Bad train pictures

[edblysard]

Hey dharmon,
It wouldnt make much difference, A/c or D/c, notch 8 is notch 8, no mater which traction motor the locomotive has.
But most roads, BNSF in paticular, purchased A/C for a specific purpose like
the unit coal or grain trains, so you would see all A/C power on them because the locomotives were assigned to that one use.
When they figured out it didnt make that much of a savings in operating expense, the motors were sent system wide.
You can see A/C D/C MUs all the time now.
We see UPs SD90MAC MUed to old SD40-2s on their grain trains down here all the time.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[edblysard]

Hey dharmon,
It wouldnt make much difference, A/c or D/c, notch 8 is notch 8, no mater which traction motor the locomotive has.
But most roads, BNSF in paticular, purchased A/C for a specific purpose like
the unit coal or grain trains, so you would see all A/C power on them because the locomotives were assigned to that one use.
When they figured out it didnt make that much of a savings in operating expense, the motors were sent system wide.
You can see A/C D/C MUs all the time now.
We see UPs SD90MAC MUed to old SD40-2s on their grain trains down here all the time.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[Anonymous]

Joekoh
Nora
Ed

Thanks for the info. I missed the thread or post Nora quoted from but I have posted in so many threads now that I have trouble even finding my own post little own someone else.

They were looking at the bearing area so Nora must have got it right. WAY TO GO NORA [^] [:X] [:I] [8)] [:)]

[Anonymous]

Joekoh
Nora
Ed

Thanks for the info. I missed the thread or post Nora quoted from but I have posted in so many threads now that I have trouble even finding my own post little own someone else.

They were looking at the bearing area so Nora must have got it right. WAY TO GO NORA [^] [:X] [:I] [8)] [:)]

[dharmon]

It's Dan by the way. I am a humble servant of the tax payer and frequent carrier outer of foriegn policy.

So the next question. Do engineers have to qualify per se in each locomotive? Do you have to be checked out in a SD40-2 with a qualified engineer before you can solo? Do you have a card or logbook that says Mr Jones is qualified to run the following engines.......x, y and z only. Is there any sort of annual review like pilots have...a check ride once a year or periodically to maintain qualification in a type loco? Does FRA, the road or union have any sort of licencing that occurs.

[dharmon]

It's Dan by the way. I am a humble servant of the tax payer and frequent carrier outer of foriegn policy.

So the next question. Do engineers have to qualify per se in each locomotive? Do you have to be checked out in a SD40-2 with a qualified engineer before you can solo? Do you have a card or logbook that says Mr Jones is qualified to run the following engines.......x, y and z only. Is there any sort of annual review like pilots have...a check ride once a year or periodically to maintain qualification in a type loco? Does FRA, the road or union have any sort of licencing that occurs.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

Thank you Nora for starting this thread. It may become one of the most read and most informative threads yet or ever posted.

Nora has started a good thing here. Now we can all get educated. Again, Thank You, Nora.

Have a great day. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Arf, arf.


Ed for President

Nora, your thread has 12 pages now and still going strong. I don't know what the record is but I bet this thread will pass them all. This thread is timeless. The newer people may have missed an earlier post and ask the same question again. (Kinda like I did) So this is one thread that should never wear out (pun intended). [:p]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

Thank you Nora for starting this thread. It may become one of the most read and most informative threads yet or ever posted.

Nora has started a good thing here. Now we can all get educated. Again, Thank You, Nora.

Have a great day. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Arf, arf.


Ed for President

Nora, your thread has 12 pages now and still going strong. I don't know what the record is but I bet this thread will pass them all. This thread is timeless. The newer people may have missed an earlier post and ask the same question again. (Kinda like I did) So this is one thread that should never wear out (pun intended). [:p]

[edblysard]

Hi Dan,
Yes, engineers have a license, they have to recertify every few years on rules, and have a hearing/eyesight test.
I dont run a motor, but all of the engineers on the PTRA learn on a MK1500D, with the old style EMD control stand like you find in a SD40, GP 38....
The newer locomotives have the desktop, or nintendo controls, but it never seem to bother any of our engineers.
I assume the same basic train handleing skills apply, just remembering the layout of the controls would be the only operational difference.
Beyond that, you will have to get some of the engineers,like wabash, to explain with more specific details.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[edblysard]

Hi Dan,
Yes, engineers have a license, they have to recertify every few years on rules, and have a hearing/eyesight test.
I dont run a motor, but all of the engineers on the PTRA learn on a MK1500D, with the old style EMD control stand like you find in a SD40, GP 38....
The newer locomotives have the desktop, or nintendo controls, but it never seem to bother any of our engineers.
I assume the same basic train handleing skills apply, just remembering the layout of the controls would be the only operational difference.
Beyond that, you will have to get some of the engineers,like wabash, to explain with more specific details.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[mudchicken]

Mookie:

Found a red streak yet?

