Minor/Major engine maintenance

[Anonymous]

This question may have been asked by someone else, but what is the timetable for Minor and Major maintenance repairs to diesel engines? What is considered minor maintenance and what entails Major maintenance? Thanks

Larry

[wabash1]

Every 90days the engines are pulled out of service for inspection and oil changes. when a engine leaves a shop it wont need the oil checked or any service for 90 days.( so the ns powers to be says) all a engineer needs to do is get on and ride. major service such as rebuilds are as needed. when something breaks they take it to the shop to fix it. ( or patch it).

[oltmannd]

There is a mandated 92 day Federal inspection and other servicing is usually done at this time. Locomotives must be safety inspected every calendar day, as well. Lube oil, cooling water and sand levels are normally checked at each fueling event which can be as frequent as every day or as long as a week apart.

Heavy repairs, such as changing out worn power assemblies and rebuilding trucks, usually occur every 5-6 years for mainline freight power, and can be double or triple that for yard/local power. DC Traction motors rarely make it between the overhaul intervals and get changed out as they fail.

[Anonymous]

Don,
Is this one downfall that DC traction motors have to AC traction motors? DO AC traction motors have a longer mean time between failures?

Larry

[AntonioFP45]

Hey Wabash, Oltmannd, [:D]

Thanks for the info, but I was under the impression that the Class 1s do "mileaage" inspections as well. Locomotives every 30,000 would receive certain types of inspections and fluid change outs, bearings checked, electrical running condition, checks etc. I believe that some commuter agencies use this method. Any thoughts on this? I may have my facts wrong but I am curious.

At the transit agency I worked at, diesel powered buses were serviced in this fashion as well.

[Anonymous]

Lets try to straighten out a few misconceptions.

First, Federal Regulations promulgated by the FRA require certain locomotive inspections including daily, 92 day (not 90 day) and annual inspections. In addition there is an air brake inspection every 1192 days (approx 3 years) and other specific inspections that may or may not be required, for example hydrostatic tests of the air reservoirs that are not necessary if the tanks are partially drilled to prevent explosion.
Federal inspections are recorded on the locomotive's FRA Blue Card (FRA form 6180-49A )

There are also numerous other inspections that may be done by company rule or procedure or as a requirement of a contract such as a locomotive lease.

LC

[csxengineer98]

minor repairs such as burned out light bulbs and what not are handled at terminals that have mechanical people to fix such things.... if the problem is out of the range of repair from a smaller termilans mechanical personel...the locomotive is then shiped to a repair shop..... if it is a problem that makes the locomotive a FRA defect class locomotive...it can not be used for power on any train..untill the problem is fixed...
engineers are requied by law to inspect thier locomotives for defects evey calender day... (midnight to midnight)...and if a FRA defect is found...the engin can be used for service...up untill the next calender day inspection is due...or to its next termial where repairs can be made.... which ever one comes first...
now major problems like engin wont start...air brake problems.... eletrical problems...the stuff that most small yard mechanical people can not fix...the loco is then shiped to a major repair shop....
also like someone already said..evey 92 days..the locomotive is taken out of service..and shiped to a shop for a FRA 92 day inspection..befor the engin returns to reguler service....
csx engineer

[AntonioFP45]

Thanks CSXEngineer98.

Can you tell us where some of the shops where CSX performs MAJOR locomotive repairs are at? I've heard that in Waycross, Georgia there is a large facility where locomotives from the southeast U.S are funneled through for "big repairs".[;)]

I hope in the next two years to start traveling around the east and central U.S and am looking for some railfanning opportunities. [:)][:D][8D][8)]

Since I was a teen, I've been fascinated with locomotive service/repair facilities. Uceta Yard in Tampa had an impressive locomotive repair shop until it was converted into a freight car repair shop some years back.

Thanks!

[csxengineer98]

cumberland MD is a major repair shop for the north east....on csx.... they handle eveything from day to day repairs to total engin rebuilds.... when i was at engineers school..which is also in cumberland....after sitting in a class room for the first half of a day...learning about locomotives.... we would then go over to the shop with the instructor for the second half after lunch....to see first hand what we learned from the book that day....
also altoona PA is a MAJOR shop for NS....it was also one for conrail..and for the PRR.... but i have heard rummors from NS people that they want to shut it down...i dont know if they are..or already have.....

csx engineer

[AntonioFP45]

Thanks a lot, CSXEngineer98!

I'm going to search the web and try and find photos of the shop that you're mentioning in Cumberland.

It would be a sad trajedy (from a railfan's viewpoint) if the Altoona shop were to be shut down as in transportation history circles it is legendery. This was the heartbeat of the Pennsy. I remember that on the Tracks Ahead series back in the early 90s the Altoona shops were featured in a well made segment. Conrail engines, galore! According to the narrator, much of the former railroad shop land and facilities had been sold to private companies, including one building that was used by a company repairing railroad tank cars. The transfer table was still in place.

It's too bad that CSX and NS did purchase Conrail between the two of them. Seems that the terms "streamlining" and "downsizing" have been the rule since.

10-4![8)][;)]

[csxengineer98]

no problem.....
i remember the show your talking about..i have it on tape at the house here..... i have been looking for the music they used for the background while the guy was telling the story of altoona shops.... but i dont know the name of the song..becoues i taped over the ending creadits..if it was even in the creadits....
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

If you happen to work somewhere like CSX where they dont care about the 92 days, you can run them like i do until midnight on the 92nd day and let it turn into a pumpkin and let the head honchos figure it out. Oh, by the way, this is after you told the trainmaster, dispatcher, and the car knocker it blows up at midnight and they still tell you to go with it.