Railroad Forums
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STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Sat Oct 15, 2022 2:35 pm Ehhhh, she'll buff right out.Brings up a question. Have seen a lot of locos at times in NOL. Does NOL keep a pair of locs read to rescue a train at the NOL station or to run out on the road as this one did and rescue a train. That would be a great policy for CHI. Locos would need to be back to back to change direction at rescue if returning to NOL
Meanwhile engines AMTK 507 and 172 came out of NOL and rescued the train itself.
RandallW wrote: ↑Mon Aug 29, 2022 4:23 am Virtual Railfan had captured 313 and 314 behind 301 and 309 on (I presume) the California Zephyr at Galesburg, IL. Are ACL-42s regularly on that route now?Not yet. In fact since 301 and 309 powered California Zephyr #6 on August 26, 2022 there was only one other instance of an ALC-42 on the CZ but as backup power to a P42. The last ALC-42s to be delivered to Chicago were 315, 316, and 317 on October 2, 2022.
The only major electro-mechanical breakdown of the GG1 was caused by a February 1958 blizzard that swept across the northeastern United States[31] and put nearly half of the GG1s out of commission. Exceptionally fine snow, caused by the extreme low temperatures, passed through the traction motors' air filters and into the electrical components.[32] When the snow melted, it short-circuited the components.[32] On about 40 units, the air intakes were later moved to a position under the pantographs.
Seacoast Online wrote:Tom McHale, a repair foreman for the agency, was in a Boston wholesale butcher shop buying steak tips for a New England Patriots playoff game in late 2004, when he hit upon an idea.
The fine-mesh hair covering he was required to wear looked to be about the same size as the air intake on the Orange Line motors.
McHale, 42, of Reading, took the hair cap home and a few days later taped it over an air intake. "It fit perfect," he said. Air was still able to pass through the mesh, but snow could not.
A major snowstorm can cripple motors on the Orange Line, T officials said.
Snow can be sucked up by a moving train and drawn into an air intake designed to cool the motors. As the train stops and starts, the snow melts and refreezes into thick squares that block the intake, causing the motors to overheat and fail.
Repairing a motor can cost $9,000. Replacing it costs between $35,000 and $50,000. Using the polypropylene hair caps, which cost $50 for a box of 1,000, will save the agency $126,000 in repairs in an average year.
Last winter, which was mild, the T did not experience any engine failures on the largely aboveground Orange Line, thanks in part to McHale's idea.
Before McHale came up with his idea, the T tried a number of different methods to block the snow. But nothing has worked as well as the hair cap, which is now part of the T's standard operating procedure.
Orange Line operating documents read that before a snowstorm, "All traction motor intake filter cage assemblies shall be wrapped with a protective hair net, taking care to fully cover any possible opening where the ingestion of snow is possible. The hair net shall then be secured using standard — 1/2-inch electrical tape."
The mesh hair caps are removed when it gets warmer to allow the motors to cool properly.
McHale is scheduled to be promoted and honored for his idea on Thursday.
MEC407 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 8:52 am Back in 2004, the MBTA had a problem with Orange Line traction motor air intakes getting clogged with snow.That's a compelling idea. I mentioned it to said group the issue was also mentioned in, and pointed interested folks to the post.
The solution?
Seacoast Online wrote:Tom McHale, a repair foreman for the agency, was in a Boston wholesale butcher shop buying steak tips for a New England Patriots playoff game in late 2004, when he hit upon an idea.
The fine-mesh hair covering he was required to wear looked to be about the same size as the air intake on the Orange Line motors.
McHale, 42, of Reading, took the hair cap home and a few days later taped it over an air intake. "It fit perfect," he said. Air was still able to pass through the mesh, but snow could not.
A major snowstorm can cripple motors on the Orange Line, T officials said.
Snow can be sucked up by a moving train and drawn into an air intake designed to cool the motors. As the train stops and starts, the snow melts and refreezes into thick squares that block the intake, causing the motors to overheat and fail.
Repairing a motor can cost $9,000. Replacing it costs between $35,000 and $50,000. Using the polypropylene hair caps, which cost $50 for a box of 1,000, will save the agency $126,000 in repairs in an average year.
Last winter, which was mild, the T did not experience any engine failures on the largely aboveground Orange Line, thanks in part to McHale's idea.
Before McHale came up with his idea, the T tried a number of different methods to block the snow. But nothing has worked as well as the hair cap, which is now part of the T's standard operating procedure.
Orange Line operating documents read that before a snowstorm, "All traction motor intake filter cage assemblies shall be wrapped with a protective hair net, taking care to fully cover any possible opening where the ingestion of snow is possible. The hair net shall then be secured using standard — 1/2-inch electrical tape."
The mesh hair caps are removed when it gets warmer to allow the motors to cool properly.
McHale is scheduled to be promoted and honored for his idea on Thursday.
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”It's so true in the case of Mr. Junkie's report with his engines not being available for service.
•Next routes 2023
•Coast Starlight (SEA-LA), 1,377 miles
•California Zephyr (CHI-OAK) 2,438 miles
•Additional routes in 2023 will see ALC42 locomotives, dependent upon successful Cab Signal testing for operation in the East.
