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UP Turbine train question

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UP Turbine train question
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 28, 2005 5:15 PM
I'm sure many of you remember UP's 'Big Blow' turbine locomotives

, that made use of old steam loco water tenders as fuel tanks.

On average, assuming a full load freight in tow, approx how many miles could the get out of a full tank?
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Posted by coborn35 on Thursday, July 28, 2005 9:14 PM
Just guessing but, alot?!

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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Thursday, July 28, 2005 9:17 PM
That tank holds 24,384 gallons of Bunker M, and it would go without stopping from Point A to Point B. So, that is quite a distance, hundreds of miles on a single tank.

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 28, 2005 9:24 PM
24,384 gallons...(?)

I would hope they got CONSIDERABLY more than 700 miles out of that.

My gosh! it would take half a shift just to fill the tank, wouldn't it?
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Thursday, July 28, 2005 9:28 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

24,384 gallons...(?)

I would hope they got CONSIDERABLY more than 700 miles out of that.

My gosh! it would take half a shift just to fill the tank, wouldn't it?


Well, I edited my post, since as we all know, turbines were fuel eaters. My original thought was that they got well over 1000, but I am not certain on fuel miliage. (YES, I'm slipping, I know, I'm working too hard on memorizing the facts of Briti***urbines right now, okay, I'll make mistakes.)

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 28, 2005 9:34 PM
Well, how much fuel would you say a typical SD 70 burns in total, moving from LA to Chicago???
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Thursday, July 28, 2005 11:41 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

Well, how much fuel would you say a typical SD 70 burns in total, moving from LA to Chicago???


A couple thousand gallons, at least, I would think. They can't do it in one trip, can they?

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 28, 2005 11:48 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409

QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

Well, how much fuel would you say a typical SD 70 burns in total, moving from LA to Chicago???


A couple thousand gallons, at least, I would think. They can't do it in one trip, can they?


Heh, if I knew, I wouldn't be asking....[}:)]

Sombody has got to have this stuff in a book, somewhere...(lol) don't they?
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:11 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409

QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

Well, how much fuel would you say a typical SD 70 burns in total, moving from LA to Chicago???


A couple thousand gallons, at least, I would think. They can't do it in one trip, can they?


Heh, if I knew, I wouldn't be asking....[}:)]

Sombody has got to have this stuff in a book, somewhere...(lol) don't they?


Now I am curious, how does the SD70 compare to a turbine? This is just like comparing a truck with a car...

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:21 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409

This is just like comparing a truck with a car...


Well, maybe it is a dumb question, ...sorry.

But the math in your original reply comes out to burning 34.8 gallons per mile, and that just seems like WAY too much...but I really don't know. So, that was why I asked the SD 70 question, just out of curiousity to compare the two.
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:26 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409

This is just like comparing a truck with a car...


Well, maybe it is a dumb question, ...sorry.

But the math in your original reply comes out to burning 34.8 gallons per mile, and that just seems like WAY too much...but I really don't know. So, that was why I asked the SD 70 question, just out of curiousity to compare the two.


But then again, you have to add in the fact that turbines were the "Gas Guzzlers" of the rails. That was their downfall.And when you look at a monster truck, they only get a few hundred feet to the gallon of gasoline. Most diesels don't even get a full mile to the gallon due to their huge engines. So, I wouldn't be surprised it a turbine only went a mile for every 35 gallons.

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:30 AM
well, *that* would explain the HUGE tender,...[:I]
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:34 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

well, *that* would explain the HUGE tender,...[:I]


Man, you respond quick to these things.

The turbines needed that huge tender. They ran off cheap fuel when they were build, but the plastic industry also found a demand for it, and its price rose. So, instead of using Bunker C or Bunker M, they were run off typical diesel fuel, which made the diesel engine the clear shot winner due to its better fuel economy, so we know that the turbines' gas milage was very very poor.

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:38 AM
OK, makes sense.

