Here you can see the pulling force that animals and machines can exert during work. Test how much you can pull! Are you as strong as a locomotive?

In the past, we used animals to pull sleds, wagons, plows, and other things we wanted to set in motion. Today, we mainly use machines to pull, such as locomotives.

Both machines and animals can more easily pull with great force if it doesn't need to be done at high speed. But a big difference from the machines is that the animals eventually get tired. Machines continually receive new power in the form of electricity or fuel.

The animals here next to you maintain a fairly slow speed when working. This increases both the pulling force and endurance. It takes a moderate pace to be able to pull throughout a whole workday. Think about how you would manage to run a marathon. But just like a sprinter runs at maximum speed, an animal can also pull with maximum force. However, none of them can keep it up for long.

Long-term physical work is about not exhausting oneself too quickly. This applies to both draft animals and humans.

Pull the rope! The harder you pull, the shorter time you can hold the force.

Kilopond (kp)
It takes force to get a wagon rolling. By using a dynamometer, we can measure how large the force is. It is stated here in the previously commonly used unit kilopond. One kilopond is the force required to lift a weight of one kilogramme.

12 kp
A sled dog weighing 43 kilogrammes and working at 5.5 kilometres per hour has a pulling force of 12 kp.

50 kp
A donkey weighing 300 kilogrammes and working at 2.5 kilometres per hour has a pulling force of 50 kp.

105 kp
A working horse weighing 850 kilogrammes and working at 2.5 kilometres per hour has a pulling force of 105 kp.

130 kp
An ox weighing 900 kg and working at 2.5 kilometres per hour has a pulling force of 130 kp.

285 kp
An elephant weighing 3.6 tonnes and working at 2.0 kilometres per hour has a pulling force of 285 kp.

4,000 kp
The museum's steam locomotive W1229 has a service weight of 43.4 tonnes and a maximum speed of 65 kilometres per hour. The pulling force is 4,000 kp.

18,800 kp
Sweden's strongest steam locomotive, the R-locomotive, has a service weight of 130 tonnes and a maximum speed of 50 kilometres per hour. The pulling force is 18,800 kp.

21,000 kp
The museum's green electric locomotive Da 903 has a service weight of 75 tonnes and a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour. The pulling force is 21,000 kp.

61,000 kp
The world's strongest electric locomotive is the iron ore train locomotive IORE. It has a service weight of 180 tonnes and a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour. The pulling force is 61,000 kp.