Dash 8 rebuild program (radiator mods, etc)

[atsf sp]

I just found this shot online. http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=2476097
What happned to 7366 that it needed new radiators. Or is it actually a rebuild? Also I have heard the same happned to 7334.

[Allen Hazen]

G. Larimer recently posted a link to this photo (of a Union Pacific C40-9W, at the GE plant in Erie) to the "LocoNotes" Yahoo group:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2493096

The radiator looks similar to that on the CSX unit in ATSF SP's linked photo.

So, until someone who actually KNOWS something sets me right, I'm going to assume this is an OEM (or at least OEM-approved) way of retrofitting "split cooling" (as on the Dash-9 and AC44 (and a few late Dash-8), with their thicker radiator "wingspan") to units originally built without it. (There's an interesting new technology for protecting bare metal from the elements and at the same time preventing it from looking quite so glaring. It's called "paint".)

[MEC407]

G. Larimer recently posted a link to this photo (of a Union Pacific C40-9W, at the GE plant in Erie) to the "LocoNotes" Yahoo group:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2493096

I believe that unit is a C41-8W, if the online rosters I found are correct.

[Allen Hazen]

Thanks for the correction. I ***meant*** to write "C40-8W" ("9" was a slip!), but if it's a C41, that's fine. The key thing is that it is a Dash-8, and the sheetmetal of the radiator "wingspan" shows that it was not originally built with split cooling.

(Some years back there was a news story that the British Columbia Railway was planning to uprate its Dash-8 units to higher power: uprating to 4100 was simple, but the uprating to 4400 was going to wait until new radiators were installed. I don't know whether this project went ahead.)

[CN Sparky]

The BCOL units I've load tested were all rated to 4400 horsies.. so I'd say it was done.

[RSD15]

You can add the 7876.

http://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad26 ... SX7876.jpg

Charles

[CN Sparky]

Apparently some CN units are going to see this as well. It's part of the emissions upgrade from mechanical fuel injection to EUI?

[Allen Hazen]

GE introduced split cooling (= thicker wingspans) and EFI at about the same time (ca. 1993): the former was, I think, billed as meeting "Tier I" emissions regulations, and the latter also helps with emissions. I believe that the current emissions rules say that an existing locomotive has to meet a higher standard after it gets a major rebuild. So it makes sense that both would be included as parts of a "mid-life" refurbishment of an older GE.

[MEC407]

Speaking of EFI, I came across this article today regarding an EFI retrofit program now underway in India:

Aiming at reducing fuel consumption and eliminating black smoke in locomotives, the Railways has decided to equip all diesel locos with electronic fuel injection (EFI) system.
...
EFI, unlike the widely-used mechanical injection system, makes precise injection of fuel possible to match the demand of load, optimise fuel consumption and cuts down emissions.

Besides saving four per cent of high speed diesel, the EFI ensures "complete elimination" of black smoke from the engine, the official said.

Do they still have a lot of Alco-engined locomotives in India? Do they have any GEs there?

Link to the rest of the article: http://news.in.msn.com/national/article ... id=5383934

[PEIR]

I found a few pictures of various Dash 8's getting upgraded to met stricter emission standards. What exactly is being done to the units other than the thicker radiators to meet the new level? What tier do the rebuilt units meet and what is the approximate lifespan of these upgrades? It will be interesting to see if the majority of the Dash 8's get upgraded since the Dash 7 and their predecessors met the scrappers without any mass rebuild program.

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=2905218

http://rrpicturearchives.net/picture...5CIMG_0059.JPG

http://rrpicturearchives.net/picture...5CDSCF6643.JPG

[JayBee]

After the upgrade they meet "Tier 0+", sometimes referred to as a "CFR-1033" upgrade.

[Bright Star]

IR rosters mostly Alco designs-No GE's.