Random Railfan Prototype Photos For All

Hardcoaler Mar 26, 2015

  1. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    22,014
    27,407
    253
    Interesting mental picture regarding those SP ACeez. I always heard they'd pull the world if you could couple it up, but that's a whole new brand of pull right there! :D

     
    Mike VE2TRV likes this.
  2. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    22,014
    27,407
    253
    "Maintenance In The Way"
    MOW gangs are at work replacing ties on the Glasgow Sub main in Minot.
    _MG_0984.jpg _MG_0985.jpg
     
    Mo-Pac, fordy744, gmorider and 11 others like this.
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,734
    653
  4. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

    22,210
    49,627
    253
    badlandnp, Mike VE2TRV and Doug Gosha like this.
  5. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

    9,813
    14,199
    147
    All those appear to be brand new machines, very clean.


    But, it almost looks like Christmas lights strung across the top of the windshield....:ROFLMAO::D:p
     
  6. ddechamp71

    ddechamp71 TrainBoard Member

    2,153
    653
    46
    About the BNSF 28-loco lashup above, when watching the video one can see that only the 2 or 3 head-end units as well as the ultimate (the lone Dash9 at the rear end) are working. All other units are DIT.. :) BTW, good to see that railroads return to business. ;)

    Dom
     
    badlandnp and Kurt Moose like this.
  7. ddechamp71

    ddechamp71 TrainBoard Member

    2,153
    653
    46
    What I always dread when I go railfanning, especially on single track railroads, as that sure gonna f#@k up your day...:confused:

    Dom
     
    Hardcoaler, badlandnp and Kurt Moose like this.
  8. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

    9,813
    14,199
    147
    Stopped by Issaquah, Wa last week, (had to take my truck in:confused:), and stopped by the Northern Pacific depot in town and checked out the grounds. 20210513_083755.jpg 20210513_083455.jpg 20210513_083540.jpg 20210513_083353.jpg 20210513_083411.jpg 20210513_083437.jpg
     
    Mo-Pac, fordy744, gmorider and 11 others like this.
  9. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

    3,595
    7,664
    80
    That's a weird truck on that flat car.

    Doug
     
    gmorider, Kurt Moose and Mike VE2TRV like this.
  10. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

    4,867
    12,442
    92
    That's one gorgeous station building!
     
  11. rch

    rch TrainBoard Member

    349
    825
    32
    That is correct. The reason is that our locomotive consists are limited to 12 units. When we have to move more than 12 units at a time the game changes a bit. These power moves are made up of a head end consist, DIT locomotives (essentially boxcars, which is the nickname we use for them when they are conditioned to move like this) and a DP consist.

    So the reason for this is braking. Modern locomotives have three braking systems: independent, automatic and dynamic. Independent is the braking system exclusive to the locomotives. Each locomotive has an independent brake valve which is a lever that applies the brakes on the locomotives. Only the independent brake valve on the lead locomotive is cut in; all the other independent brake valves on other locomotives in the consist are cut out. It works like a dimmer switch on a light, where the more you move it one way the brighter the light gets and the more you move it the other way the dimmer the light gets. All the way to the left the brakes are released; all the way to the right the brakes are applied. Two of the three air hoses you see on either side of the coupler on the ends of locomotives are for the independent brakes.

    The air hose next to the coupler on the right facing the locomotive or railcar is the brake pipe for the automatic brake. This brake is controlled by the automatic brake valve. Like the independent brake valve it also moves left to right, but each movement (up to a point) to the right will reduce the brake pipe pressure in the train and cause a corresponding increase in brake cylinder pressure, which is how the air pressure is converted to braking force. If you move the automatic brake valve to the left (toward release) without moving it fully to the release position the brakes will not release. So in this way it is unlike the independent brake valve. Once you decide to release the brakes you need to make sure the train will have enough time to charge the brake pipe and the reservoirs of all the railcars before you set the brakes again. The automatic brake not only affects the brakes on railcars in the train, it also affects the locomotive brakes. To nullify the automatic brake on the locomotives only you bail off the air which sends a signal through one of those cluster of three air hoses to the other locomotives in the consist to cause them to ignore the automatic brake application.

    Dynamic brakes are an electronic braking system which converts the kinetic energy of the locomotive wheels driving the traction motors into heat energy, which is dissipated in resistance grids and cooled with electric fans. Dynamic brakes work with a lever or handle similar to the independent brakes, and it actually is very similar to a dimmer switch on a light. You can easily increase or decrease the dynamic braking force by moving the lever left or right. Unlike the automatic brake you don't have to fully release the dynamic brakes to let off braking force just a bit. Dynamic brakes only work on the locomotives, so if you have two locomotives and 80 cars you're only going to be braking the train with the locomotive's axles and not the train. This will cause the slack in the train to bunch up which isn't a big deal if it's done gradually in a controlled manner. Coming out of dynamic braking will cause the slack to stretch out, which again isn't a big deal if it's done gradually. You can damage the couplers and break them or the knuckles by being careless with the train's slack. You can get away with more force bunching the train than you can with stretching the train, but over stretching the train usually only results in a broken knuckle. Over bunching the train can result in a derailment.

