1

ELECTRIC LOCO SHED

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Figure 1.1 Front view of Erode shed

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1.1 ABOUT INDIAN RAILWAYS

Indian Railways, a historical legacy, are a vital force in our economy. The
first railway proposals for India were made in Madras in 1832. The country's
first train, Red Hill Railway run from Red Hills to the Chintadripet Bridge in
Madras in 1837. The first passenger train on Indian sub-continent ran from
Bombay to Thane on 16th April 1853. Fourteen railway carriages carried about
400 guests from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 21 miles (34
Kilometers) on 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge track. It is interesting to note
that though the railways were introduced to facilitate the commercial interest of
the British, it played an important role in unifying the country. Railways are
ideally suited for long distance travel and movement of bulk commodities.
Regarded better than road transport in terms of energy efficiency, land use,
environment impact and safety it is always in forefront during national
emergency. Indian railways, the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s
second largest under one management are also credited with having a multi
gauge and multi traction system. The Indian Railways have been a great
integrating force for more than 150 years. It has helped the economic life of the
country and helped in accelerating the development of industry and agriculture.
Indian Railways is known to be the largest railway network in Asia. The Indian
Railways network binds the social, cultural and economic fabric of the country
and covers the whole of country ranging from north to south and east to west
removing the distance barrier for its people. The railway network of India has
brought together the whole of country hence creating a feeling of unity among
Indians.
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1.2 ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

Indian Railways is headed by a seven-member Railway Board whose
chairman reports to the Ministry of Railways. Railway Board also acts as the
Ministry of Railways. The officers manning the office of Railway Board are
mostly from organized Group A Railway Services and Railway Board
Secretariat Service. IR is divided into 18 zones, headed by general managers
who report to the Railway Board. The zones are further subdivided into 68
operating divisions, headed by divisional railway managers (DRM) The
divisional officers of the engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and
telecommunication, stores, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial, security
and safety branches report to their respective DRMs and are tasked with the
operation and maintenance of assets. Station master’s control individual stations
and train movements through their stations' territory.

1.3 MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS HAS FOLLOWING

UNDERTAKINGS
i. Rail India Technical & Economic Services Limited (RITES)
ii. Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited
iii. Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC)
iv. Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR)
v. Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)
vi. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC)
vii. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL)
Indian Railways have their research and development wing in the form of
Research, Designs and Standard Organization (RDSO).
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1.4 MANUFACTURING
Indian Railways is a vertically integrated organization that produces
majority of its locomotives & rolling stock at in-house production units, with a
few recent exceptions.
Locomotives:
i. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in Chittaranjan, West Bengal
manufactures electric locomotives.
ii. Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh manufactures diesel
& electric locomotives.
iii. Diesel Locomotive Factory in Marhowra, Bihar, a Joint Venture of Indian
Railways & General Electric manufactures high-capacity diesel
locomotives, used especially for freight transportation.
iv. Electric Locomotive Factory in Madhepura, Bihar, a Joint Venture of
Indian Railways and Alstom SA manufactures electric locomotives.

1.5 ELECTRIC LOCO SHED, ERODE

Electric Loco Shed maintains locomotive for utilization in freight and
passenger train. All the miner and major inspection are carried out in the shed on
a regular schedule specified by RDSO (Research Design Standard
Organization). Monthly schedule is done at an interval of 45 days and major
schedule are carried out after 18 months. Electric Loco Shed, Erode is one of
the premiere engine sheds located in Erode in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It
is located along the Jolarpettai–Coimbatore line, about 1 km to the east of Erode
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Junction, under the administrative control of Salem railway division of Southern

Railway zone.

1.6 LAYOUT

Figure 1.2 Erode shed layout

Figure 1.3 Round house loco shed

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Figure 1.4 Rectangular house loco shed

1.7 WORK FORCE

Shed Officers:
i. Sr.DEE - 1
ii. DEE - 3
iii. ADEE – 3
iv. SSC-16
Shed store depots:
SMM – 1
Supervisor, Ancillary and other staffs:
i. ELS/GZB: - SS-992, OR-871
ii. RSO: - SS-166, OR-172

1.8 PARTS & PRODUCTS

i. Pantograph
ii. Main Circuit Breaker (DJI)
iii. Transformer
iv. Tap Changer
v. Traction Motor
vi. Rectifiers
vii. Reversers
viii. Arno Convertor
ix. Auxiliary Motors
x. Battery
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xi. Relays
xii. Body
xiii. Bogie
xiv. Bolster
xv. Compressor
xvi. Axle
xvii. Wheels
xviii. Bearings
xix. Line Contactors
xx. Motor Alternator
xxi. Motor for Silicon rectifier
xxii. Damper
xxiii. Gearbox Unite
xxiv. Soothing Reactors
xxv. Shock Absorber
xxvi. Suspension
xxvii. Axle box cover
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CHAPTER 2
PROBLEM STATEMENT

The following problem statements were identified:

i. Inefficiency of single type of brake system.
ii. High cost of replacing new parts.

