And you probably can too, but more on that later.

On July 23rd Ford uploaded a very impressive video that showed a prototype all-electric F150 pulling ten double-decker freight cars along 1000 feet of track. 1000 feet is roughly the length of 42 F150s parked nose to tail. That’s one truck for each year that the F150’s been the best selling truck in America. Quite a stat there. Well played Ford marketing department, well played. 

The first pull with the train cars empty occurs at 2.30 in the video below. We see F150 Chief Engineer Lisa Zhang at the wheel of the prototype while a group of F150 owners (who just can’t see themselves in any other ve-hicle) drive alongside her being very impressed. After that they load all 42 trucks into the train cars for another try that puts the train’s total weight at a massive 1.25 million lbs. 

You can skip ahead and see them pull it again but I find something very pleasing about seeing brand new vehicles being loaded for shipping. Where will they go? What will they build?  They’ll go on adventures. They’ll rescue people. Fools like me are going to grow to love those trucks. Anyway, the electric F150 manages the feat again and it’s even more impressive.

Can I Do This Too?

Yes, but don’t. How do you even have these connections at the rail yard anyway?

I’m not gonna pretend that I actually understand the physics at work here but I have been able to understand this: steel is the key. Steel wheels on steel train tracks need much less energy to get rolling and keep rolling than tires on a road. That’s down to the fact that they’re made from a much harder material. 

I am told by the internet, although again I will say that I don’t know for myself, that a gas-powered F150 could achieve the same thing. A family crossover even stands a pretty good chance as long as it’s heavy enough for its tires to have traction. So yes, it’s a really cool PR stunt, but as impressive as the feat itself is the the marketing people seeing the opportunity to make it happen. 

Not satisfied by my explanation? Preposterous. If you really must find out more than “steel wheel make truck pull” then this video from Engineering Explained should tell you everything you want to know. Science!