Working rail roads and their tracks.

[jjeff]

I wish reporters, etc. knew the difference between a locomotive and a train.



Bruce

Curious, can one use the term engine?

 

[Cub 7274]

^^^^^ Yes....

 

[BravoXray]

I'm curious what kind of power the generator or alternator on the locomotive put out, as most locomotives of that time had only DC generators for traction, and another smaller generator that provided power to run electrical control systems and charge the batteries.
Unless it did have AC traction motors and was able to supply 60Hz AC at a suitable voltage.
I didn't see any cables leading off the locomotive to distribute the power.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm curious what kind of power the generator or alternator on the locomotive put out, as most locomotives of that time had only DC generators for traction, and another smaller generator that provided power to run electrical control systems and charge the batteries.
Unless it did have AC traction motors and was able to supply 60Hz AC at a suitable voltage.
I didn't see any cables leading off the locomotive to distribute the power.

I found some discussions where it was a M420 and that model is AC. M420R is DC.
It's rated at 1.49MW.

When I had to participate in connecting auxiliary generators to our printing pressroom during a major power outage, it was 3-phases +ground. They had to use 3 cables for each phase and ground, (12 cables total), because if they used a single cable for each phase, they would be too thick and too heavy to move, and too large to connect to the busses. The cables were about 1-1.25" in diameter as I recall. They were stranded cables and very flexible. We used one 0.75MW generator and it would only let our press run around 20% before trippping. So they brought in anther 1MW generator and hooked it in parallel to give a total of 1.75MW (more than the locomotive), and that allowed us to run around 60% before tripping.

So based on that experience, and that locomotive only putting out 1.49MW, it could run lights, HVAC and things like that in several buildings, but it couldn't run something like industrial equipment that pulled large power.

I think overall, the experiment cost them more in repairs to the road and locomotive, etc. had they just brought in large generators.

Maybe it was all that was available at the time, so you do what you gotta do.

 

[BravoXray]

Speaking of locomotives and gensets, back in 73 or 74 during the oil embargo, Miles Labs in Elkhart bought and installed three EMD 20 cylinder 645 series gensets behind the citrus plant. We did the grading for the slab where they were set up while we were doing some other sewer work on the site. I was there when one was delivered, unloaded and set in place. A couple of weeks later we were back doing some final grading work and they were test running one of the units. I walked over and talked to one of the installation contractors about the gensets. If I remeber correctly, they were 3 MW each, 2 would run the whole complex, with one for a spare. Those were impressive units when running at full capacity on a test load, made the ground shake.

 

[MossRoad]

A pair and a spare!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Speaking of locomotives and gensets, back in 73 or 74 during the oil embargo, Miles Labs in Elkhart bought and installed three EMD 20 cylinder 645 series gensets behind the citrus plant. We did the grading for the slab where they were set up while we were doing some other sewer work on the site. I was there when one was delivered, unloaded and set in place. A couple of weeks later we were back doing some final grading work and they were test running one of the units. I walked over and talked to one of the installation contractors about the gensets. If I remeber correctly, they were 3 MW each, 2 would run the whole complex, with one for a spare. Those were impressive units when running at full capacity on a test load, made the ground shake.

The EMD 645’s I worked with once were 1.5MW each, 1.7MW if turbos.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

EMD testing

 

[ArlyA]

A professionally made video of the 4014 and the 844 on there way to Ogden Utah on the 4014's maiden voyage after its rebuild. They did include lots of good info with it..

 

[BravoXray]

We hauled some EMDs out of a locomotive scrapyard in Homewood, IL some years ago. A 16 cylinder 645 engine and alternator were over 45,000#.

 

[KilroyJC]

My grandfather was a Gandy Dancer on theNew Haven Lin before WWII. SAID IT WAS SOME OF THE HARDEST WORK HE EVER DID IN HIS LIFE. He later was a foundryman.

 

[RoyJackson]

My grandfather was a Gandy Dancer on theNew Haven Lin before WWII. SAID IT WAS SOME OF THE HARDEST WORK HE EVER DID IN HIS LIFE. He later was a foundryman.

