37 replies to this topic

[JacckKirk]

Nahh defiantly the ship if were talking the same power think wheels on a track vs water depth

[Shifty]

Water depth has nothing to do with it, the hull will have the same resistance it were in water that were 2m deep or 200m deep

[sledgehammer]

if train wheels can't slip then train will win

 

ship will just pump water from front to back or cavitate

 

assuming same power / load (ships have massive engines - so would have to be equal)

 

wonder how many years you would get - for setting this test up ???

 

who has the chain - I know a place in Dover ;o)

Edited by sledgehammer, 31 August 2014 - 10:40 PM.

[Shifty]

I've been pondering this for a while now......

[sledgehammer]

I've been pondering this for a while now......

 

Sea what he did there ;o)

[Shifty]

Shush, you'll disturb my TRAIN of thought................

[stevearch0]

Depends which one was French.which ever one wasnt, they would win because the there would be some sort of strike going on .......

[M J W J]

Anybody else thinking mythbuster right now?

 

We need to get ourselves a train and a ship.

[matt050990]

Thanks for this! started a major discussion in the office now......

[The Matt]

It's completely dependent upon the type of ferry and the type of train!

It's like asking what would win, canine or cat? Could be tiny kitten versus great dane, could be chihuahua versus lion!

[matt050990]

We (the office folk) have decided its best to limit it to an avergae Tug Boat and an average Freight Train.

 

After browsing the net and using our train brains (not boffins just work in the industry) the tug boat produces nearly 4 times the amount of HP than a freight train.

[xrocketengineer]

The train would win only if it is going downhill.

 

[SidneyandNad]

If we just focus on weight; a Container ship is approximately 220,000 tons but a freight train would struggle to top 10,000 tons. With weights so drastically far apart and the fact that both pull away at roughly the same speed the torque of each must be relative to it's weight. Because of this I imagine that even if the ship wasn't running a train couldn't shift it before melting the tracks! I'd say that a container ship would have no issues what so ever in winning. 

Not my area of expertise but I am studying off road vehicle design which is almost entirely about torque and tractive effort :)

 

 

The train would win only if it is going downhill. 

 

And there are two of them, the ship is turned off and going forwards! 

Edited by SidneyandNad, 01 September 2014 - 03:05 PM.

[sledgehammer]

I can remember on you bet tv show  (Matthew Kelly 90's) , a frigate being towed by a rowing boat (approx 6 men)

 

can't imagine a rowing boat towing a train

 

power output & weight needs to be the same for a comparison - otherwise it's an invalid test

[surfblue63]

If both boat and train were the same power and weight the train would win because there is more friction between it's wheels and the track compared with the boat.

Just imagine two Minis of equal power on ice, one has spiked tyres, one has slick tyres, the spike tyred car will win due to greater friction (grip).