Nice spark show in the video, fortunately it was brought under control before any real damage was done.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8044847/tsb-grass-fires-trains-calgary-alberta-bc/
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Looked like an upside-down rail grinder
Wow! If all diesels did that people wouldn't miss steam engines so much!
I did that once with one of our F's. It was a holiday train, so at night. Apparently I put on quite the show as I approached our destination.
One would guess that it was a matter of blowing out the carbon, but when it happened, I'd already spent a fair amount of time in Notch 8.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I'm going to assume this was more than just carbon build up in the exhaust..
Back in the fifties, when I worked on the Pennsy, we could track some engines by the grass fires they caused.
SD60MAC9500 I'm going to assume this was more than just carbon build up in the exhaust..
Actually, that is probably the main reason. This unit just had a lot more than most.
While this amount of buildup can happen solely from long periods of idling, it can be increased by engine problems like bad injectors (too much fuel, or not atomized enough), or worn rings/pistons/liners or a blower seal issue (excessive amounts of lube oil getting burned).
SD70DudeActually, that is probably the main reason. This unit just had a lot more than most.
Or, it just decided to cut loose.
The incident I mentioned before was in the midst of our holiday trains - and was hardly the first time the loco had been in notch 8 in the past few weeks.
And how much time did that power have to just sit around and carbon-up (spent fuel solids not clearing the exhaust stack)?
mudchicken And how much time did that power have to just sit around and carbon-up (spent fuel solids not clearing the exhaust stack)?
Depending on the outside temperature (December in Central NY), it might have run overnight, but the unit is equipped with the locomotive equivalent of a block heater, so odds are it ran for a couple of hours before the evening's departure.
In the case of the CN unit in Calgary, it might have spent months idling most of the time, locomotives rarely spend much time in high throttle while in yard service. And the mandatory inspection interval is 180 days up here, not 90.
Like Larry said, the buildup may have survived previous periods of high throttle and just happened to pick this occasion to break loose.
The location of the Calgary fire is midway between Sarcee Yard and the newer Calgary Logistics Park at Conrich, so this was most likely a yard transfer movement and the unit had probably been pulling hard for at least a mile or two before the spark show was caught on video.
My hubby drove an old Detroit diesel 2 stroke or as he called it the screaming gutless weakling. He said that thing did the same thing from time to time. The joy of 2 stroke diesel engines.
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