In case you've forgotten.....

[trisonic]

Here's UP 3832 Stacker looping the loop railroad style.

 

That little cone shaped hill has been iconic for me for longer than I care to remember.

 

Best, Pete.

[Oldddudders]

Here's UP 3832 Stacker looping the loop railroad style.

 

That little cone shaped hill has been iconic for me for longer than I care to remember.

 

Best, Pete.

That's a lot of tonnage for three units and no banker. Somewhere I have a commercial vid of a set of Santa Fe FTs struggling upgrade there - with a large kettle in rear, I think. Railroads have got better at it.

[trisonic]

The other thing is the railroad version of traction control - don't turn it off!

What amazes me is that they don't have more coupling failures.........

 

Best, Pete.

[Glorious NSE]

Three of those SD70 variants have substantially more power than four FTs though, plus a couple more axles to put the power down.

 

(edited to correct duff maths!)

[Oldddudders]

Three of those SD70 variants have substantially more power than four FTs though, plus a couple more axles to put the power down.

 

(edited to correct duff maths!)

I am brilliantly out of date with current horsepower ratings - I seemed to lose that plot not long after dash2 was in vogue, and my most modern diesels were GP50s, long sold - but assume each of those units puts out about 5000 hp. A 4-unit FT famously put out 5,400, so the difference is indeed huge.

[Glorious NSE]

I am brilliantly out of date with current horsepower ratings - I seemed to lose that plot not long after dash2 was in vogue, and my most modern diesels were GP50s, long sold - but assume each of those units puts out about 5000 hp. A 4-unit FT famously put out 5,400, so the difference is indeed huge.

 

A little under that, from memory the SD70 series is in the region of 4300hp each, if that's right it's 12900hp for the set. I was figuring on 1500 per unit on the FT's but i'd forgotten they were a little under that!

 

If you were to assume (yeah I know) that the FT's are roughly an equivalent to the steamer that's about 11000hp between the two of them?

 

A 70/80s equivalent with 4x SD40s will come in at around 12000hp

 

So I guess on the other hand you could argue the HP hasn't changed that much overall, but it comes in fewer loco's.

[Oldddudders]

A little under that, from memory the SD70 series is in the region of 4300hp each, if that's right it's 12900hp for the set. I was figuring on 1500 per unit on the FT's but i'd forgotten they were a little under that!

 

If you were to assume (yeah I know) that the FT's are roughly an equivalent to the steamer that's about 11000hp between the two of them?

 

A 70/80s equivalent with 4x SD40s will come in at around 12000hp

 

So I guess on the other hand you could argue the HP hasn't changed that much overall, but it comes in fewer loco's.

Quite right, and as Pete points out, with anti-slip, as well as fewer axles, fewer cylinders, probably less fuel burnt, too.

 

The comparison with a steamer is interesting. One of my favourite FT stories concerns the legendary tour by FT103, the demonstrator set in 1940. While on the MOPAC the test train got halted by signals at the bottom of a grade, and when the route cleared the MP engineer prepared to set back to get some slack for running at the grade - as necessary with a steamer at that point. The senior MP engineer of tests, riding on the footplate, suggested they try without setting back and of course the FTs just walked it. Steam didn't have a chance from then on.

[John B]

Anyone visiting my home area (San Diego County) with an interest in Tehachapi *must* pop into the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, in Balboa Park.

 

There, a local club is creating a HO* model of the Pass. It's massive - 2 storeys high, and several times larger than my 2500 sq ft home in area. I've had the privilege of working a few long freights over the (model) hill, and I can tell you that you need plenty of model horsepower to make the climb. It's well worth the visit..

 

 

 

* - Actually, it's closer to P:87 - all the trackwork is hand laid to much tighter tolerances than HO, and all stock has to pass rigorous wheel / weighting checks before running on the exhibit..

[dave1905]

Quite right, and as Pete points out, with anti-slip, as well as fewer axles, fewer cylinders, probably less fuel burnt, too.

 

The comparison with a steamer is interesting. One of my favourite FT stories concerns the legendary tour by FT103, the demonstrator set in 1940. While on the MOPAC the test train got halted by signals at the bottom of a grade, and when the route cleared the MP engineer prepared to set back to get some slack for running at the grade - as necessary with a steamer at that point. The senior MP engineer of tests, riding on the footplate, suggested they try without setting back and of course the FTs just walked it. Steam didn't have a chance from then on.

An FT had a 1350 hp V16 engine, 567 cu in/cylinder (4x1350=5400 hp).

An SD70 is nominally 4000 hp with a V16, 710 cu in /cylinder.

[Talltim]

Imagine trying to get a path for that on the West Coast Main Line!

[Glorious NSE]

Imagine trying to get a path for that on the West Coast Main Line!

 

Yeah On the other hand provided you can run it reliably enough it's quite efficient, that's the equivalent of maybe 10 freightliners in one big path, and they will do a nice steady 70mph, just not over mountain passes like that one!

 

[John B]

Tehachapi Wildfire

 

Not sure how this is affecting the loop (I'm in MA rather than CA at the moment) but it looks serious.

[trisonic]

Yeah On the other hand provided you can run it reliably enough it's quite efficient, that's the equivalent of maybe 10 freightliners in one big path, and they will do a nice steady 70mph, just not over mountain passes like that one!

 

 

NS were running ads that implied (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) that a 60' container could be transported from Boston to Washington by double-deckers for slightly less than one gallon of diesel.

 

Sorry to hear about Tehachapi - too many fires the last 24 hours.....

 

Best, Pete.

[Mike Boucher]

Tehachapi Wildfire

 

Not sure how this is affecting the loop (I'm in MA rather than CA at the moment) but it looks serious.

 

Went to look for info on the fires, and eventually went to Google maps to see if I could figure out where the fire was in relation to the loop. (I couldn't)

 

But I see that Google maps managed to catch a train going around the loop...

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Tehachapi+loop,+CA&sll=35.101934,-118.432617&sspn=0.056247,0.093899&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Woodford-Tehachapi+Rd,+Tehachapi,+Kern,+California&ll=35.199816,-118.534788&spn=0.007022,0.011737&t=h&z=17

 

BTW - where in Mass?

[John B]

Mike -

 

I'm working in Westborough Mon-Thurs (and staying in Framingham) for the next few weeks, at least. This is the first week on the gig.

[Guest Belgian]

Tehachapi Wildfire

 

Not sure how this is affecting the loop (I'm in MA rather than CA at the moment) but it looks serious.

 

Unlikely to affect the Loop - the fire was in the "city" of Tehachapi itself - the Loop is some 4-5 miles to the north, although the rails run through the town itself where the old station used to be at the top of the climb.

 

JE

[John B]

True, the loop is nearer Walong - I was thinking more of the route through the pass as a whole. It's only recently that the Tehachapi depot was rebuilt after being gutted by fire...

[Mike Boucher]

Unlikely to affect the Loop - the fire was in the "city" of Tehachapi itself - the Loop is some 4-5 miles to the north, although the rails run through the town itself where the old station used to be at the top of the climb.

 

JE

 

IMHO, 4-5 miles is very close as far as wildfires go. While the loop may not be in any immediate danger, I'd be surprised if railroad traffic isn't being affected.