Additionally, a modern diesel locomotive weighs a tad over 200 tons, and there are typically two or three locos for each train. Each has anywhere between 4000-4500 HP (some newer ones are in the 5000 range). An empty coal train of some 110 cars is about 3,000 tons including locos, and a loaded coal train is 17-19,000 tons. Manifest trains (mixed boxcars, covered hoppers, gondolas, tank cars, etc) are generally 5-10,000 tons. Intermodal trains (the long cargo containers, sometimes stacked atop each other, hence double-stacks) are generally 4-8,000 tons.
A loaded coal train takes about 75 gallons of diesel to get up to 50 MPH from a dead stop, and that process takes about 10-15 minutes. There are eight throttle settings; in idle a locomotive burns 3 gallons of diesel per hour. Typical fuel consumption rates are 12 gallons per hour in the lowest throttle setting, ranging up to 210 gallons per hour in full-throttle. A locomotive's fuel tank holds about 4,000 gallons. And they are designed to run 24/7.
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