Here's a note to y'all diesel folks: Anybody out there use a load box to allow for periodically revving up those old EMDs and cleaning them out?
Wondering if this is useful.

I'm asking this question for one of my diesel compatriots. I remain fully committed to ancient steam technology and this query should not be seen as an endorsement of "new technology" of the 1950s.

Jim

(Just kidding about the diesels--as long as it's a nice covered wagon.)

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> Here's a note to y'all diesel folks: Anybody
> out there use a load box to allow for
> periodically revving up those old EMDs and
> cleaning them out?
> Wondering if this is useful.

Here's the Colorado narrow gage method:

1. Tie diesel to train.

2. When diesel dies on the grade, fire up Shay and rescue.

3. Never let the diesel guys forget it.

Dave

lathro19@idt.net

> Here's the Colorado narrow gage method:

> 1. Tie diesel to train.

> 2. When diesel dies on the grade, fire up
> Shay and rescue.

> 3. Never let the diesel guys forget it.

> Dave
Dave, Same story back east on the MNG. About a year ago during winterfest Diesel number 1 quit with five loaded pass. cars. It was decided #3 (Monson RR) would go out on a regular trip with its load of five pass. cars and pull in the stranded train! What a rush to hook on to the dead diesel and its train, build up steam so we were knocking on the pops and start the ten cars and diesel and finish the complete trip. With the throttle in the tank, talk about stack talk, WOW!!! Those two footers have more guts than you think. Rick.

enginman@gis.net

How about this:

1) Train needs to be moved.

2) diesel guys fire up locomotive, and tie onto train.

3) steam guys start filling boiler with water and build fire in firebox.

4) diesel guys pull train to destination and go to lunch.

5) steam guys cheer when pressure gauge starts to move.

6) diesel guys take a nap after a big lunch and bring locomotive back to shop.

7) steam guys finally get enough steam to roll locomotive out of shop building just in time to see the diesel guys putting their locomotive away!

I'll take a pair of AC4400CWs any day!!!



rickrailrd@aol.com

Jim, try a few hoppers loaded with ballast. That, plus about a 10 pound set ought to do it!

hpincus@mindspring.com

Now that we are bashing Jim's honest question, I submit the load test proceedures utilized by a former operator of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR:

1. Weld large wedge plow to frame of a historic drag flanger.

2. Shove above device repeatedly into 4' of packed snow with tired GE narrow gauge 44 tonner until:

A. Traction motor leads melt.
B. Main Generator flashes over.
C. Traction motors ingest enough snow to flash over, cook windings, etc..
D. Any combination of above.

The theory being you will spend much of the day rerailing plow-flanger. This will allow suffcient time for the motors/generator to cool and dry out.

3. Skip town before the owners of tired GE find out you trashed their locomotive.

4. Set up shop with your brother-in-law selling mobile homes in Arizona.

Thank you for your consideration.

> Here's the Colorado narrow gage method:

> 1. Tie diesel to train.

> 2. When diesel dies on the grade, fire up
> Shay and rescue.

> 3. Never let the diesel guys forget it.

> Dave

> Jim, try a few hoppers loaded with ballast.
> That, plus about a 10 pound set ought to do
> it!

Wow, it sure is good to be among steam lovers who have the same sense of humor that I do!

I'll pass along some sort of smart a-- response to the diesel guy at Spencer.

And remember, a steam engine is NOT a unit! Jim

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> Anybody
> out there use a load box to allow for
> periodically revving up those old EMDs and
> cleaning them out?
> Wondering if this is useful.

I refer my right honorable friend to the April 1977 "TRAINS" magazine, page 67, "How to de-carbonize an F-Unit." If you remember the photo, you'll already be printing tickets and scheduling it for after dark.

Just put the damn thing in "neutral" (or whatever passes for neutral in a growler) and find Run-8.

JAC

Gee, does anyone one a serious answer?

Peaker Services, in Brighton Michigan, rebuilds EMD prime movers and complete locomotives. Their load box is a dynamic brake unit, from a scrapped EMD SD, that they have sitting outside on a pallet. Works great, cost almost nothing. I seem to recall that you could buy an SD-45 for $5,000 not too long ago! Looks exactly like an Athearn dynamic brake blister, snapped out of a plastic shell, complete with fan and blister fairings.

a231pacific@aol.com

>Okay, before all of you think that I am NOT full blooded steam.......I have to tell you that I am. I really liked Earl's story! I have to say as well, that he about told the entire story. I also like how John Craft put it, the "growlers" are a real show at night. So, Jim, I dislike the "growlers" but I value this page, so here is my story.