[mudchicken]

Mookie:

Found a red streak yet?

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Mookie:

Found a red streak yet?

yeah, but not on the railroad tracks! I am beginning to think I have only seen about 1/16th of what is out there to see. So I will keep looking very carefully - always see something new! And while I am here, I saw "lids" on some coil cars, which was kind of cool, since usually see the coils "uncovered". Looked like they were basting a chicken for supper (sorry...sort of....[}:)]) Anyway - saw a coal train with a mix of bottom dumps and rotary dumps all mixed up together. Do they sort them out at the plant? These were all the same marking - didn't write down which one, sorry again!

And....JHMX has cars marked A End and B End - ok - this one escapes me, but I am sure you will find it for me!

And - last one - for the Duh Awards - they are putting a McDonald's warning on bottom dumps - "Stand Clear of Door". Duh - or are there really people getting hurt on bottom dumps by standing with their feet under or close to them?

I await!

Da Mook

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Mookie:

Found a red streak yet?

yeah, but not on the railroad tracks! I am beginning to think I have only seen about 1/16th of what is out there to see. So I will keep looking very carefully - always see something new! And while I am here, I saw "lids" on some coil cars, which was kind of cool, since usually see the coils "uncovered". Looked like they were basting a chicken for supper (sorry...sort of....[}:)]) Anyway - saw a coal train with a mix of bottom dumps and rotary dumps all mixed up together. Do they sort them out at the plant? These were all the same marking - didn't write down which one, sorry again!

And....JHMX has cars marked A End and B End - ok - this one escapes me, but I am sure you will find it for me!

And - last one - for the Duh Awards - they are putting a McDonald's warning on bottom dumps - "Stand Clear of Door". Duh - or are there really people getting hurt on bottom dumps by standing with their feet under or close to them?

I await!

Da Mook

[wabash1]

Dan -Ed

engineers dont qualify on engines they qualify on terrain. the power they run with is of no importance. they give you a train to run and the power you get is what you use. the fra requires a roadforman to ride once a year with you to recertify you that you can do your job. a physical is required every 3 years ( maybe 2 not sure ) . this is to keep your lic. the lic you get says what you are alowed to do .( like your drivers lic) it states if you can run on certain railroads if you need glasses hearing aids etc. rules classes are required every year just like conductors ( on are road anyways)

as far as the new locomotives go i rather have the aar control stand than the desk top. some guys like the desk top but they are uncofortable to use no way to relax with them. and running one when switching is awful . you cant turn around to see anything. the running of ac traction motors with dc traction motors was against the rule until about a year ago now they dont care you run with what ever you get. the perpose of this was the ac traction motors would burn up the dc traction motors units now it seems like that may have been a hoax. not sure we just run what they give us.

i hope this answers your questions

[wabash1]

Dan -Ed

engineers dont qualify on engines they qualify on terrain. the power they run with is of no importance. they give you a train to run and the power you get is what you use. the fra requires a roadforman to ride once a year with you to recertify you that you can do your job. a physical is required every 3 years ( maybe 2 not sure ) . this is to keep your lic. the lic you get says what you are alowed to do .( like your drivers lic) it states if you can run on certain railroads if you need glasses hearing aids etc. rules classes are required every year just like conductors ( on are road anyways)

as far as the new locomotives go i rather have the aar control stand than the desk top. some guys like the desk top but they are uncofortable to use no way to relax with them. and running one when switching is awful . you cant turn around to see anything. the running of ac traction motors with dc traction motors was against the rule until about a year ago now they dont care you run with what ever you get. the perpose of this was the ac traction motors would burn up the dc traction motors units now it seems like that may have been a hoax. not sure we just run what they give us.

i hope this answers your questions

[dharmon]

When you say they qualify on terrain, do you mean as in qualified to fun in a certain district or area or quailified to run only in yards, flat land etc....There have been alot of discussions about seniority, being limited to a hub or system wide, but say you were working in Houston and transferred to say Chicago, you might retain relative senority but then would you have to requalify as an engineer for that area?

[dharmon]

When you say they qualify on terrain, do you mean as in qualified to fun in a certain district or area or quailified to run only in yards, flat land etc....There have been alot of discussions about seniority, being limited to a hub or system wide, but say you were working in Houston and transferred to say Chicago, you might retain relative senority but then would you have to requalify as an engineer for that area?

