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Giblet Plus! posted:sorry, not true Let me take a picture of the rotary HVAC knob the next time I get a CN unit with no AC and blistering 100+ heat index. Trust me, the conductor and myself looked up and down for it. I think it was an SD70 something or other, it was a wide body. And those things have poo poo for ventilation. Either way... gently caress foreign road power. Or the rent a wrecks. Just give me an engine with a regular control stand, working AC, and brown colored seats (black seats are hard as gently caress) and I am happy.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:40
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Giblet Plus! posted:the only real choices the railways have are small things like trucks (radial or standard), gear ratio, handrails, deck plates, and cab appurtenances. I've been told by a BNSF engineer that every time one of his district's crews work in an NS locomotive, the company owes each member of the crew ~$75. NS units are apparently pretty barebones in comparison to what BNSF is running, to the extent that they are not compliant with the union's agreement with the company. So if BNSF provides a non-compliant (i.e., NS) locomotive they are required to pay a fine to each crew member. Boomer The Cannon posted:Let me guess, IRM? Yes. Speaking of IRM, our Nebraska Zephyr trainset will be making a couple of round trips in late September on the BNSF between Chicago and Quincy, IL. Tickets are hella expensive but it should be pretty neat to see even from the ground, if there are any northern IL goons interested in this sort of thing. I've also heard that this train will be basically impossible to chase with an automobile, because BNSF and Amtrak have authorized it to travel at the maximum passenger train speed of 79 mph. 
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Aug 30, 2012 05:43
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bytebark posted:I've been told by a BNSF engineer that every time one of his district's crews work in an NS locomotive, the company owes each member of the crew ~$75. NS units are apparently pretty barebones in comparison to what BNSF is running, to the extent that they are not compliant with the union's agreement with the company. So if BNSF provides a non-compliant (i.e., NS) locomotive they are required to pay a fine to each crew member. I believe it. I've seen the "half a dozen large ice chests bungee strapped down out on the porches" thing here in PA in the summer on the NS consists... Pretty sure they're droppin cubes down their asscrack the entire time... I sure as hell would be.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:55
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bisticles posted:People often don't grasp just how big... the Big Boy is. 4004 is here in Cheyenne in a park. The streets buckled when they moved her to her final resting place  look how bent the fence is from all the foamers..
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Aug 30, 2012 07:16
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bytebark posted:Pretty much all steam locomotives are like that. Modern rolling stock is incredibly modular in comparison. The railway museum I'm involved with is gradually restoring a small Union Pacific steam locomotive (to operation), and it's been a really slow process. At one point I asked one of the guys working on it what was the most time-consuming part of it, and his answer was "Well we're working on putting it back together, but it doesn't want to be put back together." A buddy of mine helped restore a steam locomotive in Knoxville. I don't remember the specifics of the story, but they happened to still be manufacturing clones of their particular locomotive in China. The imported some spare part or another, and when they received it, it had the casting marks from the original manufacturer (30 years defunct). Worked and fit perfectly.
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Aug 30, 2012 12:19
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B4Ctom1 posted:4004 is here in Cheyenne in a park. The streets buckled when they moved her to her final resting place I drive by this all the time, makes me kind of sad to see it sitting idle...
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Aug 30, 2012 16:25
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Weirdest train horn I have ever heard.
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Aug 30, 2012 17:38
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Each outgoing train has a different tone. That video is of the first train of the day. If you stay there all day, you'll eventually hear this.
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Aug 30, 2012 18:03
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bytebark posted:Yes. Speaking of IRM, our Nebraska Zephyr trainset will be making a couple of round trips in late September on the BNSF between Chicago and Quincy, IL. Tickets are hella expensive but it should be pretty neat to see even from the ground, if there are any northern IL goons interested in this sort of thing.
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Aug 31, 2012 02:05
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Boomer The Cannon posted:That's awesome. I went to IRM 10 years ago, you guys have a neat collection and take care of most of it pretty well. Thanks. I usually go out there and work on stuff once a week, mostly on Chicago "L" cars. Maybe I'll make a thread someday about the project I've been plugging away at for the past year or so. Also hoping to help out on that Zephyr trip to Quincy. Won't quite be Top Gear's "Race to the North" but still pretty cool nonetheless.
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Aug 31, 2012 17:27
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joat mon posted:Each outgoing train has a different tone. That video is of the first train of the day. If you stay there all day, you'll eventually hear this. I really want this to be true if it's not.
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Aug 31, 2012 19:51
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bytebark posted:Thanks. I usually go out there and work on stuff once a week, mostly on Chicago "L" cars. Maybe I'll make a thread someday about the project I've been plugging away at for the past year or so.
