locomotives idle for days, why is it OK?

[KatDiesel]

Originally posted by EMDDIESEL

Kat would know alot about this since he is a dispatcher.

I'll post ing the morning, I gotta head to the girlfriends house then off to work.



I work with 4 different types of "Territory".



I'll do some explaining in the morning.

 

[ddesau]

Trains

I love trains -especially Steam locomotives - Especially the 4449

(picture attached). it came to a small town in Coastal Oregon a few years back. I went out as the 4449 was coming over the Coast Range - blowing its whistle - brought chills - what an impressive machine



Length - 101' 5"

Hgt - 16'

Width 10'10"

Drivers 80"

Wgt 275,700 lbs



I rode in a special train car that was attached to this train - a real thrill !





#ad








Sorry -just got side tracked - just enjoy trains !

Oo.

 

[Joe G.]

Link doesn't work. You need a number after the SKU. There appear to be six of them. Try this for the first one.



#ad

 

[ddesau]

Train

Originally posted by Joe G.

Link doesn't work. You need a number after the SKU. There appear to be six of them. Try this for the first one.



#ad

Thanks Joe *^%*(*()&( computers !

 

[Blakers]

Early diesel locomotives

For those interested in the early history of diesel electric locomotive development, go to http://yardlimit. railfan.net/guide/index.html .



There's lots of technical stuff and pictures.



Blake

 

[Whitmore]

ok fellas I got it

this post has been around a while and it finally came to me ... ... . its because they dont have any place to go

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Geee..... that reminds me of the UPRR traffic snafus they had in Texas (basically the whole system after a couple weeks) a couple of years ago now... .



At least things are running a heck of alot better now (supposedly)..... being the ex-railroader I am...



Just a little FYI on idling in cold weather... On WC-- now part of CN... . during the really cold months... . -15 below or so, we would get the outlying units in for servicing and they would be covered in oil... . prime movers cooled enough that they started puking oil out the stack... idle doesnt do the trick... . usually have to bump em up into Run 3 or 4 to keep 'em warm when it gets that cold. and then 6-7 or 8 just to get moving... ..... lol



ahhh... . the things I dont have to put up with anymore... . though I wish I could... . miss the money. LOL

 

[RoryTek]

Train Driver

Hey train drivers, what are the chances of a 40 year old getting a job as a engineer? I guess it's been on of things I've always wanted to do in life, that and fly a helicopter.

 

[EMDDIESEL]

Speaking for CSX, i have seen guys in there late 50's go to Engineer school. I had a 54 year old in my class. As long as you can pass a physical you can do it.

 

[Blakers]

Do you have to go to college for it now? It's something I've always wanted to do too.



Blake

 

[Dennis Garrett]

I wish I could sell you my seniority, I hired out on the Santa Fe in Feb. 1969, & I'm still here! (only it's BNSF now) Now that the 30/60 retirement is a reality, I can quit in 7 yrs 11 mos!. (Lets see, If I make 125 KC-Wellington, Ks trips a year, times 8 years, that's 1,000 trips, minus 10 or 12 since July, only about 990 or so left!... ..... Hmmmmm)

 

[nickleinonen]

i just started in the railroad business last thursday. . it is kinda slow up at my yard [CN- macmillen] at the loco shop. most of the mechanics are on vacation. . and the pay for apprentices could be better, but it's ok... gonna enjoy my dayshift & weekends off while i have them... in a few months, it's gonna probably be afternoon and nights with like wed-thurs off days...

 

[Wheaties]

Originally posted by Blakers

Oh yes, many of the southwestern railroads burned oil in the steam engines. They were primarily closer to oil fields than to coal mines. They would smoke just as much as the coal fired engines would too.



