MBTA HSP46 & MP36 Front Dirt Problem

I was wondering if anyone at the T considered putting some kind of spoiler on the roofs of these rounded nose engines to eliminate or reduce the black grime that accumulates on the front when they are run in reverse. It looks unsightly, must be a maintenance headache and probably is causing visibility issues on the affected windshields. Also looks like it might also reduce the headlight efficiency. Would that work?

Shows even with Tier-III emissions that there is still a lot of particulates. Windshield wipers should remove it from the windows, just clean the headlights frequently.

Do the trains have windshield washer fluid that can spray on the front windows? If not, the wipers may not do much good until it rains.

BTG: I have spotted this SCORCH MARK problem from diesel exhaust in the past.

This affects all railroads that operate trains in push-pull service using diesel locomotives.

I suggested some sort of deflector or manifold to try and alleviate this problem.
The design would have to be something that deflects exhaust upward as the locomotive
trails and not be a wind problem aerodynamically when the locomotive leads the train.

One of the best examples in Boston of scorch markings that I remember was at South
Station above the tracks that go under the overbuild at the station. The tunnel through
Back Bay Station on the Southwest Corridor route is another place remembering the
exhaust problems that have existed there since the line opened in the late 1980s.

Any improvements to help engineers with visibility will always help...MACTRAXX

I believe the problem is not so much airflow over the top, but the low air pressure behind the train which sucks the exhaust into the vacant space left by the moving locomotive. Might need a pretty big airfoil to push it up far enough to avoid that effect.

It's the same problem you get with a minivan or a SUV. Cleaning the headlight shouldn't be a big deal. What do other railroads do?

Honestly, I have never noticed this issues in other CR Railroad photos. Don't read into that much, but I wonder if they address the issue or if there are different factors that prevent this issue from being so bad.

It is probably not enough of a problem worth the time and investment to address.

It is a problem though.

I once saw an Engineer cleaning the front headlights on a HSP46 at North Station in the evening before the train departed.

I wonder how often they have to do that.

IMHO - It would have looked so much better and worked a lot better with the headlights in the nose.

Using Biodiesel as NMRX does seems to minimize the soot trial on the roof,along with a regular wash routine.

If I remember correctly NMRX had some teething issues with the biodiesel ratio and algae growth in the fuel tanks. Biocide and a tuned ratio will avoid that, but I don't know if that's something CR will want to deal with in the near future.

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When NMRX was starting up,not all the MP-36's were online,the Cat HEP would crap out when the Algae plugged the injectors,the prime movers would revert to limp in mode .
NMRX Does work at washing the units on a regular basis,something that MBTA needs to do better on.
Not sure what the blend of Biodiesel they use.

The solution could be as simple as installing a spigot with a garden hose at the ends of the platforms at North and South stations. The engineer could simply hose off the headlights and windshields before getting in. If they really don't want to do it, I'd imagine they can create a minimum wage job for some kid to stand at the end of the platform to do it.

diburning wrote: ↑Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:37 am The solution could be as simple as installing a spigot with a garden hose at the ends of the platforms at North and South stations. The engineer could simply hose off the headlights and windshields before getting in. If they really don't want to do it, I'd imagine they can create a minimum wage job for some kid to stand at the end of the platform to do it.

Over at Amtrak, when the train arrives in the S&I after a run and if the wash machine didnt get everything or if there's larger debris, we have the laborers power wash the units