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Sep 1, 2012 04:30
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I would guess next year. The steam shop has spent a lot of time as of late getting the boiler just right (per FRA specifications), and then I believe the driving wheels (now sitting on pallets in front of the shop, equipped with new tires) need to go back on. The shay isn't too far from running either, but its relatively low speed keeps it from being top priority. It it being worked on though, as is the 428, of which I believe the boiler work is complete, and now the running gear is the focus. When it was in service, it was the last UP steam engine in branchline service, and they really half-assed a lot of repairs on it to keep it running. A lot of the work being done is fixing what should have been fixed properly in the late 50s.
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Sep 1, 2012 04:46
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bisticles posted:People often don't grasp just how big... the Big Boy is. Great photo. Steam locomotives really look their size more than diesels. My first trip to Steamtown I couldn't believe how enormous the Big Boy was in person. Now if only I could see some of the big steam from roads I actually like. Pity no modern road will ever allow something like a Big Boy, Allegheny or Y6B to run on their track.
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Sep 1, 2012 04:49
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bytebark posted:I would guess next year. The steam shop has spent a lot of time as of late getting the boiler just right (per FRA specifications), and then I believe the driving wheels (now sitting on pallets in front of the shop, equipped with new tires) need to go back on. The shay isn't too far from running either, but its relatively low speed keeps it from being top priority. It it being worked on though, as is the 428, of which I believe the boiler work is complete, and now the running gear is the focus. When it was in service, it was the last UP steam engine in branchline service, and they really half-assed a lot of repairs on it to keep it running. A lot of the work being done is fixing what should have been fixed properly in the late 50s.
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Sep 1, 2012 05:28
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I'm going out there today, so I'll ask. I don't believe the 6323 has been a parts donor at all, though. (They'd better not be stealing parts from that engine, I grew up next to the GTW, dammit!  ) I know at times the Milwaukee 265 has lent parts to the 261, and the rods were borrowed (since returned) off the LS&I 35 for one of its sister engines operating somewhere else.
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Sep 1, 2012 17:34
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Steam engine chat - here's LMS Princess-class "Princess Elizabeth" being banked up the Lickey incline by a GWR pannier tank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-JIBH6ClBI The amount of soot being thrown out by that poor little tank engine is impressive. There's lots of "X takes the Lickey Incline" videos on Youtube - it's the steepest main-line slope in Britain and also has a foot crossing near the top so it's quite popular for people to sit there with cameras rolling. And something for the oil-burner fans: Deltic 55022 "Royal Scots Grey" making it's own smoke-screen on the Great Western mainline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoktXA1VWHw Deltics have the best engine note, and the most insane engine configuration. And finally, steam vs diesel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgKJw_mJi6Q (The steam engine is newer than the diesel  )
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Sep 2, 2012 12:20
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As a train operator, how do you calculate how much distance you need to brake if say ahead you see or hear of someone stuck on the tracks?
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Sep 2, 2012 12:53
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b0nes posted:As a train operator, how do you calculate how much distance you need to brake if say ahead you see or hear of someone stuck on the tracks? In the UK if a driver sees someone on the track they apply full brake. If there is someone on the track ahead, the train is stopped at the signal before and is put through on caution, which means they travel at a severely reduced speed. Figured you guys would appreciate this picture I took at Lancaster Railway Station the other day; 
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Sep 2, 2012 14:26
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b0nes posted:As a train operator, how do you calculate how much distance you need to brake if say ahead you see or hear of someone stuck on the tracks? If someone or something is fouling the tracks, you would brake immediately, but throwing the emergency brakes on creates the very real risk of causing a derailment, It looks like that is what happened to those 2 girls in MD. Every situation is different, but no engineer is going to intentionally try to blast their way through an obstruction on the tracks. The trouble starts because stopping distances are longer than sight distances. Railroad tracks and right-of-ways are private property. You aren't supposed to be on them anyway.
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Sep 2, 2012 18:17
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9axle posted:If someone or something is fouling the tracks, you would brake immediately, but throwing the emergency brakes on creates the very real risk of causing a derailment, It looks like that is what happened to those 2 girls in MD. Every situation is different, but no engineer is going to intentionally try to blast their way through an obstruction on the tracks. The trouble starts because stopping distances are longer than sight distances. Railroad tracks and right-of-ways are private property. You aren't supposed to be on them anyway. Not to take away from what you've said, but the derailment in MD was caused by a defect left in the track too long, vertical split head. Recommended action is to take out of service until joint bars applied, then limit to 30mph until the rail section is replaced. Since it was 25mph track, no slow order was put on it, no slow order = low priority and the defect was apparently left in for like 5 months. It's such a constant battle for MOW to get track time to go out and fix things like this, I can at least understand why it hadn't been touched in so long. The roadmaster needed to grow some balls and put it out of service, transportation would have gotten pissed for sure, but look where we are now.
