philipmartin wrote:Alp 45 question. It has two 500 gal. fills on each side, I guess for two fuel tanks, one for each diesel. If one tank goes dry, can they run the engine with just the other? Can they run the engine with just one Caterpillar? Or are all the fills there to fill it super fast, with diesel hoses in all four fills at the same time?
Also, why does the law require an F on the front of single end electric or diesel engines. Are they afraid that guys passing signals won't know which end is forward?
From diagrams i've seen, i did not notice anything connecting the two fuel tanks in terms of piping. 500 gallons compared to the 2000-3000 or so gallon tanks found on a geep might not sound like a lot, but the standard home heating oil tank is approximately 275 gallons, to give you some idea of how much this actually is. Passenger diesels, especially older types, are derived from freight locomotives that spend much of their operating days pulling long & heavy trains, thus the larger tanks. The larger tanks also weigh more vs smaller, increasing base tractive effort regardless of fuel level.
I do wonder how many NEC trips a fully fueled 45 with a nominal consist of 10 comets or 8 MLV would be able to make before needing a re-fuel. I know MLV have a higher HEP demand due to increased everything from lights to HVAC, and of course are heavier, so that might affect things?
I wonder if/when a 45 will make a NEC trip under diesel power. I guess they'd change modes at newark for obvious reasons.