Freeze Damage to Engines

This maybe should be posted another catogory, but I will ask here.

A couple of NYS&W engines are OSS, because of freeze damage. This made me wonder......

If they have freeze damage, they must not have antifreeze in the cooling system.

Why not?
Is this common practice?
That means in the cold northeast, an engine has to run 24/7 to keep from freezing, even if not being used? Seems very inefficient?

Thanks

This has been covered in a number of other threads, try the search engine. I believe most recently in the Amtrak forum.

Simply, the configuration of a railroad engine block is not the same as a car's or a truck's. Engines are typically fabrications not castings, and are jacketed and sleeved, that design over time typically leads to internal water leaks.

Leaking water containing glycols destroys the lubricity of the engine crankcase oil.

Here, found it...

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35698

I wonder if stand-by power or alcohol addition to the cooling water are options.

Methanol or ethanol aren't options in that the cooling water systems are typically atmospheric pressure... the alcohols will boil out preferentially at normal running temperatures because their boiling points are less than 212 F.

99

Huh?

Always post -before- you go out to the bar at night.


Seriously, though, most railroads have it in the rules that locomotives are to be shut down if they will not be used within so long a time period, usually 12 hours - except when temperatures are below 40' F in which case they are not to be shut down, and if they have to be shut down (out of fuel, for instance) the water needs to be drained.

The only other way to shut one down in the cold is if a block heater is installed. This is fairly rare, though, usually only done in cases where neighbors have complained about the noise, etc. from units left idling at a terminal for a local job or the like. Don't get me started on those idiots, that's fodder for a whole other thread.

A diesel uses a different process of combustion than a gasoline automobile engine, and canbe much harder to start when it is very cold. Diesel fuel can also gel up when very cold. An idling diesel does not use a great deal of fuel, and what fuel it does use normally costs much less than it would cost to send out the mechanical department to get one started when any of the above problems have occurred.

This has gotta be U-Haul's first post ever without linking to a photo. So I'll take the liberty of linking to one for him.

http://www.jasonbarton.net/photoalbum/S ... r-sex1.jpg

There's also a topic in EMD about this. I let it stand, as it's about a couple of specific NYS&W motors, although U-Holes post has kind of gone astray..... We do have a search engine here, and typing in something like "freeze damage" will bring you some interesting results. "Antifreeze" also will give you results, with all postings about those topics listed for you, to see all the answers. Regards