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Sep 3, 2012 05:06
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b0nes posted:As a train operator, how do you calculate how much distance you need to brake if say ahead you see or hear of someone stuck on the tracks? It really depends on what your about to hit as well and what kind of train. Car? 20 Lbs reduction and hope for the best. Tanker trailer on a semi of questionable contents? Plug it and find a place where you wont die in a possible fireball. We try to avoiding going into emergency. If its a loaded coal train, the chances for a derailment are pretty slim. A sloppy manifest with lots of cushioned draw bars and a lovely load profile, that is one you want to avoid going into emergency, lots of poo poo can happen.
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Sep 3, 2012 07:28
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Silly  hypothetical question: if your car were to stall on the tracks or you came across some similar emergency, could you trigger the track circuit with a pair of jumper cables or similar? After calling 911 of course. Or would the authorities be able to get word to any train operators who might be coming into that area fast enough that it wouldn't matter? I was always surprised at how many railfans I saw on platforms while commuting on amtrak. Trains are great and all but with amtrak the same train goes by at the same time every day (two hours after it is scheduled to  ) . I sincerely hope that it is not the same people all the time.
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Sep 3, 2012 15:26
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How does going into emergency derail the train?
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Sep 3, 2012 15:26
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ijustam posted:How does going into emergency derail the train? Probably has something to do with the weight of the locomotive compared to the weight of the cars.
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Sep 3, 2012 15:34
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NoWake posted:Not to take away from what you've said, but the derailment in MD was caused by a defect left in the track too long, vertical split head. Recommended action is to take out of service until joint bars applied, then limit to 30mph until the rail section is replaced. Since it was 25mph track, no slow order was put on it, no slow order = low priority and the defect was apparently left in for like 5 months. I hadn't heard that part, I am temporarily banned from the forum I use for work stuff. I'm not surprised though. We seem to be in a short-term profit mode here, lots of deferred maintenance all while reporting record profits.
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Sep 3, 2012 16:06
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ijustam posted:How does going into emergency derail the train? The brakes don't apply on the entire train all at once, there can be a significant delay between the front and rear. When the front slows significantly, and the rear is still moving at track speed, things can get exciting. The force can be enough to force the midle right off the tracks. If the trainline emergency happens towards the rear, a train will rip itself apart as the rear slows and the front keeps moving. I have had to change knuckles when this happens, and occasionally it will rip a drawbar right out of the car. Some types of cars, boxcars and autoracks have drawbars and couplers that slide in and out to help cushion the shock of starting and stopping. The amount of movement can be a couple of feet per car, so a long train can stretch or bunch significantly when starting or stopping. An engineer has to account for this, and be aware of what the rear of his train is doing as well as the head. Just because the head end is going up hill and losing speed doesn't mean you don't have a mile of train behind you going downhill and picking up speed. If there is a lot of slack between the cars, things can go bad.
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Sep 3, 2012 16:34
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Zeether posted:Probably has something to do with the weight of the locomotive compared to the weight of the cars. Not really. Its more to deal with slack action and load profiles. Say you have 10 loaded hoppers, a empty lumber flat, then 10 more loaded hoppers. If you put the train in emergency, the brakes on the first car set, then second car, then third and so on (its pretty instant, but still does take time). Well, the lumber flat has long cushioned draw bars and could end up "string lining" or something to that effect, where the draw bars can actually flop to one side and cause the car to ride up and come off the rail. Its actually pretty hard to describe with out the physics of seeing it.