Definition of GANDY DANCER

a laborer in a railroad section gang; an itinerant or seasonal laborer… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[bdhsfz6]

A professionally made video of the 4014 and the 844 on there way to Ogden Utah on the 4014's maiden voyage after its rebuild. They did include lots of good info with it..

By coincidence, I was at Steamtown National Park over the weekend and took these shots of their recently restored #4012 "BigBoy":

Definitely impressive when seen in person.

There is talk of further restoration to full running condition but it will cost several million $$.

 

[ArlyA]

N

By coincidence, I was at Steamtown National Park over the weekend and took these shots of their recently restored #4012 "BigBoy":

View attachment 739772 View attachment 739769

View attachment 739773 View attachment 739770 View attachment 739771

Definitely impressive when seen in person.

There is talk of further restoration to full running condition but it will cost several million $$.

Now I don't know if we should travel east to see the 4012 or west to see the 4014....

 

[bdhsfz6]

Now I don't know if we should travel east to see the 4012 or west to see the 4014....

Definitely nicer scenery if you go west.

If you go east, Steamtown NP is railroaders heaven IMO. There's a lot to see & do at the museum.

Steamtown National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

find your park national park week parkrx #weareparks

www.nps.gov

Indeed a tough decision!

 

[spitter]

use to take the kids there every year in the fall and take the steam train ride and spend the day taking pictures and reading the stories under each exhibit. If you have time at the end of the day, there is a coal mine about 15 20 minutes away that has a mine car ride and a guided tour. pretty interesting too.
We were in awe of that big boy so much that I bought my son a challenger Lionel. That was the closest we could find that match. When he was young, he had the croup bad and couldn't sleep so I made a shelf around his room and use to run the train at night, and it would calm him down and make him fall asleep.

Then we had a friend that was an artist, and he came in and painted a Murial of the train going through a tunnel from one wall to the other in his room.

steam town is a must go for anyone who's into RR.

 

[ArlyA]

Definitely nicer scenery if you go west.

If you go east, Steamtown NP is railroaders heaven IMO. There's a lot to see & do at the museum.

Steamtown National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

find your park national park week parkrx #weareparks

www.nps.gov

Indeed a tough decision!

I used to reside in Wyoming and been through Cheyenne many times but that particular city, I'm not clamoring to get back to. Seems like heading east to Steamtown might be more interesting.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I used to reside in Wyoming and been through Cheyenne many times but that particular city, I'm clamoring to get back to. Seems like heading east to Steamtown might be more interesting.

I live just an hour away from Steamtown and visit at least once a year, usually when friends & relatives are in town. Many of the exhibits have been closed for the last 2 years due to the pandemic, including the shop area where they work on the locomotives. Unfortunately, I've missed that section every time I was there. This last trip was no exception. Fortunately, Steamtown plans to be fully operational by Memorial Day so I'll likely be going back.

 

[bdhsfz6]

use to take the kids there every year in the fall and take the steam train ride and spend the day taking pictures and reading the stories under each exhibit. If you have time at the end of the day, there is a coal mine about 15 20 minutes away that has a mine car ride and a guided tour. pretty interesting too.
We were in awe of that big boy so much that I bought my son a challenger Lionel. That was the closest we could find that match. When he was young, he had the croup bad and couldn't sleep so I made a shelf around his room and use to run the train at night, and it would calm him down and make him fall asleep.

Then we had a friend that was an artist, and he came in and painted a Murial of the train going through a tunnel from one wall to the other in his room.

steam town is a must go for anyone who's into RR.

On my last visit, I took my brother in law who is a retired mechanical engineer. He used to work for GE-ALCO in Schenectady NY., where the Challenger & "Big Boys" were built. In all the years he worked there, he heard stories and saw pictures but had never seen one in person. It actually brought him to tears when he saw the #4012 in person for the first time. It was very touching.

 

[oliver1555]

Not trying to come across wrong here, but the Challengers were 4-6-6-4 configurations. Union Pacific 3985 is an example.
Challenger No. 3985
Big Boys were 4-8-8-4 and originally slated to be known as Wasatch class, because of their intended route.
Both were built by ALCO.