The NEW and IMPROVED Question Thread (with Index and Page Links)

[Anonymous]

After many pages of the previous "Question" thread it appears it is the wish of the original poster to let that thread die. [:(] [V] [|)] That thread contained many extremely good questions and equally valid answers. It is a shame to see it go considering it was such a wealth of information. Many of our newer users have searched that thread and learned much valuable information from it.

After looking through the first 2 or 3 pages myself today, I ran across this post that I made about 2 years ago.


Hi everyone, Hey Nora, you have probally read all the columns like Dear Abby, Ann Landers, and many others. I was justing wondering if we shouldn't change the name of this thread to ASK ED. Who else is as knowledgeable and articulate as our southern statesman friend. I truly am amazed at his knowledge and inspired by his willingness to share with us and expand our knowledge. If it wasn't for Ed, I would still be wondering about many of the questions that have been ask here.

Let's hear it for ED. Three Cheers. [:)] [:)] [:)]


End of Quote from previous thread.


I believe "Ask Ed" or something close to it is already in use these days. [;)] Therefore I will simply call this thread, "The NEW and IMPROVED Question Thread." [:)] (Sounds like a plan. [:o)] [8D] [:D] )

Having one place to ask questions cuts down on the number of topics going and brings together those asking questions with those willing to answer them. Let's face it. We have a host of railroaders who are willing to answer most any question. Plus add to that, it makes for some very good reading with such experience and knowledge unleashed in one place. [:)]

I sincerely hate to see the other topic go by the wayside. The vast amount of knowledge contained in that thread was amazing. It is such a pity to see it slip back into the pages of oblivion. [:(] [|)]

I hope this thread can be at least half as successful as the previous question thread. Please post questions here, you will be surprised how many people will be glad to help answer your questions. You will also be surprised how many people had wondered the same thing as you had, BUT were afraid to ask. [;)]

Keep those questions coming, someone can answer them
I certainly don't have all the answers but we have not only knowledge here in the forum, we have experience too.


I am going to try (TRY) and keep an index here so in the future we can have a quick reference guide that points us to a page as a reference. [;)]


Remember please ask railroad related questions in this thread. THANKS A Bunch. [:D]


INDEX


Page 1

Headlights--Single or Dual
Steam Generators
Flange Lubricators (Track Greasers, Flange Oilers)
Steam Engines with Diesel Helpers



Page 2

G8 Photo and Info
Chessie System Engine Question and Answer
Locomotive Truck Question and Answer
Additional Info on the G8 and link to better Photo
Steam Engine Chuf question and Answer
Steam Engine Steam Releases

LINK to Page Two . . . http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=2&TOPIC_ID=53144



Page 3

ABS vs. CTC
Krug Tales Link
Dupont Training Train (Tank Car, Box Car, Caboose)

LINK to Page Three . . . http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=3&TOPIC_ID=53144


Page 4

Massachusetts Call / Volunteer Firefighters Association Fire Training Train (MCUX)
DPU vs. Locotrol
Early Chicago Rail History
E Unit Boiler Question and Answer
Question on Pantographs/Catenary
Fire Training Trains
Freight Truck Weight Question
Vert-A-Pac Railcars
Stac-Pac Railcars

LINK to Page 4 . . . http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=4&TOPIC_ID=53144


Page 5

Train ID (numbers or letters)
Oil Fired Switch Heaters
Crossing Lights and Track Circuits
Railcar Per Diem Rates
Locomotive Engine Break-In Period
Going Into Emergency and Sanding
Photo of Switch Heaters

LINK to Page 5 . . . http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=5&TOPIC_ID=53144


Page 6

Railyard Odors
Foreign Unit Problems
Wild Animals In The Railyard
Green Decal Question
Green Decal Answer

[Sterling1]

Jim which thread are you talking about?

I'm really tempted to discuss something but it's not appropriate (get your mind out of the gutter)

Matt

[Sterling1]

You know I attempted to do that a long time ago, by doing the "Electric Diesel and Steam Locomotives topic, but since then it has pretty much died ... the info is still there, just hardly any new posts.

I'm not shooting you down, but yes I agree we should have some sort of Q&A addendum ...

Matt

[Sterling1]

These were the last questions I put on topic ...

