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Concept
Dieselisation
Summary
Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines.
It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (US: gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, as occurred on a large scale with trucks, buses, farm tractors, and building construction machinery after World War II. Alternatively it can involve replacing the entire plant or vehicle with one that is diesel-powered; the term commonly describes the generational replacement between the 1930s to 1970s of railway steam locomotives with diesel locomotives, and associated facilities.
The Two-stroke diesel engine for marine applications was introduced in 1908 and remains in use today. It is the most efficient prime mover to date, models such as the Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C offer a thermal efficiency of 50% and over 100,000 horsepower. First steps towards conversions using diesel engines as means of propulsion (on smaller ships) were already undertaken by the 1920s. The market share of steam-powered ships ("steam ships") peaked around 1925 (a few sailing ships remained in service). By the early 1950s diesel engine-powered "motor ships" held over 50% of the market.
In rail transport, dieselisation refers to the replacement of the steam locomotive or electric locomotive with the diesel locomotive (usually the diesel-electric locomotive), a process which began in the 1930s and is now substantially complete around the world.
Weighing against the cost of, and inertia against, replacing the large investment that railways had in existing steam power were the dramatic increases in flexibility and efficiency with diesel. Diesels could and did have a significantly higher initial price per unit-horsepower delivered; however, their operating and support costs were much lower and unit availability between inspection repair and maintenance stops were much higher. Diesels also had fueling requirements fulfilled by tank cars on sidings, in contrast to the more frequent and complex fueling and watering infrastructure required for steam engines.
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