Curvy, hilly mainline railroading in the northeast

Hi all-

I'm working on a magazine story about a new brake technology for freight trains (ECP), and as part of the story I'd like to see what braking with today's equipment is like. To that end, I'm hoping to spend some time in a locomotive cab in territory where the engineer has to think a lot about braking, including dynamic braking. Anybody have any suggestions? I'm looking for a stretch of mainline either not far from NYC, in upstate New York, or not far from northwest Maryland. Once I figure out where to do this, I'll approach the media office of the railroad(s) in question.

Feel free to email me off-line if you'd prefer ([email protected]), and thanks for your help.

Best,
Robb Mandelbaum

I don't know who's running on the old Western Maryland these days (NS? CSX?), but you shouldn't have to look far in NW MD. Some of the most hilly and scenic running right in your back yard. Good luck.

Well i dont know if they'll allow a cab ride, but the NYSW is very hilly and curvy, very hilly and curvy. Once it reaches Hawthorn,NJ and eastward is about as flat as it gets for the most part.

....and as part of the story I'd like to see what braking with today's equipment is like. To that end, I'm hoping to spend some time in a locomotive cab in territory where the engineer has to think a lot about braking, including dynamic braking.

The only thing i can see that might give you a problem is:
1. No hills are the same.
2. Every train has a different feel, quirky motors, mixed consist, 100 loads today might brake different then the 100 loads did yesterday.
3. Not every hoghead runs the same, some are slow, some are fearless, dynamic brake lovers, air lovers, 50/50 guys.



If you want some more help buddy ask away my friend, i'll be more then happy to help you understand what a hoghead is thinking as they bomb off a hill. Im sure you have flew before, its almost like landing a jet. The wing flaps are the air brakes, coming off the gas like going to idle, reversing the engines is like using the dynamic brakes, once you touch down on the run way is like getting after the dynamic brakes some more and or setting some more air to stop or taxi the train into the yard. Ever felt the pilot let off the gas, throw the flaps up, feel the brakes, and then power back up? Its almost like that coming off of hills with a train.

Heres something else, or at least this is what i do most of the time on one of the hills where i work when i know im going all the way to the bottom of the hill.

1. Set initial at or near the top.
2. Wait for the feel and get into the dynamic brakes a bit.
3. Then really get after the dynamic brakes and see how that works out for me.
4. Now its decision time (unless you feel like its already getting away from you), leave them rapped up and give the brakes more time to warm up? draw off a couple more pounds? With a good train and good power once you have them rapped up you can feel and see the train slowing down. If your using a little air and about half your dynamic brakes to maintain your trains speed....your doing good. If you encounter a flasher on the drop all you have to do is give it a little more dynamic brake and she'll slow right down. But like i said before every train has a different feel, and sometimes you make a wrong choice or things dont work out like you thought they would. Knowing how the air works, knowing what you can do with them is the hardest thing for engineers to figure out. When to set the air, how much, when its ok to kick them off, when to get aggressive with it..... i could teach a monkey to use the dynamic brakes, but i dont think i could show one how to use the air.
5. The hogs who dont know the air go slow off the hills and stay at a speed where the dynamic brakes work the hardest, and they dont set air till they want to stop hoping that they will work, it would kinda be like driving a car you have never drove, down shifting to slow down and never touching the brakes till you needed to stop at a stop light. Do the brakes work? Who knows?

Hope that gives you some more to think about buddy.

travelrobb wrote:Hi all-

I'm working on a magazine story about a new brake technology for freight trains (ECP), and as part of the story I'd like to see what braking with today's equipment is like. To that end, I'm hoping to spend some time in a locomotive cab in territory where the engineer has to think a lot about braking, including dynamic braking. Anybody have any suggestions? I'm looking for a stretch of mainline either not far from NYC, in upstate New York, or not far from northwest Maryland. Once I figure out where to do this, I'll approach the media office of the railroad(s) in question.

Feel free to email me off-line if you'd prefer ([email protected]), and thanks for your help.

Best,
Robb Mandelbaum

For a wild ride I'd suggest you try the NS, the old PRR Cleveland-Conway (Pittsburgh) run. My memory of it (I was a new brakeman, didn't know what I was seeing, much less how to run a train) was that it was extremely challenging, especially from Hudson to Beaver Creek.

I don't know what the NS's policy is on riders - or how easy it would be for a train crew to sneak you onboard.

You probably won't get such a rich experience with CSX, primarily because they've essentially outlawed power braking or stretch braking in favor of dynamic. The only time they allow trainline air is in bunch braking to a stop...and they have their ERAD, their Real-Time GPS performance monitoring system to enforce it.

NS may or may not be implementing similar systems and policies.

Another thing that you might want to study is train handling also before you start writing anything.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. But what's the difference between dynamic braking and power braking--I thought they were basically the same?

-Robb

travelrobb wrote:Thanks for the suggestions, guys. But what's the difference between dynamic braking and power braking--I thought they were basically the same?

-Robb

COMPLETE opposites. Dynamic braking is using the traction motors for braking power - reversing their circuitry to make them function as generators and send current through a resistance grid, giving braking power.

Power braking is appling trainline brakes, while pulling - HARD - on the throttle. What power braking does, is stretch out the train, preventing run-ins and avoiding buffeting forces while coming to a stop.

Since the automatic (trainline) brake cannot be reduced incrementally, only completely, and since ANY change in the brakes takes about one second a car...power braking is an easy and safe way to use air to reduce speeds, for speed limited areas (the only other way, as UPRR noted, is to use light air and HEAVY dynamic...hopefully, as the air kicks off, one second a car, the head cars don't run out and yank a drawbar).

Power braking is quick, safe, relatively simple...and now, banned on some railroads, because non-railroader managers assert it "wastes fuel."