petitnjYou can really feel it back there when the locomotive's brakes apply.
Especially a pair of E-units with cast iron shoes. Needed to maintain a smooth ride, as officials were sleeping back there.
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
Thanks WSOR. I forgot to mention that a locomotive running as a boxcar has very effective brakes. Because the locomotives brakes may come on very hard with just a slight brake pipe reduction the engineer has to be careful to apply the brakes carefully and conservatively. The worst case is running a train with the dead locomotive at the end of the train. You can really feel it back there when the locomotive's brakes apply. By keeping the pulling locomotives in run 3, WSOR will keep the train fully stretched when the rear locomotive's brakes apply. Then there will be no slack run out when the rear brakes grab.
Engines, not owned by the operating carrier, being moved from point to point are normally coupled in behind the carriers own operating engine consist, the engine brake system may or may not be connected to the operating consist. The engines are normally moving on a revenue waybill and charges are being collected by the non-owner carrier for the movement.
As identified by another thread on this forum, there can be issues in moving locomotives, especially those not equipped with alignment control draft gear.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Usually when we have a dead unit to move around, all the hoses get hooked up. It then functions as part of the consist brakes. When engines set up, they brake pretty hard. Only a few times have I had an engine set up as a boxcar. Usually placed at the front of the train.
One time I had to haul the business train backwards. I had a GP38 to use. The E-units were on the other end, set up as boxcars. I had to be in notch three to set the brakes and have things be smooth. Any lower, and when those engines set up, you knew it.
Locomotives have two interesting options to allow them to be a passive part of a train:
1) the brake system can be cutout and set to react just as a boxcar. By using the "cutout" option of a locomotive, the brakes take their control from the train brake pipe just as any other car.
2) the electrical system has a START/STOP/ISOLATE switch position option that cuts out the control of the locomotive's power system from the Multiple Unit Control and the Control Stand. This switch also has a RUN position which allows either the MU cable or the Control Stand to operate the power system of the locomotive.
With the brakes "cutout" and the locomotive in "ISOLATE", it can be ferried as a boxcar. Usually the ferried locomotive is shutdown and just is along for the ride. This only requires coupling and connecting the brake pipe to both ends of the locomotive and cutting in the air. If needed the locomotive can be ferried with the prime mover running and the air compressor on. The air brake systems can be connected to allow an idling locomotive to share air reservoirs and expand the air compression and storage capacity. This requires the many air hoses between locomotives to be connected.
Ferrying a shutdown and "cutout" locomotive makes handling the locomotive very simple.
Sawtooth500I read a recent post on here where Metra locomotives were being sent to KY for rebuilds. Now when a locomotive is being "shipped" somewhere, is it just dead in the train or do they use it to help power the consist? If they use it to help power the consist, does the locomotive travel for free over the host railroad's rails because it is helping to power the train?
In the case of passenger locomotives they are hauled dead. Too many potential problems, like the passenger locomotive probably lacks Motor Thermal Protection. Passenger locomotives have no need for this since nobody expects them to lug down at full power and low speeds.
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