[mudchicken]

Ms. Mookie:
-some of the bottom dumps are also rotary (dual service) and some of those bottom dumps are remote control/air actuated with a "shoe" at the end of the car. The darwinian/McDonalds warning label is geared towards more than just railroaders, especially the 15-Watters at the power plants and in repair facilities who may especially be unfamiliar with what the car does (the railroad or car owner may not want the guy to get coal in his stockings before Christmas?) - Have seen, and I suspect Ed & Co. have seen too, where conventional coal hoppers have faulty or worn latches that suddenly discharge during switching or with rough train handling. When we got coal hoppers for ballast car use, this would happen) when a bottom dump opens on flat ground, the contents spill out 3-5 feet beyond the edge of tie in the walkway as well....Having had escort Yard Cleaners thru big yards, you do get to see what tumbles out of all kinds of railcars - You would be amazed...

"B" end is the end with the brake gear on it. (Some of the old DRGW cars had brake gear on both endsb because of mountain service, the "B" end had the triple valve)..."A" end is the OTHER end (sorta makes sense) ...and hope Ed, Wabash & IronKen have not encountered the kook putting razors on certain brake appliances, usually the bleeder valve or the brake handles......

On the "lids", I have often wondered how long those things last before they get lost or destroyed. It's rare to see a matched set on a car and rarer to see a car still with the set it started out with. Once saw a fiberglass one used by the homeless in LA as a community bathtub/jaccuzi near the LA "Sewer", er. um. River at First Street/ Mission Tower.

Will keep my camera handy for the next encounter with a loaded red streak in my travels. They tend to congregate in big yards near R.I.P. tracks, at scrapyards, fresh derailment sites and around heavy repair shops.

[mudchicken]

Ms. Mookie:
-some of the bottom dumps are also rotary (dual service) and some of those bottom dumps are remote control/air actuated with a "shoe" at the end of the car. The darwinian/McDonalds warning label is geared towards more than just railroaders, especially the 15-Watters at the power plants and in repair facilities who may especially be unfamiliar with what the car does (the railroad or car owner may not want the guy to get coal in his stockings before Christmas?) - Have seen, and I suspect Ed & Co. have seen too, where conventional coal hoppers have faulty or worn latches that suddenly discharge during switching or with rough train handling. When we got coal hoppers for ballast car use, this would happen) when a bottom dump opens on flat ground, the contents spill out 3-5 feet beyond the edge of tie in the walkway as well....Having had escort Yard Cleaners thru big yards, you do get to see what tumbles out of all kinds of railcars - You would be amazed...

"B" end is the end with the brake gear on it. (Some of the old DRGW cars had brake gear on both endsb because of mountain service, the "B" end had the triple valve)..."A" end is the OTHER end (sorta makes sense) ...and hope Ed, Wabash & IronKen have not encountered the kook putting razors on certain brake appliances, usually the bleeder valve or the brake handles......

On the "lids", I have often wondered how long those things last before they get lost or destroyed. It's rare to see a matched set on a car and rarer to see a car still with the set it started out with. Once saw a fiberglass one used by the homeless in LA as a community bathtub/jaccuzi near the LA "Sewer", er. um. River at First Street/ Mission Tower.

Will keep my camera handy for the next encounter with a loaded red streak in my travels. They tend to congregate in big yards near R.I.P. tracks, at scrapyards, fresh derailment sites and around heavy repair shops.

[Mookie]

Thanx MC - That is really interesting. I have seen several coil cars going thru in the last couple of days, but this is the first one with a set of lids - two cars worth! Even had little handles on top to take them off!

I will continue to watch for Red Streaks - I may have seen one, just trying to learn too much at once, so memory suffers!

Mookie

[Mookie]

Thanx MC - That is really interesting. I have seen several coil cars going thru in the last couple of days, but this is the first one with a set of lids - two cars worth! Even had little handles on top to take them off!

I will continue to watch for Red Streaks - I may have seen one, just trying to learn too much at once, so memory suffers!

Mookie

[wabash1]

You dont qualify to run in the yard at 10 mph they figure you cant get into trouble. you qualify on the area you are going to run. and that is all jobs from road switchers to thru freights. if you transfer ( hard to do when your a engineer) you retrain on that area and qualify. see you need senority to be a engineer and if you get cut off you go back to the ground. the new guys get to move around on system wide senority and they qualify as conductor on that area. i dont have system wide senority and dont want it.

training is done with another qualified engineer . what he says goes and when you get qualified it is done with the roadforman riding with you to see if you can handle a train and know where the signal and sidings are. it is not so much what slack action you get as it is knowing where you are.