2.1 ROOT CAUSES

Over loading in a single type of brake system.

2.2 OBJECTIVES
i. To reduce the dependence on pneumatic brakes.
ii. To reduce the need of replacing new parts for the locomotive.

2.3 SOLUTION
i. Introduction of rheostatic and regenerative braking in locomotive
and advancement of air brake system.
ii. By introducing proper preventive measures at regular periods.
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
The basic flow chart of the working of AC locomotive is as follows:

Figure 3.1 Working flowchart

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Figure 3.2 Pictorial flowchart

3.1 AIR BRAKE SYSTEM

In the air brake system, a lot of developments have taken place such as
bogie mounted Air brake system, Twin pipe air brake system, Automatic load
sensing device etc. As a result, the maintenance and requirements have changed
considerably.
Single pipe graduated released air system:
Some of the Air Brake goods stock on IR is fitted with single pipe
graduated release air brake system. In single pipe, brake pipes of all wagons are
connected. Also all the cut off angle cocks are kept open except the front cut off
angle cocks of BP of leading loco and rear end cut off angle cock of BP of last
vehicle. Isolating cocks on all wagons are also kept in open condition. Auxiliary
reservoir is charged through distributor valve at 5.0 kg/cm2.
A. Charging stage
During this stage, brake pipe is charged to 5kg/cm2 pressure which in turn
charges control reservoir and auxiliary reservoir to 5 kg/cm2 pressure via
distributor valve, which can be referred in figure 3.3. At this stage, brake
cylinder gets vented to atmosphere through passage in Distributor valve.
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Figure 3.3 Charging Stage

(Source: https://www.slideshare.net)

B. Application Stage
For application of brakes, the pressure in brake pipe has to be dropped.
This is done by venting air from driver’s brake valve. Reduction in brake pipe
pressure positions the distributor valve in such a way that the control reservoir
gets disconnected from brake pipe and auxiliary reservoir gets connected to
brake cylinder which can be seen in figure 3.4. This results in increase in air
pressure in brake cylinder resulting in application of brakes. The magnitude of
braking force is proportional to reduction in brake pipe pressure.

Figure 3.4 Application Stage

(Source: https://www.slideshare.net/)
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C. Release stage
For releasing brakes, the brake pipe is again charged to 5 kg/cm2 pressure
by compressor through driver’s brake valve which is shown in figure 3.5. This
action positions distributor valve in such a way that auxiliary reservoir gets
isolated from brake cylinder and brake cylinder is vented to atmosphere through
distributor valve and thus brakes are released.
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Figure 3.5 Layout of single pipe air brake system

(Source: https://www.slideshare.net/)

3.2 REGENERATIVE BRAKING

When regenerative braking is employed, the current in the electric motors
is reversed, slowing down the train. At the same time, the electro motors
generate electricity to be returned to the power distribution system. Regenerative
breaking is a mature technology. It can be more easily applied to AC powered
trains than to DC powered systems. In DC powered railway systems usually
higher investment costs are needed. A conventional electric train braking system
uses dynamic braking, where the kinetic energy of the train is dissipated as
waste, mainly in the form of heat. When regenerative braking is employed, the
current in the electric motors is reversed, slowing down the train.
At the same time, the electro motors generate electricity to be returned to
the power distribution system. This generated electricity can be used to power
other trains within the network or can be used to offset power demands of other
loads such as lighting in stations. However, the power recovered via
regenerative braking can only be used if that power is simultaneously being
drawn somewhere else. In general, no power is recovered when the overhead
power is out.
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Figure 3.6 Regenerative braking

(Source: https://www.ctc-n.org/technologies/regenerative-braking-trains)
The two main motivations to employ regenerative braking are energy
savings and reduced wear of mechanical brakes. The technique of regenerative
braking is most effective in full stop passenger trains and subway trains (metro)
because they stop often enough to make recovery worthwhile. Conventional
freight trains only have a limited potential to recover power with the help of
regenerative braking.