Is there a reason for WP unit 707 for having this kind of headlight instead a vertical set?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107255
Also is this extention common?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107295

As of today they haven't been answered ...

Matt

[rrandb]

Should we ask for a dedicated forum so it can not "die".?? It will then be easy to find and readilly apparent to old and new users??

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrandb

Should we ask for a dedicated forum so it can not "die".?? It will then be easy to find and readilly apparent to old and new users??

We can just start using this one. [:)]

She has changed the name of the previous thread. [:(] So you won't find it under its normal name.

So, let's just make the best of this one.

[chad thomas]

OK Jim, only now I have to think of NEW and IMPROVED questions as opposed to regular questions. That is a lot of pressure.[(-D]

[coborn35]

Thanks for the new thread ***. I will have to find something I dont know....lol

[emmar]

Don't worry Jim. Until I go to college there will always be the random questions that I always come up with. It is nice that there is always someone here who will answer my questions.

Maybe I will actually be able to start answering other peoples questions someday.

Thanks for the new thread.

emmar

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by coborn35

Thanks for the new thread ***. I will have to find something I dont know....lol

No Problem, George. [:D] [;)] [:D]

[rrandb]

Did EMD's FT103 ABBA demonstrators leave Lagrange equipped with steam generators. If not what was the first F unit to have EMD build it with a SG installed. This is not a trvia question??? THANKS

[Trailryder]

I gotta question, I don't know if it is new or improved, but it is a question.
I ran across this strange looking track greaser today. I have never seen one before and had to wonder exactly what they are for?
I can only guess that they lubricate the wheel flanges.
Is this correct or is it something all together different.
Are they used very often and how often do they need refilled.





Thanks for the new and improved question area.

And thanks for the New and improved Answers.

Later Bill

[rrandb]

YES to the first question and are sometimes call flange oilers or greasers. They help prevent flange and rail wear. You don't see them very often and I do not know. Hope that helps. ENJOY

[edblysard]

Trailryder,
You guessed right.
As rrandb stated, it is a flange greaser, used to lube the inside flanges of the wheels.
This one wouldn’t be located near a curve, is it?
As for turning it on and off, they are on all the time, there is a trip mechanism or trigger inside the rail head, just before the grease nozzle.
I don’t know the service schedule, but the ones on my railroad get filled once every two weeks, although they are on a switching lead with a curve, so they do get a lot of use.
Ed

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sterling1

These were the last questions I put on topic ...

Is there a reason for WP unit 707 for having this kind of headlight instead a vertical set?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107255

I believe you'll find that that headlight (sorry - don't know the manufacturer) was standard for WP when that locomotive was acquired. Either it was never changed, or the current owner backdated it to original.

QUOTE:
Also is this extention common?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107295

As of today they haven't been answered ...

Matt

Can't help you on the second one. Interesting concept, though.

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

After many pages of the previous "Question" thread it appears it is the wish of the original poster to let that thread die. [:(] [V] [|)] That thread contained many extremely good questions and equally valid answers. It is a shame to see it go considering it was such a wealth of information. Many of our newer users have search that thread and learned much valuable information from it.

Perhaps it can be archived and made available via another avenue on the Trains website. Or, if someone has the time, it could be turned into an FAQ page.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sterling1

These were the last questions I put on topic ...

Is there a reason for WP unit 707 for having this kind of headlight instead a vertical set?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107255
Also is this extention common?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107295

As of today they haven't been answered ...

Matt


Hey Matt [:)]

The single headlight was a common item on many early diesels. I really like it too, to me it adds some character to them. If you were to compare the same model with a single headlight and a twin headlight you would see what I mean. The single headlight, to me anyway, just looks better. [^]


About that homemade extension, the engineer probally did that for his own convience. Many switching jobs are done by the same crew using the same engine day after day. There might be another crew to also use this engine but they both probally agreed on that "setup" and left it just like that. I am not sure the FRA would approve of it. There are a few other items (seen in that photo) that railroaders would not like either. However, I will not point them out. You just don't leave an engine, open to people, as was done here. It certainly is a question of safety. Even if the engineer was still in the engine there are a few things he didn't do that he should have done.

[mudchicken]

Flange Lubricator (proper term)

Wheel plunger mechanically lets out the grease along the blades.

