Here we go again!
Every time Norfolk Southern runs a flight of advertising touting locomotive fuel efficiency, the “how come a locomotive gets 400 miles per gallon when my beater only gets 9 miles per gallon?” questions begin anew.
A locomotive does not get 400 miles per gallon. That's an example of comparing "apples (ton miles per gallon,) to oranges, (miles per gallon.")
Years ago, Mr. David P. Morgan, distinguished editor of “Trains Magazine” wrote an editorial entitled “16 of ‘em in a block.” In that photo editorial featuring a two page spread black and white photo of a GM V16-567C motor, he went on to explain the fuel efficiency of that diesel engine.
During one of my infamous “clean the apartment” fits, boxes of “Trains” magazines went to the dump. Some time ago, I begged a marketing fellow in Chicago to find that editorial, written in the late 1950’s for me. I never got my hands on it. Too bad, because DPM wrote very succinctly about the fuel efficiency of that V-16.
To get a handle on how much fuel a diesel locomotive consumes, click on this link for some down to earth data!
To address that issue, the American Association of Railroads provides a carbon emissions calculator, fun to play with, yet a serious tool for identifying the output of carbon emission contribution into the atmosphere from a locomotive as compared to a truck.
Back to Norfolk Southern’s TV advertising copy. To call it “advertising slight of hand” would be disingenuous, the hypothesis probably being that the audience understands the difference between “miles-per-gallon” and “ton-miles-per-gallon.”

0 Comments - Click here:
Post a Comment
"Comment" is for sharing information related to this article. "Anonymous" comments are not published.