Figure 3.7 Regenerative braking workflow

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(Source: https://www.ctc-n.org/technologies/regenerative-braking-trains)

3.3 SCHEDULED INSPECTIONS

Table 3.1 Inspection Timings and Locations

Nature of Inspection /Overhauling: Place to be carried out:

i) Trip Inspection, IT Outstation shed or homing loco shed

as convenient.

ii) Monthly Inspection, IA + 5 days Homing or nominated Electric Loco

Shed
iii) Two-monthly Inspection, IB + Homing Electric Loco Shed
5days
iv) Four monthly Inspection, IC + 10 Homing Electric Loco Shed
days

v) Annual overhaul, AOH + 15 days. Homing Electric Loco shed

vi) Intermediate overhaul, IOH Homing Electric Loco Shed or

300,000 km after POH Nominated Workshop.

vii) Periodical overhaul (POH) Workshop nominated for the purpose

600,000 km after commissioning

3.4 TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE MAINTENANCE

Table 3.2 Periodicity of Maintenance

Maintenance Schedule Periodicity

Trip inspection (TI) After 3000 kms or one trip whichever
is later.
IA 40 + 3 days
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IB 80 + 3 days
IC 120 + 3 days
AOH 18 months + 15 days *

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The following benefits were recorded:

i. Improved braking system.
ii. Long life of Air brakes.
iii. Low wastage of power.
iv. Increased life of Locomotive parts.
v. Increased efficiency of Locomotive parts.
vi. Cost reduction for the purchase of new parts.

4.1 ADVANTAGES EXPERIENCED THROUGH REGENERATIVE

BRAKING IMPLEMENTATION

i. It improves the fuel economy of the vehicle. The amount of fuel

consumed can be dramatically reduced with this type of braking system.
The International Journal of Vehicle Design noted in 2011 that fuel
consumption covering the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) was
improved by 25%.

ii. It allows for traditional friction-based brakes. A friction braking system is

included with a regenerative system to ensure a vehicle can stop in time.
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iii. It prolongs the charge of the battery. Once the energy is captured by the
regenerative brakes, the energy is used to recharge the batteries of the
vehicle.

iv. It reduces the wear and tear on the braking system. Because an electric
drive train is part of this system, the greater efficiency given to the
braking allows for a reduced level of wear on the brakes of the vehicle.
With standard friction brakes, there is no way to accomplish this benefit.

4.2 ADVANTAGES EXPERIENCED THROUGH DYNAMIC

BRAKING IMPLEMENTATION

i. This is a much-used method where an electric motor is worked as a

generator once it is detached from the power source
ii. In this braking, the energy which is stored will dissipate through the
resistance of braking & other components used in the circuit.
iii. This will reduce braking components based on wear on friction &
regeneration reduces the usage of net energy.
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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

The training focused upon increasing our knowledge and interest towards
the production & maintenance of Railway Engines (Locomotives). Because it is
more efficient and necessary for people in these days, it’s production with the
most efficient method with minimum cost and in proper sequence with less
wastage is very important. It gave a great exposure by introducing the parts and
components of a Locomotive, which eventually helped me to understand the
working of a locomotive.
The following objectives were also solved:
i. The dependence on pneumatic brakes were reduced.
ii. The need of replacing new parts for the locomotive is also reduced due to
preventive maintenance.

5.1 LEARNING POINTS

i. Importance of traction motor inside a locomotive.
ii. Use of transformer and why it is called as “Heart of a Locomotive”.
iii. Significance of rectifiers and soothing reactors.
iv. Using creative ideas to increase the efficiency of certain equipment:
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i. Application of regenerative braking to reduce the load on air

brakes.
ii. Advancement of Dynamic braking to increase efficiency of the
conventional air brakes and reduce the wear and tear.
iii. Use of soothing reactor to give a constant regular supply, hence
resulting a better output with the same number of resources.
iv. Significance of proper scheduled inspections as a preventive
measure to increase the life of parts.
v. Influence of scheduled maintenance in cost reduction of
maintaining a railway system.

v. The need for graduator.

vi. Effect of cooling (auxiliary) motors inside a locomotive to ensure safe and
proper working of locomotive.
vii. Significance of dampers and suspension in the bogie.
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GREEN GRANDIOSE ECO ENGINEERING