Grab your Trains Mag from two months ago. The photo finish picture is of Lee Bogdon and Goerge Shurtleff, these two guys work for Boise Locomotive (MK).

At any rate, we had a problem with our MRS 1-1813 starting lineside fires this fall. The cause of the fires was carbon build-up in the exhaust system. We never run the engine hard enough to allow it to keep itself clean.

Lee told us that we need to take the engine out once a month and very slowly bring it up to run 8. Let it run for a five minutes, then, very slowly bring it back down to idle. This will heat the exhaust system up to the point that it will cook out all of the carbon build up. It cooks it and blows it out!

John Craft mentioned that you need to sell tickets to this show and do it at night.....RIGHT, what a show! In fact, you can take some really cool pictures doing this!

The problem, as Lee put it......do not over do it and if you have an engine with Dynamics, DO NOT DO THIS, I forget why. You need real load boxes if you have a "unit" with Dynamics.......Don't ask me why, I have no idea! (Lee told me I just forgot, sorry!)

Also, why is it important to do this slow, these engines are not designed to go from idle to full run in a heart beat.......unless, you want to convince your RR that steam is king and that diesels suck, at such time I suggest running them all out and bringing them up and down as fast as you can until the piston rods are sticking out of the side doors and the 200+ gallons of crank case oil is everywhere but in the engine.......COOOOOL!

That would be a show. Top it off by selling a double header (STEAM ONLY) as act two of the show!

It has been fun!

John E. Oshkosh Diesel Killer Rimmasch

Gee, does anyone one a serious answer?

> Peaker Services, in Brighton Michigan,
> rebuilds EMD prime movers and complete
> locomotives. Their load box is a dynamic
> brake unit, from a scrapped EMD SD, that
> they have sitting outside on a pallet. Works
> great, cost almost nothing. I seem to recall
> that you could buy an SD-45 for $5,000 not
> too long ago! Looks exactly like an Athearn
> dynamic brake blister, snapped out of a
> plastic shell, complete with fan and blister
> fairings.


jrimmasch@yahoo.com

Have had a real chuckle with this thread. Boys, it's all good.Love the diesels and love the steam and can't get enough of either one. Y'all play nice now or Mom's gonna make you pick up your toys and get out of the sandbox.

I guess diesel locomotives are kind of like running a carbuerated automobile, every so often you just gotta blow 'em out. Thanks for the info.

Ladypardus@cs.com

> Have had a real chuckle with this thread.
> Boys, it's all good.Love the diesels and
> love the steam and can't get enough of
> either one. Y'all play nice now or Mom's
> gonna make you pick up your toys and get out
> of the sandbox.

> I guess diesel locomotives are kind of like
> running a carbuerated automobile, every so
> often you just gotta blow 'em out. Thanks
> for the info.

You know, the longer I read this thread, the more I think the diesel guy set me up for this one! Oh well, it's better than the fiasco last march when I took a few days off and somebody starting posting messages about my being seen in Washington, D.C. to liberate 1401!

Long Live Steam! (And a few cab units!) jim


http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> Long Live Steam! (And a few cab units!) jim

and high-nose GPs and even the odd RS-1. Erik


http://64.225.91.166/Briefs/November2000/001117.htm
eledbetter@mail.rypn.org

> and high-nose GPs and even the odd RS-1.
> Erik

Erik:

Thanks! I was beginning to think I was the only one who couldn't stand chopped nosed GP's. If it doesn't have a high short hood, it AIN'T a Geep!

midlandblb@cs.com

> Erik:

> Thanks! I was beginning to think I was the
> only one who couldn't stand chopped nosed
> GP's. If it doesn't have a high short hood,
> it AIN'T a Geep!

Guess what....there is always an exception to everything! We shot the Mt. Hood Railroad in 1996 and they have an ex-SP chop-nose GP9 that was built that way originally. Still like the rest of you I would rather be watching steam pounding up some grade than diseasiles as one of my friends calls them!
Steamingly,
Greg Scholl


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