[wabash1]

You dont qualify to run in the yard at 10 mph they figure you cant get into trouble. you qualify on the area you are going to run. and that is all jobs from road switchers to thru freights. if you transfer ( hard to do when your a engineer) you retrain on that area and qualify. see you need senority to be a engineer and if you get cut off you go back to the ground. the new guys get to move around on system wide senority and they qualify as conductor on that area. i dont have system wide senority and dont want it.

training is done with another qualified engineer . what he says goes and when you get qualified it is done with the roadforman riding with you to see if you can handle a train and know where the signal and sidings are. it is not so much what slack action you get as it is knowing where you are.

[Nora]

OK, does anyone have any idea how to find out what kind of engine I have seen if I only have the number of the engine? I've seen 2 runty, cute little engines recently (NS 2214 and NS 2373). But since I was in a moving car, and the trains were moving, my usual method of figuring out what kind of engine it is didn't work. (That would be reading the sign on the engine itself that says what kind it is [8D])

Also, today I saw a weird train with only two cars. They were very nice looking, painted burgundy and gold, one was a passenger car and the other was a very odd, strangely shaped car. It said "Norfolk Southern Research" on it and it went back and forth past us. What does that train do?

--Nora

[Nora]

OK, does anyone have any idea how to find out what kind of engine I have seen if I only have the number of the engine? I've seen 2 runty, cute little engines recently (NS 2214 and NS 2373). But since I was in a moving car, and the trains were moving, my usual method of figuring out what kind of engine it is didn't work. (That would be reading the sign on the engine itself that says what kind it is [8D])

Also, today I saw a weird train with only two cars. They were very nice looking, painted burgundy and gold, one was a passenger car and the other was a very odd, strangely shaped car. It said "Norfolk Southern Research" on it and it went back and forth past us. What does that train do?

--Nora

[Anonymous]

On you first question. Almost every unit has its own distinctive little feature.
Some have some big differences. You should be able to tell a GE unit from an EMD unit. Some smaller railroads (like ARR) have the special number pattern- usually first number means the amount of horsepower in thousands (ex.- in 2073 2 is the first # so engine might have 2000hp ) That doesn't apply to big rr companies- like BNSF's SD70MACs thay start with 9, but don't have 9000hp.
That method doesn't work all the time. What i do is compare pictures of locos and how each is different.
The two NS locos you have seen might be -- i'll make a bad guess -- Gp38 or something around. I'll stop here.

[Anonymous]

On you first question. Almost every unit has its own distinctive little feature.
Some have some big differences. You should be able to tell a GE unit from an EMD unit. Some smaller railroads (like ARR) have the special number pattern- usually first number means the amount of horsepower in thousands (ex.- in 2073 2 is the first # so engine might have 2000hp ) That doesn't apply to big rr companies- like BNSF's SD70MACs thay start with 9, but don't have 9000hp.
That method doesn't work all the time. What i do is compare pictures of locos and how each is different.
The two NS locos you have seen might be -- i'll make a bad guess -- Gp38 or something around. I'll stop here.

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Nora

OK, does anyone have any idea how to find out what kind of engine I have seen if I only have the number of the engine? I've seen 2 runty, cute little engines recently (NS 2214 and NS 2373). But since I was in a moving car, and the trains were moving, my usual method of figuring out what kind of engine it is didn't work. (That would be reading the sign on the engine itself that says what kind it is [8D])

Also, today I saw a weird train with only two cars. They were very nice looking, painted burgundy and gold, one was a passenger car and the other was a very odd, strangely shaped car. It said "Norfolk Southern Research" on it and it went back and forth past us. What does that train do?


--Nora

Hi nora I'll take a crack at it.The two engines are probably ex-conrail gp-18s very small.email me and i'll know for sure.the car you refer to is probably a dynometer(i hope its spelled right) car. it checks the track for gage,and other deformities.
I hope this helps.[8D]
stay safe
joe

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Nora

OK, does anyone have any idea how to find out what kind of engine I have seen if I only have the number of the engine? I've seen 2 runty, cute little engines recently (NS 2214 and NS 2373). But since I was in a moving car, and the trains were moving, my usual method of figuring out what kind of engine it is didn't work. (That would be reading the sign on the engine itself that says what kind it is [8D])

Also, today I saw a weird train with only two cars. They were very nice looking, painted burgundy and gold, one was a passenger car and the other was a very odd, strangely shaped car. It said "Norfolk Southern Research" on it and it went back and forth past us. What does that train do?


--Nora

Hi nora I'll take a crack at it.The two engines are probably ex-conrail gp-18s very small.email me and i'll know for sure.the car you refer to is probably a dynometer(i hope its spelled right) car. it checks the track for gage,and other deformities.
I hope this helps.[8D]
stay safe
joe