    With that out of the way, when controlling a train ordinarily you'd use a combination of dynamic braking and the train's automatic brake to slow the train down, which will activate the brakes on all the cars but also on your locomotive consist. And again you'd nullify this braking effort by bailing off the air and letting only the cars do the braking and not the locomotives. The reason for doing this is the locomotive brakes are much more effective than a boxcar's brakes owing to the fact that there's typically 8 brake cylinders per locomotive vs. one per boxcar. If you don't bail off and cancel out the automatic brake application the locomotives will try to stop on a dime and the train will run into the rear of the locomotives and you don't want that. There's also a risk of flat spotting the wheels on the locomotives if a deep enough set is made without bailing off. Our rules state that we should use dynamic braking instead of independent braking above 10 mph.

    Now here's the rub: we're operating a train consisting entirely of locomotives, only a bunch of them are "boxcarred" and respond to the automatic brake only and not the independent brake or dynamic brake. Once the automatic brake is set the brakes on the boxcarred locomotives are set until we move the automatic brake fully to the release position. If we set the automatic brake we're going to have the effect of using each locomotive's independent brake and a bunch of brake cylinders are going to set up with a lot of braking force. We can't bail off or feather the braking effort like we can with the independent brake. Using the automatic brake it's difficult to control locomotive brakes this way since what you're trying to do is slow the train down gradually not slam on the brakes.

    The better way to slow or stop the train is to avoid the automatic brake and use dynamic brakes only. The slack will go in and out when using the throttle or dynamic brake. If it's done gradually no problem, but locomotives are much heavier than railcars so you have to be careful. Putting a DP unit on the rear makes it much easier to control the slack both during throttle and braking. That's true for a coal train, ethanol train, junk train or one of these light power moves. I know it seems like there's a huge difference between a 100-car train with DP and a 28-unit light locomotive consist, but dead locomotives feel really heavy, much heavier than 208 tons each. The DP really makes a big difference, especially on short and heavy trains.
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2021
  12. BuddyBurton

    BuddyBurton TrainBoard Supporter

    2,226
    5,077
    69
    [​IMG]
    Being at the right place at the right time is nice especially if CN and CP trains both have UP leaders.

    M338(left) waiting to cross the Mississippi River as CP 813(right) rolls by at Dubuque Jct in Dubuque, IA.

    May 26, 2021


    Most people get drunk, others want sex but as for me, I go Railfanning.
     
  13. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,734
    653
  14. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

    22,210
    49,627
    253
    Down on the docks at the Houston Ship Channel in 1939. Three box cars, a Southern, a Baltimore & Ohio and a New Haven are ready to be loaded or unloaded. Russell Lee photo.

    russell leee39.jpg
     
  15. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

    3,595
    7,664
    80
    There was a Cotton Belt center flow hopper last night or, I should say, very early this morning on "Mannix".

    Doug
     
  16. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

    10,674
    44,837
    142
    :LOL: You watch vintage TV like I do, looking at the background instead of the actors. Adam-12 sometimes finds Officers Reed and Malloy in chases in industrial districts with plentiful street trackage and abundant boxcar sightings. Too, I love seeing the '60s and '70s automobiles.
     
  17. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

    10,674
    44,837
    142
    From 05/25/2021 at Duplainville, WI is a westbound CP train on the former MILW main. This is a busy crossing of CP and CN (former Soo) mainlines. I saw two CPs and three CNs in 35 minutes. I'll bet the single track Soo hasn't been this busy in a great many decades. The house we stayed at was located 1/2 Mile from the former Soo and I heard a train pass every two hours or less.

    2021-05-25 001 Duplainville WI - for upload.jpg
     
  18. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

    10,674
    44,837
    142
    Also seen at Duplainville, WI was a fresh-out-of-the-box CP covered hopper with no graffiti. (y)

    2021-05-25 COVHOP CP 653010 Duplianville W -  for upload.jpg
     
  19. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    22,014
    27,407
    253
    Great catches, Hardcoaler!
    The 8169 is very fresh from rebuilding. It was built as 9639, an AC4400CW, its current class is AC4400CWM. The CP hopper is a nice catch. You can sometimes catch CP hoppers in red lettering but Soo build dates from the 90s, in fresh paint.

    Here's a westbound cracker stacker Q train under a stormy sky just west of Soo Tower on the BNSF Glasgow Sub.

    _MG_1063.jpg
     
  20. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

    10,674
    44,837
    142
    Thank you Hemi. Nice to learn some details. WI is way out of my normal precinct!
     
    Doug Gosha likes this.

Share This Page