Norfolk Southern's ES44ACs

[uhaul]

Norfolk Southern has purchased its first Alternating Current locomotives. Order looks to be twenty-four ES44ACs numbered 8000-23.
www.nsdash9.com
www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=250032

[rrfoose]

Also significant is that these units will have 4400 horsepower, instead of just 4000 like like the Dash-9's and earlier ES40DC models.

[scooter3798]

The NS Dash 9's are 4400 hp capable, NS has them set up so that they only produce around 4000. Also the extra 400 horsepower should be used in conjunction with the tractive effort limiting software to provide maximum TE over a greater speed range than with the 4000 hp.

[jgallaway81]

scooter3798: The last time I went west out of Altoona, while dragging a freight up the mountain, my lead unit's computers showed a peak HP of about 4390hp. It was one of the 9900 D9's.

I'm not sure if this was a one-off engine that somehow escaped the computer edits limiting its max hp, or if the units are able to pull full power in notch 8 for mountain lugging.

[scooter3798]

scooter3798: The last time I went west out of Altoona, while dragging a freight up the mountain, my lead unit's computers showed a peak HP of about 4390hp. It was one of the 9900 D9's.

I'm not sure if this was a one-off engine that somehow escaped the computer edits limiting its max hp, or if the units are able to pull full power in notch 8 for mountain lugging.

That is a good question. As far as I know the shop guys are the ones which set them, so I guess it is possible that one of them made it out with a different setting.

[Engineer Spike]

CPR's AC4400 units have a power limiting switch. It seems to govern the units between 4000 or 4400 hp. We mostly run with them in the 4400 setting. The exception is when we have certain SOO SD60s. Apparently the boost setting circuit on the AC440 uses the same MU jumper pin as the pace setters on the 60s.
When I run with the locomotive monitor screen on, I notice that the units stay at 4000 hp, even with the boost switch on. The units seem to only go to 4400 hp on really hard pulls.
It could be apples to oranges, comparing CPR's units to NS's, but it may be the way that GE designed the software.

[Alcochaser]

*checks the temperature in hell* Yep frozen...

How much do you want to be this is for some run thru power agreement on coal.....and BNSF or UP got tired of DC units on coal?

[jgallaway81]

Or they might be in position to replace the old Conrail Big MACs. With the GEVOs, they could replace teh 80MACs with power that uses the same internal components as a very large fraction of the rest of their fleet (like the trucks match more then 1500 other units on the system - D9-40C's, D9-40CW's, ES40DC's & ES44AC's)

Any speculation is just that... idle speculation.

Its also posible that GE finally said... "this is what we are offering, we aren't re-desiging a perfectly good loco simply because you guys want to be different... at least not without making you incure the redevelopment costs." or something like it.

Like I said... idle speculation.

NS has an entire team of engineers and technicians that decide how to fill the demand for horsepower (ops says "we need 50,000hp this year, engineering/mechanical fills that with 5 70ACe's and 7 GEVO's.) We'll just have to wait and see where they end up on the NS system.

[v8interceptor]

Or they might be in position to replace the old Conrail Big MACs. With the GEVOs, they could replace teh 80MACs with power that uses the same internal components as a very large fraction of the rest of their fleet (like the trucks match more then 1500 other units on the system - D9-40C's, D9-40CW's, ES40DC's & ES44AC's)

Any speculation is just that... idle speculation.

Its also posible that GE finally said... "this is what we are offering, we aren't re-desiging a perfectly good loco simply because you guys want to be different... at least not without making you incure the redevelopment costs." or something like it.

Like I said... idle speculation.

NS has an entire team of engineers and technicians that decide how to fill the demand for horsepower (ops says "we need 50,000hp this year, engineering/mechanical fills that with 5 70ACe's and 7 GEVO's.) We'll just have to wait and see where they end up on the NS system.

NS is not the only road to purchase the DC version of the Evolution series and the units were not specifically designed just for them ...BNSF and CSX have bought both AC and DC Evolutions and CN, of course, still only buys DC motors......

[jgallaway81]

I said it was possible, and I did say something about idle speculation. I appologize if I wasn't clear enough in saying that I was just speculating with no information behind it.

[atsf sp]

Will these have ECP-braking systems like the ES40DC?

[jgallaway81]

I can't say for certain, but I would beleive so.

NS has commited to, along with the FRA and BNSF, to eventually implimenting ECP as an interchange standard.

The FRA's goal is to have ECP installed on the entire interchange fleet (I beleive the goal was within 10 years, but not certain on that timeline).

[scooter3798]

Will these have ECP-braking systems like the ES40DC?

Yes. They are ECP equipped, and they are also DPU capable.

Scooter

[kbcm721f]

These units are a CSX spec, due to the time frame NS wanted these units, ECP will be added as needed. All come ECP capable. Although not all units with the ECP cables are ECP equipped, but the can be used in trail on a ECP train

[atsf sp]

These units are a CSX spec, due to the time frame NS wanted these units, ECP will be added as needed. All come ECP capable. Although not all units with the ECP cables are ECP equipped, but the can be used in trail on a ECP train

So are you saying they will probably run with the ES40DC equipped engines?