, even though the traffic and offer no incentives for develop-
Ogden's paper, I was impressed by the skill designs followed had previously been ing new traffc, it would be better not to
and knlow-how he hadl applied to the purely highly successful. Naturally, immersing build them, since residual traffc will be
technical problem. It left me wishinlg the reactor in a liquid coolant would over- turned over to the highways in the future.

3 36 Ogden-Propu lsion System for Electric Mllultiple- Unit Cars NO V EMNB ER 196B4

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