I have read that cowl units are really just hood (road-switcher) units with a fairing over them.
But, if I were to walk aft from the cab, would there be a regular road-switcher long-hood on one side of me, and the cowl on the other? In other words, would that inner "wall," with all the access doors, be there? Or would the engine and other guts be visible?
Still in training.
The inside of a cowl unit is just like the inside of a EMD F-unit or ALCO FA, there is no separation between the walkway and the engine.
The underframe of a cowl unit is the same as a hood unit, and the cowl carbody is removable and not particularly strong. If you look back from the cab on a SD60F or C40-8M while moving you can see the carbody flexing back and forth above the engine.
The radiators and air intakes are different on a cowl unit, to account for the wider body.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Thanks, SD70Dude.
What about the cab? Is it reinforced, to protect the crew in a roll-over?
On the later Canadian models like the SD50F and SD60F models they have the same wide cab as the SD60M has. The ones that the Santa Fe had like the FP45 and F45 not so much according to a mechanic here that has worked on them.
Thanks, Shadow.
Shadow the Cats ownerThe ones that the Santa Fe had like the FP45 and F45 not so much according to a mechanic here that has worked on them.
Keep in mind that the older units (and I'd include the SDP40F with them) were built prior to the 'armored cab' era culminating in S-580 in 1989 and RSERA in 1992. The FP45s in particular were modified to have front corner 'steps' in an entirely different safety effort, and it would be interesting to observe what additional crash protection was incorporated into that revised structure. As I recall we had a fairly detailed thread on this a couple of years ago.
It is my impression that far more attention is paid to frontal impact and 'override'/telescope protection (which does include longitudinal roof strength) than crush in rollover. The FRA final rule on crash protection in 2006 noted:
the findings also indicated that several features, including rollover protection, uniform sill heights, and deflection plates did not warrant further action. Rollover protection costs would be substantial, and no material need for such protection was demonstrated by the accident data.
Lithonia Operator What about the cab? Is it reinforced, to protect the crew in a roll-over?
There were a few times when running those old units that when a nasty impact was imminent, after dumping the air I would head in to the engine room, hoping to put some of the mass of the prime mover between me and the object we were going to hit. Fortunately I never actually hit one of those big trucks.
Notice what happened to the E-8 involved in the incident in this thread.
http://cs.trains.com/ctr/f/3/t/275475.aspx
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
From farther down that thread, a F-unit that suffered a similar fate:
CN developed what became known as the "Canadian Comfort Cab" in the 1970s after a series of accidents where locomotive crews were injured or killed. It first appeared on the GP38-2W, GP40-2W, GP40-2LW (lightweight frame and smaller fuel tank) and SD40-2W units, identified by a 'W' suffix. This original safety cab design is easily identified by its four small windshields, as opposed to the later three (triclops) and two windshield designs.
Safety cabs are constructed of thick steel plate on a very strong frame, not just plain sheet metal. CN's original design was modified slightly to accomodate the cowl carbody and desktop control stand, and continued to be ordered on SD50F, SD60F, C40-8M and C44-9WL models (the Dash-9's, 2500-2522, were CN's last with the four windshield cab).
BC Rail also ordered C40-8M and C44-9WL units with the four windshield cab. CP's only cowl units, the 9000-series SD40-2F's, came with the 'triclops' windshields.
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