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Sep 3, 2012 16:35
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Not really. Its more to deal with slack action and load profiles. Say you have 10 loaded hoppers, a empty lumber flat, then 10 more loaded hoppers. If you put the train in emergency, the brakes on the first car set, then second car, then third and so on (its pretty instant, but still does take time). Well, the lumber flat has long cushioned draw bars and could end up "string lining" or something to that effect, where the draw bars can actually flop to one side and cause the car to ride up and come off the rail. We use throttle to create stretching or "draft" forces and dynamic braking (think of downhill engine braking in a car) to create bunching or "buff" forces. To start with, when you are running the train, you are feathering the throttle or dynamic braking to keep "in train forces" at acceptable levels. This is based upon the terrain each part of the train is passing over. Even small changes in grade, if there are enough of them under the length of the train, are enough to break knuckles, rip out draw bars, or derail cars simply by doing "nothing at all" at the wrong time. In these situations heavier applications of power or dynamic brake are required to keep these "in train forces" down. Think of a large sliced loaf of bread. I take the wrapper off of it and ask you to carry it across the room. One hand on each end should suffice. A small amount of pressure to keep the bread from being crushed and across the room you go. The knuckle and drawbar connections between the cars seem very strong to the layman, but when compared to the amount of weight of loaded freight cars, and all of the cars behind them piled upon it, it may as well be dental floss. You can break dental floss easily, but the difference is that it is hard to "crush" dental floss. The poster I have quoted above is addressing something we call "train make up". THe "in train forces" can be additionally effected by the way cars or groups of cars are placed in the train. Long cars next to short cars, loads next to empties. Generally freight trains that are not hauling a bulk of the same commodity are mixed freight. A bulk commodity train would be an entire train of wheat or coal. These trains are very heavy, and have their own set of problems, but in general do not have any issue of train make up because all of the cars are generally the same weight and type. Mixed freight trains are the most common types of trains on the main rail thoroughfares. A mixed freight train I haul might have 25 heavy loaded lumber cars, 15 empty or loaded auto racks, 20 empty or loaded tank cars of various lengths, 30 empty or loaded covered hopper cars of various lengths, and 30 loaded or empty boxcars of two different lengths. So for this example train of 120 cars. Lets say it weighs 7900 tons and is 9000 feet (2.75KM) long. I am traveling along at 50 MPH. The "head end" of the train has passed the bottom of the grade and the train is still descending the grade. As about half of the train leaves the grade I am looking ahead at the next grade to climb directly ahead. I have been using dynamic brake and need to "transition" from braking to power. I move the lever into the idle position and begin waiting my 10 seconds. In my my mind, from experience, I know that I need to rapidly, but gently begin notching through my power notches without allowing my train to accelerate past 50 MPH which I am restricted to. The very head of the train is traveling around a slight curvature in the track. I also need to see that the next signal is green "clear" so that I do not have to formulate an entire other plan as a reduction of speed might be required instead. I see that the signal is flashing yellow "advanced approach". This will mean a reduction of speed to 40 MPH and a possible stop short of the second signal ahead. As I am thinking of what I am to do next and waiting for the 10 seconds to pass, the next crossing becomes visible and I see that there is a truck hauling a low slung trailer with a heavy piece of equipment on it. He is blocking the crossing because his low slung trailer is stuck on the raised rail and crossing lumber that you drive across. Without hesitation or further consideration, I slam the brake handle into the emergency position, dumping all the trainline air. I reach up and toggle the switch that ensures that the "End Of Train" device dumps from the rear as well. I bail off the locomotive air brakes because they are so powerful in a situation like this, that they can cause such a massive buff forces which will certainly derail a train. Additionally they can crumple or destroy the track beneath them. While in earlier transition from dynamic braking to power "slack" had developed in the train. Slack is neither draft or buff, but more of a null position like rail cars standing in a yard not connected to a train. A developed space between cars where they are sort of relaxed. As the air dumped from the train-line, the brake valves on each car sense this emergency and dump the full value of air contained within their emergency reservoir into the large cylinder that applies the brakes giving each car higher than usual stopping power. Somewhere near the head end of the train a group of empty tank cars having such massive braking power begin to stop the train, but right behind them a group of heavy loaded hoppers presses against them, their own braking being less substantial. A tank car of Anhydrous Ammonia right between the groups which has been taking the brunt of these two opposing forces has a wheel that lifts off the rail as it is being pressed around a curve. This car, the car ahead of it, and nine of the loaded hopper cars behind it all leave the rail and head into a tiny quiet suburb in the middle of the night. Half way back in the train where the most of the box cars are, they settle down for their stop. Still bunched because they were still descending the hill. The heavy loads of lumber fighting them as they come to a stop. Even though on straight track the, one end of an empty boxcar in the group begins to lift into the air. The opposing force of the heavy lumber cars and the stopping train ahead of it is too much. As it sets back down the wheels miss the track and begin to erase the track, all of the cars behind it having no track to ride on begin to take paths of their own in each direction. Near the back of the train the auto-rack settle down hard. Harder than the group of heavy lumber cars ahead of