Usage determines maintenance/ refill schedule for the 5 gallons of grease in the pot. (Most grease now comes in a plastic sack that gets dropped in the holding pot - 30+% of the flange lubricant now used is not petroleum based)

Lubricators are quite common. Placed wherever rail wear/tonnage is a problem.

Even though train crews hate 'em, you GOTTA have them. There is a science to properly applying the grease beads in the proper amount.

Got "goop gage"? [:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas


OK Jim, only now I have to think of NEW and IMPROVED questions as opposed to regular questions.

That is a lot of pressure.[(-D]

No Pressure Chad. [:D]

Just ask any question, someone will try and answer it. Sometimes 2 or 3 people will answer it each shedding a little different light on the subject and helping to cover it just a little more.

So ask away. The old question thread had many a good answer. I hope this one does as well.

[Anonymous]

After watching one of the three vids in another thread and seeing the 3985 with two diesels behind it I wonder . . . can the diesels now be controlled by the 3985's engineer (thanks to moderen technology and MU and all) or do the diesels still have to have their own train crew ? ? ? Is the 3985 set up with DPU technology ? ? ? OR is there some other way the 3985 might control the diesel helpers ? ? ? [?]

[tree68]

Putting a box in a steamer to control diesels isn't new - Clinchfield did it with their little ten wheeler (which I think is now at the B&O museum). They "disguised" an F B-unit as another pax car for their excursions, since the steamer couldn't handle the trains on its own. On the other hand, I have no idea if they've done it with 3985.

[Anonymous]

Any more discussion on the steam engine with diesel helpers would be appreciated. [:)]

More questions are always welcome also, so ask away. [;)]

[rrandb]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrandb

Did EMD's FT103 ABBA demonstrators leave Lagrange equipped with steam generators. If not what was the first F unit to have EMD build it with a SG installed. This is not a trvia question??? THANKS

This is the opposite. Were there any diesel's FT's built at LaGrange with steam generators before the end of WWII.

[CShaveRR]

The person to talk to about operating the diesels in m.u. from a steam locomotive would be Jack Wheelihan, who gets out on nearly all of the trips made by big steam. I believe he came up with the concept.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR

The person to talk to about operating the diesels in m.u. from a steam locomotive would be Jack Wheelihan, who gets out on nearly all of the trips made by big steam. I believe he came up with the concept.

Is he a Trains.com member? [?]

[lonewoof]

Back in the late '60's, early '70's SCL (Family Lines) ran occasional publicity trips using Clinchfield RR #1 ( a 4-4-0, I think). It was backed up by a F-something B-unit, which I was led to believe was controlled from the cab of #1.
I took a slew of pictures, all of which were lost in the mail. Bummer.

[cpbloom]

Did Chessie System ever own any SD40/SD40-2s or were they all GP40/GP40-2s?

[UPTRAIN]

Jim spied this in North Little Rock UP Yard today, he wanted to know what it was. After some research by me, I know for sure it is an Israel Railways unit, I'm thinking G12, maybe a G16. Jim said it was 4 axle, but they sometimes switch trucks out en route. It's heading from Houston, Texas to Mount Vernon, IL, National Railway Equipment Company. It is loaded on flatcar OTTX 97030. Maybe somebody can confirm what model it is.

[img.nr]http://www.pbrail.org/Jimpix/eurounit.JPG[/img.nr]

[Sterling1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by UPTRAIN

Jim spied this in North Little Rock UP Yard today, he wanted to know what it was. After some research by me, I know for sure it is an Israel Railways unit, I'm thinking G12, maybe a G16. Jim said it was 4 axle, but they sometimes switch trucks out en route. It's heading from Houston, Texas to Mount Vernon, IL, National Railway Equipment Company. It is loaded on flatcar OTTX 97030. Maybe somebody can confirm what model it is.

[img.nr]http://www.pbrail.org/Jimpix/eurounit.JPG[/img.nr]

I remember reading something of that nature on Trains.com a few weeks ago. Said that Israeli Railways wanted to have the units rebuilt by NRE.

Matt

[Anonymous]

I know that is not a great photo. If it is still there tomorrow I am going to try and get some better shots of it. [8D]

NOTICE the European style couplers !

At first I was wondering if this was one of the Russian made locos that sat in Houston for the last 10 years or longer. It looks like it really does need a lot of work.

Interesting find if I do say so myself. [;)]