Still, I'd be very appreciative if anyone had any "hard" ratings info,...
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:43 AM

Yeah, some hard info would be nice, more to add to the turbine data bank. Sorry I can't help more, but as you can see, I love talking about turbines, so if you want any horsepower ratings or weights/lengths, manufacturers, I'll be happy to help.

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Friday, July 29, 2005 1:41 AM
Diesel fuel use,
www.alkrug.vcn.com/rrfacts/fueluse.htm
(Thanks Chad)
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Posted by Tulyar15 on Friday, July 29, 2005 3:22 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409


Yeah, some hard info would be nice, more to add to the turbine data bank. Sorry I can't help more, but as you can see, I love talking about turbines, so if you want any horsepower ratings or weights/lengths, manufacturers, I'll be happy to help.


If you're interested in the British Gas Turbine locos, there was an excellent book about the two Great Western Gas Turbine locos by Keith Robertson. I forget the exact title but it explodes a lot of myths about them. (He's also written a book about the Bullied Leader locos, include the turf burners he built for the Irish Railways, which also explodes lots of myth).

Of the two GW Gas Turbines, the Swiss built one #18000 was fairly reliable and could run on waste oil (a by product from the production of gas from coal; the GW ran its diesel railcars on this). But it's fuel costs were no cheaper than a comparable steam loco whereas LMS #10000 (the first main line diesel loco to run in Britain, 1600hp) was considerably cheaper in fuel costs than a comparable steam loco, as well as saving on labour costs. This negated the advantage of #18000 greater horsepower (2,500). #18000 can still be seen today at the Crewe Railway museum but she's just a shell. People who road on her say she had good acceleration so its a pity she's unlikely to ever run again.

The second GW Gas Turbine #18100 was more powerful but less reliable. Despite assurances from its British manufacturers that it could run on waste oil too, in practice it was found to only run reliably on aircraft fuel which was, and is, more expensive than diesel. As a result it was rebuilt as an AC electric loco. Retaining its black and silver livery (which constrasted with the sky blue of the first pre-production AC locos., it acquired the nickname "Black Bessie". It was withdrawn about 1968 and dumped in a siding at Rugby for several years before being scrapped.

The
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Posted by spbed on Friday, July 29, 2005 7:24 AM
I have a tape about these engines & it did not say how many miles it could go between fill ups. [:o)][:p][:)]


Originally posted by TheAntiGates

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Posted by spbed on Friday, July 29, 2005 7:27 AM
The tape said they used bunker "C" which at one time was what steamships also used. [:o)][:p][:)]


Originally posted by TrainFreak409
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Posted by Modelcar on Friday, July 29, 2005 7:55 AM
....Your question of the gas turbine engines has me wondering just what I saw in operation somewhere in the western states....back in the mid 60's running on the Union Pacific....We were on an automotive test excursion road trip...{and I can't remember which state{s}, but I saw several make ups of large and {different}, engines and now I'm wondering which it was....Gas turbines...or didn't they have some sort of hydraulic drive engines about that time too....Can anyone help a bit on which and what it might have been....Their appearance was huge in size.....

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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 29, 2005 8:18 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by spbed

The tape said they used bunker "C" which at one time was what steamships also used. [:o)][:p][:)]


Originally posted by TrainFreak409
[


They also did run on Bunker C, but the Big Blows ran frequently on Bunker M.

ModelCar, did anything look like any of these?


ALCo C-855, Diesel Hydraulic


U50D, Diesel Electric


"Side Breather" or Baby Turbine, some were converted to propane fuel.


Veranda Turbine


Big Blow Turbine


UP #80 Coal Turbine

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Posted by dldance on Friday, July 29, 2005 8:26 AM
The typical UP Turbine consist included one Big Blow and a GP9. While the Turbine (all of which had X numbers - indicating experimental) had a 750 hp diesel for hostling, in practice it was easier to use a GP9 for that purpose. After car men had made up a train, the Turbine/GP9 would be hooked up and the GP9 would be used for air brake testing. Then the 750hp diesel would be used to start the turbine. As soon as everything was up to temperature, the train would start out of the yard.

