Electric locomotive

An electric locomotive is a railway locomotive powered by electric motors. It receives electricity from an external supply or stores it in onboard batteries.

Traction motor: An electric motor that converts electrical energy into mechanical force for moving a vehicle. It turns electrical power into the wheel torque that moves the locomotive.
Overhead line: An electrified railway conductor suspended above the track to supply power to trains. It is the external supply used by locomotives collecting current overhead.
Freight train: A train that transports goods rather than passengers. Electric locomotives haul heavy freight on routes equipped with suitable power supplies.
Werner von Siemens: A German inventor and industrialist who developed electrical engineering technologies, including an early electric railway. His 1879 Berlin exhibition railway demonstrated electric traction to the public.
Railway tunnel ventilation: The movement and control of air in railway tunnels to manage heat, pollutants, and safe operating conditions. Electric locomotives avoid exhaust emissions in tunnels, reducing a major ventilation burden.
Pantograph: A hinged device that collects electric current from an overhead wire while a train is moving. It is the locomotive’s moving connection to overhead electrification.
Traction substation: A railway electrical facility that converts or transforms grid power for delivery to trains. It feeds the infrastructure on which externally powered locomotives depend.
Passenger train: A train designed primarily to carry people between locations. Electric locomotives can haul passenger coaches on main lines and regional routes.
Berlin Industrial Exposition (1879): An international exhibition in Berlin where Siemens demonstrated a small electric railway in 1879. The demonstration showed that electricity could propel a rail vehicle.
Energy efficiency in transport: The amount of useful transport work achieved per unit of energy consumed. Electric traction can convert and recover energy differently from onboard combustion systems.

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