It's ALIVE!

[BEAUSABRE]

Who knew that you can still buy a brand new FM OP engine today?

Fairbanks Morse Defense Opposed Piston Technology - YouTube

"ease of servie and mainteance" OK, that's what the script says...

and more

Fairbanks Morse O-P Engine Animation - YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Overmod]

You've been allowed to buy them all along -- and they were up to 8400hp last I looked.

You just can't buy one for United States railroad service. Although they will happily sell you an Alco 251 derivative instead.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The OP engine has long enjoyed a good rep in stationary and marine service.

[Flintlock76]

Certainly, the OP engine is alive and well!

Oh, you can correct your title, just bring your post up again and go to the title block and re-type.  

Although the way it is now is certainly an attention-getter!  

[NDG]

Opposed Piston Engines.

 

 

CPR used OPs here on the heaviest Sustained Grades where Geeps gave up.

 

https://www.basininstitute.org/home/image.html?zn=7&id=c4301474c00b44258d5b4b571938be94

 

Much more could be said, both good and bad.

 

They did their job, and most of the OP Engines were removed and sent to Texas for oil field Stationary Service.

 

Equals an O P flat car to be, w BLWs to come.

 

http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=47531

 

Think passing thru an A or B Unit on 1.2 % at Run 8, Amps in the Red, not so briefly, Sand running out.

 

Only one in a Locomotive.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzLTzbK-fC4

 

This is NOT a Railroad Version, as Exhaust plumbed different

for Turbo.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-PYj_Jx9Pg

 

Much of the noise was from the Intake Air Blower.

 

https://www.dieselduck.info/machine/01%20prime%20movers/fairbanks_morse/fairbanks_morse.htm

 

Inside a Cab Unit Engine Room, regardless of Builder was an experience, skating around on Lube Oil wondering

if it was going to fragment something as you passed.

 

They did SMOKE when first Loading, and when cold, the Smoke beneath from the Snubber Drains.

 

http://cranbrookhistory.com/image_view.php?ID=53493

 

Did their job.

 

And so on.

 

Thank You. 

 

FWIW.

Russian OPs.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEETEOcQW90

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH6TgfseK_4

 

 

 

 

[Electroliner 1935]

NDG

Inside a Cab Unit Engine Room, regardless of Builder was an experience, skating around on Lube Oil wondering if it was going to fragment something as you passed.

I would suspect that all Cab Unit Engine Rooms when running at full output would be similar. My memory is of using the porcelain throne behind the #2 V12 and in front of a steam gen in a PRR E8 running at 80 mph in cab signal territory on a dark night. Never will forget it. When you gotta..... 

[SD60MAC9500]

 

They never died. OPE's are great for marine power. Especially for a tugboat. Great loading power for handling vessels, and ice breaking.

 

 

 

 

[BaltACD]

SD60MAC9500

They never died. OPE's are great for marine power. Especially for a tugboat..Great loading power for handling vessels, and ice breaking.

My early years as ATTM in Baltimore found the Terminal powered almost exclusively with FM's with opposed pistons.  What I observed was they spit oil all over the place.  They were being maintained out of the B&O's Riverside Shop in Baltimore - how good or bad Riverside was as a maintenance facility I can't accurately identify.  In the middle 1970's the FM's got replaced with various series of EMD's both end cab switchers and GP9's.  Most of the end cabs came from the C&O.

My personal theory was that the FM's didn't really 'like' the clanging and banging that was the life of a yard engine - accelerate hard with a cut of cars, close the throttle and maximum independent brake and slack action as the cut of cars momentum work against the engine brake, 40 seconds later do it all again, and again and again - 100 or more times for each hour the engine was in service.

[Leo_Ames]

The navy has moved away from them in new construction this century, but they're still a fixture as emergency generators in America's older submarine classes, Nimitz class carriers, etc. 

[SD70Dude]

The backup generator room on a Nimitz class carrier.  Not FM's, but those engines sure look familiar.....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/51254303740

The Ford class will have FM OP's.

https://www.fairbanksmorse.com/blog/fm-awarded-cvn80and81-edgsets

[Leo_Ames]

Thanks

I could've swore the Nimitz class had OP's. But clearly that's not the case, so I'm glad you were here to correct that. 

It pleases me to see them in new navy construction. When the Virginia class left them behind after being a staple in America's nuclear submarines of the 1980's and 1990's , I figured that was it.

[Flintlock76]

BaltACD

My personal theory was that the FM's didn't really 'like' the clanging and banging that was the life of a yard engine

From what I've read your theory is correct.  The FM OP engine was just fine for getting up to speed and staying there (think marine and stationary applications) but not so good for constant throttle and speed changes, which kind of come with the territory of railroad use.  

[SD70Dude]

The FM OP engines seem to do very well in applications where they are either run under heavy load or shut down, like generators, ships and submarines. 

They do not like idling for long periods, which will lead to sludge and carbon buildup obstructing the exhaust ports and accumulating in the exhaust manifold, choking out the engine and presenting a fire hazard.

Non-turbocharged EMD's are also quite prone to this sort of 'wet stacking' when idled a lot, but since the FM engine has two pistons per cylinder it also has twice the opportunities for oil leakage when the engine is not up to operating temperature. 

[CMStPnP]

BaltACD

What I observed was they spit oil all over the place

That is called oil blowback and is common on Detroit Diesels as well, they have what is called a "sludge cup" in the exhaust to catch it so it does not go out the exhaust and spray.   In the Army, operator maintenence specified the cup be emptied prior to starting the engine.    It's not a huge deal to empty it and it is really an operator task vs.  mechanical task.   However I am willing to bet that on railroads it is mechanical task vs. operator task.

[mvlandsw]

Once when passing through the engine room of an F unit under heavy load the main generator scrambled the magnet strips on my credit and debit cards.

