Technical Problem with "Runaway Train Type Movies"

[Texas Chief]

I always sort of liked the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor comedy, "Silver Streak," shot with VIA equipment. The interior of the train looked like everything an Amtrak train should but doesn't, and when it comes to the inevitable runaway scene, there IS a deadman's pedal (a heavy tool box holds it down) and the brakes on the passenger cars DO set when the coupling is broken.

Did you also notice that the engineer was on the wrong side of the engine??

Dick

Texas Chief

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

What did you guys think of the movie "Tough Guys"?

http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=2041

It seemed pretty believable to me

One of my all time favorites (and not just because of the trains either). Some great shots of 4449 with Doyle himself at the throttle. It was filmed around Taylor yard in LA and on the old Eagle Mountain mine railroad north of the Salton Sea.

I read that Doyle was shown at the throttle of 4449 because it was easier to make him an actor (he had a line or two) and pay dues to the Screen Actors Guild than to try to teach some dues-paying actor how to run a steam locomotive.

[Anonymous]

Did you see Back to The Future 3, where they destroy a steam loco by driving it off an uncompleted bridge? That isn't so bad, plausability-wise, but I hate to see an operating steam loco destroyed.

[cprted]

1. Why does not anyone ever think of using the Dynamic Brake?
2.Even Steam engines has some form of Dynamic Braking
3. When cars are cut loose the brakes always snap on not off as the air pistons seperate the brakes

Suspend your disbelief.

[Ham549]

"Vic, I laways liked the scene where Steven Segal slides open a window on a Superliner car." must have never ridden amtrak thoes were defenetely not superliners at all. In fact thoes were real railroad cars custom made for the movie by colorido railcar. Also if the brake line snaps but there is no air in the resevor the train will keep going.

[wabash1]

What I like is how they ignore the fact of the "deadman control" when the engineer is "incapacitated", or better yet, the engineer goes on when communication is lost, etc...

in modern day engines there is no dead man pedal or controll, and is not required. the alerter as it is called is not required and is not on all engines

[wabash1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainfinder22

1. Why does not anyone ever think of using the Dynamic Brake?

You can't fully stop a train using dynamic brakes but they will get you down to about 10-12 Mph which, then, you could probably jump off safely.

But hey, afterall its just a movie.

well i wonder what im doing differant to stop my train when using dynamic brakes? I seem to stop and then apply independant to hold it. I use dyanamic 98% of the time to stop my train in the winter time.

[Anonymous]

Well, there are two different types.  Standard Range which gets you down to I believe 10 or 15, and then you have the extended ranged which will bring you to stop.

[Anonymous]

Well, there are two different types.  Standard Range which gets you down to I believe 10 or 15, and then you have the extended ranged which will bring you to stop.

Noooo.  First, there are D.C. and A.C. locomotives.  D.C. locomotives have standard or extended range dynamic brakes.  A.C. do not have the feature as their dynamic brakes are controlled quite differently.  With D.C. locomotives dynamic brakes will not stop a train unless the train is going upgrade or is on perfectly level track, and no one cares within +/- a mile or so where the train comes to a stop.  A.C. locomotives can stop a train with DB alone, assuming the maximum braking effort provided by the locomotives is sufficient.  But the engineer still generally applies some train air or independent brakes for fine control as Wabash pointed out.

For D.C. locomotives, as speed falls (the traction motor turns at a slower speed) the voltage falls, and thus braking effort diminishes (P = I2 * R).  Standard dynamic brakes have a designed speed at which maximum braking effort occurs; generally around 20 mph.  From 20 to 0 mph braking effort goes to zero proportionately.  Extended range uses contactors to short out sections of the dynamic brake grid step-wise in order to decrease the resistance of the grid down to about 7-8 mph.  Below that speed, dynamic braking effort goes to zero proportionagte with speed, just as with non-extended range dynamic brakes.  (There was apparently an option to obtain extended range brakes that would decrease the minimum speed for maximum effort to ~ 3-4 mph, but I don't if any railroad ever bought it; I've never seen it on a locomotive.)

Scroll to the bottom of the page linked below for a graph that shows braking effort vs. speed for an A.C. locomotive and a D.C. locomotive equipped with extended range DB:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/misg/2000/NRC/index.html

S. Hadid