Typical runs were Ogden - Green River (Wy) and Cheyenne - Laramie. Neither of those runs is very long in distance (a couple of hours by car) but both involve long steady grades. In steam days, these runs would have been considered a days work - thus, actual transit time for a normal priority manifest would have been 6 to 8 hours. I think the 24,000 gallons tenders were used - not be cause they needed that much fuel - but because they were easily reused from scrapped steamers and were available. However, the turbine burned almost as much fuel at idle as they did under load. So the limiting capacity was not gallons per mile (which was substantial), but gallons per hour (which is also substantial).

The fuel consumption at idle was their downfall -- and also the reason for the GP9.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, July 29, 2005 9:31 AM
The X numbers in the numberboards of the GTEL's did not denote Experimental. It goes back to the UP/SP practice of putting train numbers in the numberboards of the locomotive. The X indicated that the train was running as an extra; e.g., not shown in the employee timetable. The "City of Los Angeles" would show "103" in the locomotive's numberboards since that was the train number. I'm not sure when the practice was discontinued but it did continue on SP's commutes in the Bay Area into the late 1970's.
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Posted by dldance on Friday, July 29, 2005 9:45 AM
TrainFreak409 -

thanks for the great collection of pictures.

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Posted by chad thomas on Friday, July 29, 2005 10:02 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409




ALCo C-855, Diesel Hydraulic




These were diesel electrics, not hydraulics. When these were first built someone had wired the electrical wrong. On there first voyage when they hit transition speed there was an explosion and fireworks in the electrical cabinet and they had to be taken out of service and repaired. This was the first of there troubles and certainly not the last. When they did run they were almost never trusted to haul a train by themselves and they didn't last long. Out of all the double deisels UP bought, these were the first to be retired and scrapped.
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Posted by dldance on Friday, July 29, 2005 11:58 AM
As I recall - some of the U50's had running gear from scrapped turbines.

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:37 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409


. Sorry I can't help more, but as you can see, I love talking about turbines,


Don't be sorry, you've been a great help.

In fact, i believe it was your rather interesting 'kit bash" of a CSX passenger turbine that got me to thinking about this in thefirst place, wondering if such a set up could go "coast to coast" on a single tank..

My bet is no, but then, if it couldn't no one would want to wait around long enough to re fill such a huge tank....guess you'd have to have prefilled spares, waiting along the route?
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 29, 2005 12:51 PM
Chad; woops, my bad. I could have sworn that ALCo made that as a diesel hydraulic. Maybe it was something else...

dldance; yep, UP's turbines did go to the U50s, numbers 51-75 went to U50D's, and the big blows went to U50C's.


AntiGates; my CSX turbine isn't a kitbash, it is a stock model. Con-cor offers the veranda in multiple different schemes other than UP. And it just looks really good pulling silver and blue B & O streamliners.

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 29, 2005 1:10 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by TrainFreak409

Chad; woops, my bad. I could have sworn that ALCo made that as a diesel hydraulic. Maybe it was something else...

dldance; yep, UP's turbines did go to the U50s, numbers 51-75 went to U50D's, and the big blows went to U50C's.


AntiGates; my CSX turbine isn't a kitbash, it is a stock model. Con-cor offers the veranda in multiple different schemes other than UP. And it just looks really good pulling silver and blue B & O streamliners.



Well, didn't know that, I was just giving you credit for a very "factory looking" bash, ...no wonder it looks so good, it IS factory [;)]
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Posted by spbed on Friday, July 29, 2005 1:13 PM
Sorry the tape I have shows the turbine in ELA as well as Echo canyon. Yes the tape said they also operated between GR & Chey. It also showed it many times without any diesel power whatsoever. It is really great to see the cars they had at that time vs today. [:o)][:p][:)]

Originally posted by dldance
[

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