Locomotive Train

How does one locomotive have enough power to pull a train?

I’ve seen trains that seem to go on and on forever, especially when I’m waiting for it to pass! It seems impossible that one locomotive could harness enough energy to do this. Is there something I’m missing or are locomotives really that powerful?

All of the other posters have it right about diesel locomotives being mean pulling machines.

Here are some numbers:
A typical modern diesel locomotive weighs 405 tons.
With the latest computer control systems (and dry rail), they can develop about 180,000 lbf of “pull”.

Put three of them together, and you have more than 1/2 million pounds of pulling power!!

On flat terrain, that’ll get more than 100 cars moving very well.

Be careful, or you’ll break a coupler !!

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