them. This causes one of the long 500+ pound (230kg) draw-bars in the third auto-rack to be sheared from place. For a moment it tumbles through space, whistling though the wind in contact with only the air. Then it strikes a tie and the car passing above it in vaulted, only inches off of the rail, and a carload of new rangerovers tumbles end over end into a reservoir of drinking water. The drawbar is angry, propelled by its last impact it drops onto the rail for a moment derailing a load of mini coopers, a load of corvettes, a load of ford diesel pickups, and a load of prius. The last of the autoracks ram into those derailed and the drawbar impales itself through the bottom of a boxcar piercing 20 cases of aged Glenfiddich. Back on the locomotive, pressed forward by the loads behind, we cover the half mile to the stuck trailer in about 45 seconds. My conductor sees that the piece of equipment is a D9 Caterpillar bulldozer and screams like a woman as he jumps from his window at 35 mph. The fall from 15 feet in the air certainly would have killed him but instead he tumbled and struck feet first shattering his legs in 20 places and cartwheeling to his death as his head exploded when it struck the hard granite ballast some 20 times or so in the cartwheeling tumble. It takes 24 hours for them to find his body under crumpled boxcars. I run out the back door to the second locomotive where I lay down in the cab. The impact at 35 mph is brutal. The second locomotive which I am on climbs under the front locomotive. The third locomotive does the same to mine. When the locomotive comes to a rest, is on its side, and both my arms are broken. I drown, face down, in 200 gallons of brownish, blueish sewage from a chemical toilet long overdue for a cleaning. But my dignity is preserved because a fire from the combined 12,000 gallons (45.5 Kiloliters) of fuel burns for 3 days incinerating me and most of the locomotives completely. The undocumented worker driving the truck with the wedged trailer disappears. During the conductor's autopsy, trace amounts of THC from a brownie he consumed 3 weeks earlier while on vacation in Amsterdam are found to be the cause of the accident. It was also noted in the government report that the cellphone of an engineer on a different train following ours was "on" at the time of our impact, and this may have contributed to the wreck.
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Sep 3, 2012 18:42
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Holy poo poo
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Sep 3, 2012 19:13
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In other words... poo poo happens out here. I live the words of what the old heads tell me.... thump it then dump it.
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Sep 3, 2012 19:24
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If train videos are porn to foamers, then this has to be the equivalent of DVDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRTYNxtbnjI
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Sep 3, 2012 19:29
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OK Michael Bay, we know it's you.
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Sep 3, 2012 19:36
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ijustam posted:OK Michael Bay, we know it's you. http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/michael-bay-presents-explosions.html
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Sep 3, 2012 19:45
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B4Ctom1 posted:If train videos are porn to foamers, then this has to be the equivalent of DVDA So it's pretty common when seeing videos of the old steam engines like that, to see a modern diesel electric locomotive right behind it. Why do they do that? Are there some sections where they don't allow the steam locomotive to run?
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Sep 3, 2012 20:27
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 Some Chinese diesel owned by the Iraqi National Railroad. My unit was based out of a train station in Western Iraq and this train passed through 4 or 5 times a week. The station, and I think the whole spur line, was built by the East Germans in the 80s.
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Sep 3, 2012 20:34
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The Locator posted:So it's pretty common when seeing videos of the old steam engines like that, to see a modern diesel electric locomotive right behind it. Why do they do that? Are there some sections where they don't allow the steam locomotive to run? Probably because they don't want to run the steam engine for the entire excursion/don't trust it to not break down. Actually looking at that video, is it even pulling the train or just idling at high speed? I would expect there to be more smoke/steam coming out of the stack...
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Sep 3, 2012 20:37
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The Locator posted:So it's pretty common when seeing videos of the old steam engines like that, to see a modern diesel electric locomotive right behind it. Why do they do that? Are there some sections where they don't allow the steam locomotive to run? a), if the steamer breaks down and can no longer pull, the diesel is there to get the train where it needs to be b), most steam engines equipped for "mainline" use in the US these days have a separate diesel locomotive throttle in the cab, for controlling the diesel(s) behind the steamer. If the train is ascending a large hill, the steam locomotive's engineer can use this throttle to have the diesels provide some extra horsepower. c), if you see a steam locomotive pulling a train and the diesel behind it is an Amtrak engine, that diesel can not only do both of the above, but is probably also providing electricity (for lights, HVAC) to the passenger coaches.
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Sep 3, 2012 20:45
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B4Ctom1 posted:If train videos are porn to foamers, then this has to be the equivalent of DVDA E: That is some nice steam engine porn, though.
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Sep 4, 2012 02:48
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B4Ctom1 posted:If train videos are porn to foamers, then this has to be the equivalent of DVDA 
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Sep 4, 2012 04:41
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