useful amounts of power only over a narrow speed range determined by its construction and the frequency of the AC power supply. The advent of power semiconductors has made it possible to fit a variable frequency drive on a locomotive; this allows a wide range of speeds, AC power transmission, and the use of rugged induction motors that do not have wearing parts like brushes and commutators. Transportation applications Road vehicles Traditionally road vehicles (cars, buses and trucks) have used diesel and petrol engines with a mechanical or hydraulic transmission system. In the latter part of the 20th century, vehicles with electrical transmission systems (powered from internal combustion engines, batteries or fuel cells) began to be developed—one advantage of using electric machines is that specific types can regenerate energy (i.e. act as a regenerative brake)—providing deceleration as well as increasing overall efficiency by charging the battery pack. Railways Traditionally, these were series-wound brushed DC motors, usually running on approximately 600 volts. The availability of high-powered semiconductors (thyristors and the IGBT) has now made practical the use of much simpler, higher-reliability AC induction motors known as asynchronous traction motors. Synchronous AC motors are also occasionally used, as in the French TGV. Mounting of motors Before the mid-20th century, a single large motor was often used to drive multiple driving wheels through connecting rods that were very similar to those used on steam locomotives. Examples are the Pennsylvania Railroad DD1, FF1 and L5 and the various Swiss Crocodiles. It is now standard practice to provide one traction motor driving each axle through a gear drive. Usually, the traction motor is three-point suspended between the bogie frame and the driven axle; this is referred to as a "nose-suspended traction motor". The problem with such an arrangement is that a portion of the motor's weight is unsprung, increasing unwanted forces on the track. In the case of the famous Pennsylvania Railroad GG1, two frame-mounted motors drove each axle through a quill drive. The "Bi-Polar" electric locomotives built by General Electric for the Milwaukee Road had direct drive motors. The rotating shaft of the motor was also the axle for the wheels. In the case of French TGV power cars, a motor mounted to the power car's frame drives each axle; a "tripod" drive allows a small amount of flexibility in the drive train allowing the trucks bogies to pivot. By mounting the relatively heavy