CHAPTER 6
INTRODUCTION
6.1 ABOUT THE COMPANY

Green grandiose eco Bricks is a partnership firm established in the year

2017 at Perundurai, Erode. The main motto of the establishment of Green
Grandiose is to bring back traditional building practises into construction
industry with a significantly reduced carbon footprint and cost. The challenge
plaguing construction industry is high input cost and pollution caused by
manufacturing of cement, which is a very highly intensive energy consumer.
More ever river sand which was another major raw material in construction was
depleting our water bodies which forced the then Tamil Nādu government to
bring in lot of regulations in river sand mining and literally banned river sand
mining, thereby increasing the challenges faced by the industry.
Interlocking CSEB bricks are made by stabilising the soil with help of
Lime or Cement, normally 10% and compressing them using high ramming
machine. The brick is water cured for 21 days to attain optimal compressive
strength and then used for walls. The product has used lock and key design by
having grooves and projections on all four sides. This ensures that no cement
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mortar is required to build the walls and because of the structural strength and
finish plastering is also avoided.
This radically reduces the need of Cement, sand and even water for curing
the walls. This not only results in saving cost, it also drastically reduces
depletion of natural resources, reduces manpower and saves a lot of time as
well.

6.2 PRODUCTS
So, the firm introduced the products to bring about environmental change
physically and metaphorically in the construction industry. They have 4 pairs
and 8 individual products in their portfolio, which meets most of the
requirements regarding
wall work.
Table 6.1 Brick Specifications
Material Size (inches)

Red soil 9*9*4.5

Red soil 9*6*4.5

Red soil 12*9*6

Red soil 12*6*6

Fly Ash 9*9*4.5

Fly Ash 9*6*4.5
Fly Ash 12*9*6
Fly Ash 12*6*6
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6.3 MACHINES AVAILABLE

i. Manual Hydraulic Press
ii. Pan Mixer
iii. Automatic multiple hydraulic presses
iv. Flat belt conveyors and Cleated belt conveyors
v. Crusher
CHAPTER 7
PROBLEM STATEMENT

The following problem statements were identified:

i. Low production rate in conventional hydraulic pressing machine.
ii. Reduction in compressive stress due to angularly fixed hydraulic arm.

7.1 ROOT CAUSES

i. High time taken for completion of a single cycle in conventional pressing
machine.
ii. More number of manual labours required for the operating process.
iii. Huge amount of pressure received by the upper hydraulic arm.

7.2 OBJECTIVES
i. To increase the production rate.
ii. To reduce amount of pressure received by the upper hydraulic arm.

7.3 SOLUTION
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i. Creating a new automated hydraulic press embedded with the raw

material mixer through a conveyor belt.
ii. To change the motion of the upper hydraulic arm in “TO and FRO”
motion in a horizontal and perpendicular manner with respect to the
cylinder.

CHAPTER 8
METHODOLOGY
The work flowchart has been listed below in order the understand the work
process that takes place during the production of interlocking blocks.
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Figure 8.1 Workflow chart

8.1 UNDERSTANDING THE WORKFLOW

i. The raw materials required for the product are acquired in adequate
amount.
ii. These raw materials can’t be used directly as they are unfit without
processing them.
iii. Hence the raw materials are first processed into the required form. The
particles of the red soil and passed into the crusher machine. The
production process consists of sieving of red soil to get a uniform size of
less than 4mm. Similarly other raw materials like fly ash, cement, iron
slag etc, are processed if required.
iv. These processed raw materials are then transferred into the mixer with
the requires proportion to obtain the resultant composition. 60:30:10 in
pan mixer with very little water. This composition is taken out from the
mixer and cyclic process will begin from this step.
v. Certain amount of this mixture is transferred (the amount depends on the
cylinder size of hydraulic press) into the cylinder of the hydraulic press.
vi. Then two hydraulic arms are used to compress the composition to 15N to
get the final shape of the block.
vii. These blocks are then cured in dry surface for 3 weeks before shipping
out of the factory.
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8.2 INCREASING THE PRODUCTION RATE

In the conventional type of hydraulic pressing machine, it takes around 9-
10 manual labours to run the production. After the start of cycle, it takes around
30 seconds to produce one single block (from taking the composition out of the
mixer to getting the finished product of the brick. This is because, there are 3
people constantly feeding the mixer with raw materials, 2 labours to take out the
composition from the mixer, 1 labour to transfer it from mixer into the cylinder
of the hydraulic press, 1 labour to operate the hydraulic press and finally 2
people to take out the finished block out from the cylinder to transfer it to curing
with the help of a conveyor belt.
To increase the production rate, the time take for transferring materials
must be decreased and the number of labours also can be decreased which
results in reduction in production cost, with an increase in the production rate.
The steps that can be taken in order to increase the production rate are as
follows:
i. At the outlet of the mixer, a cleated conveyor belt can be set up.
ii. This conveyor belt can carry the composition from the mixer to the top of the
cylinder.
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Figure 8.2 Cleated Conveyor belt

iii. Also, a huge bucket like structure can be placed at the top of the cylinder
before the composition enter the cylinder to create a cyclic timed processed.