Blake

I've been three days or so trying to remember the name of the largest steam locomotive ever made. If I have it right, it was called "Big Boy" and weighed in at one million pounds. It ran on oil instead of coal, pulling an oil tank directly behind it, and was so large, the front wheels articulated. Saw it on PBS, or TLC... I'd have watched it on TDR but I don't have that cable channel



Matt

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Now I see the steam engines are being talked about... . Actually the Big Boys burned both coal and oil..... depending on the locomotive #... . the early 4000's burned coal... . the later 4000's burned oil... . There were only 25 built by ALCO. (4000-4024).



As for being the biggest steam locomotive... . Im afraid the C&O's Lima-built Allegheny 2-6-6-6s hold the title for that. There was an article awhile back in Trains magazine about it, seems like the scale wieghts were falsified on the builder's paperwork... ie: wieghed less so C&O could run them over other RRs to get to their own lines. These engines also cranked out more drawbar horsepower if I remember right..... could be wrong... correct me if I am...



Doesnt matter to me who holds the title though... . Big power is BIG POWER... Oo. Oo. Oo. The :-{} will always rage as long as there is 2 people to debate issues.....

 

[Wheaties]

Heck, it doesn't matter to me either. In fact, I always wonder how anyone knows that their claim is the biggest, etc. The Guinness Book seems to be missing a lot of facts...



Awhile back, someone asked what is the biggest diesel engine, Doc Tinker I think. I couldn't find out with a web search. The biggest I could find was the engine in the QE-II. Recently, there was a program on Hyundai Shipyards. Pretty amazing really, as a company, they make a lot of things, not only ships, but the derricks to load them, the cranes to manufacture them, the diesel engines that go in them. The claim was their 93,000 hp engines are the largest in the world. Anyone want to go there? If you get a chance, watch this program... showing how they forge/mill a crankshaft is pretty amazing in itself.



Matt

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Railroad Signals, Semaphores

Regarding RR signals there are still quite a few in operation in west-central Oregon (not sure what RR), while they have been replacing a lot of them over the last few years it is still neat to see these oldies flagging the mainline. From what I heard the semaphores on this line were installed around 1910 so have been in service over 90 years!



ddsau, the 4449 has come through the Tri-Cities 3 times in the last 4 years. The last time it wasn't publicized at it really caught some people off guard. Seeing people's expressions at RR crossings is priceless.



The coolest thing was when it was storming out of town headed toward the busiest crossing in Kennewick, Columbia Center Boulevard near the Mall. By the time it reached this crossing it was doing at least 60mph and was still at WOT. . . tons of steam and smoke and very loud. There is a small cafe with outside seating near the crossing, and EVERYONE dropped their food, jumped up and ran out toward the tracks to see on earth was coming. . . . talk about awesome.



Vaughn

 

[kaffine krazed]

Does anyone know of a website that details how the electric dirve/ braking system works. I always thought they used inverter drives with induction motors I guess I wasn't thinking that good inverters havn't been around as long a diesel electric trains. Thanks.

 

[illflem]

Try this http://www.howstuffworks.com/diesel-locomotive.htm

 

[RADdodge]

Why is it OK on their big diesel engines and not ours?

I love trains too. Summer before last we went to Chama, New Mexico to ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. http://www.cumbres-toltec.info/ I was primarily a fan of the Great Northern Railroad. As I remember (from reading) they built most of their locomotive power themselves up in their maintenance yard in Montana. Also, their 2-8-8-2 R-1 was the first locomotive to weigh-in at over a million pounds. I respected the entrepreneurial aspects of the Great Northern above the other big 3, although I admired all the great machines. What the Great Northern did to promote Glacier Park was noteworthy too.



The original question is half answered. Now we know why the railroads idle their engines, and that was some very fine reading, but what is wrong with idling a Cummins for extended periods? I see that Cummins only recommends idling for no more than 5 minutes during the break-in period. (They state that the break-in period can last from 4,000 to 20,000 miles depending on usage. ) So is it ok for extended idling after the break-in period?

 

[kaffine krazed]

I want more detail on how the speed settings work. Like a schematic of the cotrols and depending on how complicated it is a good explanation of the schematic. Thanks.