[NDG]

When we Hired On, our Railway Watch had to

 

be certified 'Anti-Magnetic ' on Watch Card for this reason.

 

 

Mine was Hamilton 992B. 1941.

 

This one is similar.

 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/a3YAAOSwSPlgefvQ/s-l1600.jpg

 

Thank You.

 

[BaltACD]

CMStPnP

 

BaltACD

What I observed was they spit oil all over the place 

That is called oil blowback and is common on Detroit Diesels as well, they have what is called a "sludge cup" in the exhaust to catch it so it does not go out the exhaust and spray.   In the Army, operator maintenence specified the cup be emptied prior to starting the engine.    It's not a huge deal to empty it and it is really an operator task vs.  mechanical task.   However I am willing to bet that on railroads it is mechanical task vs. operator task.

During that particular era - engines ran 24/7 when outside of the shop, there wasn't the attention to 'fuel economy' that today's carriers have.

[CMStPnP]

BaltACD

During that particular era - engines ran 24/7 when outside of the shop, there wasn't the attention to 'fuel economy' that today's carriers have.

OK, well in that case you would get burned from the exhaust pipe or oil if you attempted to empty it.......so that is probably another reason, if the design even exists on a locomotive engine....who knows.

[tree68]

BaltACD

What I observed was they spit oil all over the place. 

ALCO "snot."  Know it well...

[NDG]

Yes, and made Grab Irons very oily and slippy several cars back.

 Made mess of all locomotive glass behind in Consist and Wipers smear next time used in rain and snow when Leading.

 

OP Oil Leaks.

 

 

 

Many OP Locomotives suffered from Oil Leaks on the Engine Block from Vibration, Rough Joints, ( Track and Coupling ) Slack Action and Hot/Cold Cycling in varied Climates and Elevations.

 

Lube Oil oozed under the Diesel and sludged out on top of the Fuel Tank and thence down in oilcicles onto the Ties and Roadbed.

 

The Ballast would plug w Sand on Grades and litter providing an adhesive Tar Goo which tracked in everywhere.

 

On Shop Tracks oil would gather again w Sand from Sanders and during rain Rainbow Lakes would form

 

Crater Grease from Traction Motor Gear Cases would add another ugly paste to walk in.

 

Much oil and cooling water were lost from OPs.

 

One seemingly POOR Design of the OP Diesel Engine especially in LOCOMOTIVES with a LIMITED Water supply was the surrounding the Exhaust Manifold where it received the still-glowing 'Exhaust ' direct from the Exhaust Ports at the bottom of the Cylinders.

 

The water there would boil and steam, adding even more to duty of the Radiators and cooling system,which intended duty was to to Cool the Engine Cylinder Liners and Pistons within.

 

Scroll Down to Diagram below comparison in Size btwn an OP and a Caterpillar Engine Block.

 

https://www.dieselduck.info/machine/01%20prime%20movers/fairbanks_morse/fairbanks_morse.htm

 

Did not matter at Sea, or on Land where there was water in quantity.

 

Locomotives here Operated between 110 F  and - 40 at Run 8 for hours on Grades with MANY Curves.

 

On CP H-16-44s there were Low Water Alarms and when water level fell to preset level, it's float would slosh up and down dropping Engine to Idle rhythmically on rail joints, indication to Crew an engine was about to be lost and a Double might be in order.

 

When it DID Shut Down, the rest of the Units in the Consist took up the Load, making THEM run even hotter.

 

Before Radio in Timetable, Train Orders and  Right, Class and Direction, Doubling could be a real chore.  Hang Up a 'Phone,

Go Flag.

 

When it was Minus 30 and OPs left to idle, the compression would fall, and not all fuel injected would ignite on all Cylinders, causing the Exhaust to run ragged.

 

Cure. Rev engine up to Throttle 4. Improved Cab Heat, also!

 

When put under load any fuel that ran out into Exhaust Manifold would IGNITE with a loud BOOM!  and a long flame out the stacks.

 

Lovely at nite w the Northern Lights! as a background.

 

At any time, Lube Oil that had run down into the Manifolds, easy, as Cylinders were Vertical, On loading up, would Cook Off, then Burn, leaving dense clouds of smoke for miles.

 

Had to see it!

 

Similar to OP Units in Russia in Videos, but Grey.

 

Or Steam.

 

Smelled awful, especially in Town with a Shop Track Full over a long weekend. in winter.

 

It is said CPR had to get rid of their last 3 Train Masters on Hump in Calgary each coupled w a GP9 account their smoke drifting into nearby suburbs.

 

http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_diesel/8900.htm

 

( FWIW. Before it was converted into a Robot Car for Slave Unit Service, at least one 1 OP B unit was used as a Brake Slug in Calgary c. 1970. )

 

Low Lubes and Low Water were constant companions On The Road.

 

When GE  H-16s Transitioned, they sent a Slack Wave thru the whole train, felt in the Caboose.

 

So did Wheel Slip.

 

A Set of 5 made a wonderful sonorous hum echoing thru the previous peace of the Mountains.

 

Their M3 Horns were Classic!

 

http://trainweb.org/mdamtrak199/horns/mhorn/FGLK1751_M3_waterloo_5_25_02_web.mp3

 

Thank You. BBB.

 

FWIW.

 

Robot Cars

 

http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_diesel/Robot.htm

 

Air Repeater Car.

 

http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_diesel/air.htm

 

[Flintlock76]

NDG

On Shop Tracks oil would gather again w Sand from Sanders and during rain Rainbow Lakes would form

Reminds me of New Jersey's unofficial state motto:

"New Jersey, where there's a rainbow in every puddle!"  

[NDG]

Sounds like a place where they might have Houses of Butterflies, Also??

 

Thank You.