Figure 8.3 Bucket with Conveyor belt

iv. Then a cyclic time automated process starts where the composition is
transferred into the cylinder through a screw conveyor.
v. Now, two hydraulic pressure arms act on top and bottom of the cylinder to get
the resultant shape of the block.
vi. These hydraulic arms have the mould fixed in them according to the shape
and size required.
vii. Now, instead of one cylinder, two parallel cylinder or more can be added, and
according to that, those many numbers of screw conveyor must be added to
feed the cylinder.
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viii. After compression, these blocks can be taken out of the cylinder and
transferred for curing.
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Figure 8.4 Set up of Automatic conveyor

8.3 CHANGING THE MOTION OF UPPER HYDRAULIC ARM

Figure 8.5 Conventional motion of upper arm

In this type of conventional machine, we can see that there is a pivot
present, and the upper arm moves in an angular manner for compression as
shown in Figure 8.5. It must be understood that during this process, the upper
arm compresses the mixture in a downward direction first. Only after this
process, the bottom arm connected in the hydraulic tank will move upwards to
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give a compression stress in the upward direction. During this type of process,
there is a high chance that the upper arm may not withstand this pressure and
will move slightly upwards. This is also because the applied pressure from the
bottom are
coincides
with the motion
of the upper
arm. Due to this,
the

compressive stress applied on the block may be reduced and the block strength
can decrease.
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Figure 8.6 TO and FRO motion of upper arm

To overcome this problem, the motion of the upper arm must be changed
as shown in Figure 8.6. There are many possible solutions for this problem, but
the easiest and the efficient one would be to change the motion in a horizontal
‘TO and FRO’ motion. The change results in an increase in the pressure
withstand level of the upper arm because the compressive stress doesn’t
coincide with the motion of the upper arm. Also, in this type of design, the
machine is more compact, and the time take to produce a single block will
decrease.
CHAPTER 9

RESULTS AND DISCUSIONS

The following benefits were recorded:

i. The production rate of the company was increased.
ii. The use of many automated machines led to the decrease in manual
labour.
iii. These reduce in manual labour was used as benefit to run multiple
number of machines with the existing number of manual labours.
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iv. The pressure experienced by the upper arm due to lower arm was
reduced.
v. The reduce in pressure received by the upper arm led to better
compressive stress on block.
vi. The strength of the finished block was increased.
vii. The finish of the block was also better.

CHAPTER 10

CONCLUSION

The training focused upon increasing our knowledge and interest towards
the production of eco-friendly interlocking blocks. The training gave us a good
knowledge on the use of hydraulic pressing machines and how these machines
make a big impact on production industries. Even though this was a
 33

manufacturing industry, it gave a great knowledge in the importance of logistics

and how to manage logistics in favour of the industry.
The following objectives were also solved:
i. The production rate was increased with the help of automated
machines.
ii. The compressive pressure on upper arm was decreased resulting in
better block strength and better surface finish.
10.1 LEARNING POINTS
i. The working of Hydraulic machines.
ii. The practical applications of hydraulic and pneumatics were
observed.
iii. The ways to reduce the production time of an object was captured.
iv. The importance of design of the machine and how it can impact the
result in terms of finish and physical properties.
v. The significance of logistics and how it can impact the production
rate as well how it can impact the profit of a company.
vi. The significance of automating just a few parts results in doubling
the production rate with the same amount of labour and time.
vii. The importance of proportions of raw material and its particle size.
REFERENCE

https://www.hydraform.com/
https://greengrandiose.com/
https://sketchfab.com/
https://grabcad.com/
https://www.lucidchart.com/
 34

https://www.elixirphil.com/
https://indiarailinfo.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.slideshare.net/
https://www.ctc-n.org/
https://connectorsupplier.com/
https://www.elprocus.com/

APPENDIX
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