A pulse jet powered wagon...

[mk]

...of which I began thinking about in november 2003.

The reason: There is an not too old, but closed down railway just about a half mile away in the forest. The railway itselfs is mostly intact, nature has just begun reconquering it.

I can imagine a kind of "light-wight-wagon", with the mass of a cart or so.

I would prefer powering it with a valveless pulse jet, maybe a Lockwood or Kentfield type.

Can anybody give me a hint how many thrust is approx. needed? And which type of pulse jets delivers the best thrust per mass of fuel (the most suitable pulse jet if you will)?
At last, what do you think about this project?

[Stephen H]

At last, what do you think about this project?

.. :D.. plus no steering to worry about!!

[Bruno Ogorelec]

Reminds me of my (and my late father's) old dream (almost 30 years ago) of running a rail cart powered by a big Argus-type engine on an abandoned rail track. Go for it!

You only have to overcome the rolling resistance -- after that, your only limit is air drag. Of you lubricate the wagon well, you won't need a big engine to push the thing along smartly.

[Mike Everman]

Bruno neglects to mention that he and his father were going to power this rail jet on Yak Butter! I kid you not.

[Bruno Ogorelec]

Bruno neglects to mention that he and his father were going to power this rail jet on Yak Butter! I kid you not.

No, no, not yak butter. I think the nearest yak is in Mongolia. Those were common Holsteins. But, butter it was, true enough.

[mk]

...yak butter for what? Powering the engine or minimizing friction?? Or even both???
I'm a bit confused now...

[resosys]

...yak butter for what? Powering the engine or minimizing friction?? Or even both???
I'm a bit confused now...

Don't be confused. In order to understand, you'll have to take to smoking yak butter with Mike and Bruno.

I started and now I can't quit.

[Bruno Ogorelec]

HOLSTEIN COW butter, not yak. Fuel, not lubrication. There was this glut of butter produced by subsidized farmers. There was also this abandoned rural railway track through the same lowland area. We thought we'd combine the two. Build a big pulsejet, mount it on a railway maintenance cart chassis (I think it is called a 'dresine') and run it on gasified butter. The Moo Jet?

[mk]

The Moo Jet!

...just like it should be called!!
Did it finally work, I mean the "butter vaporization"? (NOT kidding, really!)

[Bruno Ogorelec]

Did it finally work, I mean the "butter vaporization"?

No. I mean, we didn't actually build it in the end. Look, it was early 1970s, a very depressive moment in my country, with the Communist Party in an unusually foul mood after a great nationalist unrest of 1971. The reason the farmers produced so much butter that no one wanted was a stupid system of subsidies. For a similarly stupid reason, rural railway lines were being replaced by buses.

By doing this we'd have been rubbing the nose of the Party into its mistakes very publicly and in a spectacular fashion. It was not a thing to do, believe me.

But, I've dreamed about it a lot. A mad cart, trailing a big fiery plume, rushing down the plain at some ridiculous speed, producing the most godawful noise you can imagine... It was a good dream.

[vhautaka]

Heh, this is way crazier than my idea of a pulsejet / rocket ice-sledge. A way to get a few km of relatively flat and straight "road" for a slow-accelerating vehicle with low initial thrust.

Just secure the track from unsuspecting humans and fire the thing away a couple of times unmanned with a small amount of fuel.


I just wonder if either machine would be legal... or, just how illegal, and if anybody cares.


- ville

[mk]

... or, just how illegal, and if anybody cares.

I don't know exactly, but I think in Germany pulse jets are illegal, at least at "model airports", that's why I will test the vehicle (if it's build some day...) not next to any houses or towns. I think the starting place should be at least 1...2km away. But nobody relly knows pulse jets in my region, so I don't care if it is illegal or not. I'm just taking care to my neighbours (rare and no longtime runs...) and other people for disabling any trouble. Then people won't care at all, especially in Germany.

Just secure the track from unsuspecting humans...

Starting the wagon on a day with bad weather should be secure enough. The rail track has to be "cleaned" as well. Closed rail tracks will overgrow relatively fast...seeing something lying/growing on the track while your on the wagon won't be very funny at all!

...A way to get a few km of relatively flat and straight "road" for a slow-accelerating vehicle with low initial thrust.

Yeah, that's a plus, too!