F40PH-2C & F40PHM-2C "Rebuilds" Discussion

Hi there! This question has been in my head for quite awhile now: What was done to the F40 Rebuilds when they were rebuilt between 2000-2004? Any answers are very much appreciated!

Repainted, extra engine room door added for sound protection, advanced ACSES displays, new CAT 3412 HEP generators (which I hear will be replaced soon with the now-standard CAT C-18s), and pretty much general mechanical and/or structural overhaul/reinforcement.

Thanks 1050!
Was the new engine room door added between the prime mover and the main generator/turbocharger, or is it the one between the air compressor & HEP generator?

ck4049 wrote:Thanks 1050!
Was the new engine room door added between the prime mover and the main generator/turbocharger, or is it the one between the air compressor & HEP generator?

Extra door between the cab and the prime mover.

Oh OK, thanks again! I also noticed the engine room door latches in the cab & other cab details(no defroster beneath the windshield, radio arrangement on the control stands, etc;) on the Morrison-Knudsen 1025-1036 series were different from the rest of the fleet.

You're welcome. The difference there were between, the 1025 and 1050 series units I think have been standardized, since M-K (now MPI) rebuilt them all, so the specs probably match their latest model at the time, the F40PH-3C. They retained their control stands, though, I was worried they would end up with desktops like the Coaster, ACE and Caltrain units. Real F40s have a control stand!

I also wonder if the turbocharger or exhaust system may have been redesigned, there is a much lower bass exhaust note with these engines than anything else in the fleet, and it didn't seem like that before! If you are in a K-car behind a rebuild coming into say Back Bay or Porter Square the vibrations will rattle the car like it's coming apart!

mbta1051dan wrote:You're welcome. The difference there were between, the 1025 and 1050 series units I think have been standardized, since M-K (now MPI) rebuilt them all, so the specs probably match their latest model at the time, the F40PH-3C. They retained their control stands, though, I was worried they would end up with desktops like the Coaster, ACE and Caltrain units. Real F40s have a control stand!

I also wonder if the turbocharger or exhaust system may have been redesigned, there is a much lower bass exhaust note with these engines than anything else in the fleet, and it didn't seem like that before! If you are in a K-car behind a rebuild coming into say Back Bay or Porter Square the vibrations will rattle the car like it's coming apart!

MK did make a few minor modifications to the control stand before they started making major changes. I have to agree that real F40s have the control stands! The turbocharger is definitely different from the screamers(obviously since the turbocharger is one of the LOUDEST components), though I don't look at the ones in the MK units too often.
The vibrations feel like a small earthquake when youre sitting in the coach behind a rebuild!

If you're in the coach behind a rebuild, and the train goes under a bridge or into a tunnel, it vibrates the entire coach.

Yeah and it feels like your cell phone vibrate is going off! The HEP is what causes the vibrations, with a little help from the main generator & turbocharger.

Actually the hep isn't what causes the vibrations it's more prime mover related. Know you all can't notice unless you have been in the cab going through a tunnel but usually right around the 2nd notch is when you get the deepest sound and vibration.

The HEP causes the vibrations on the GP40MCs, on the F40 rebuild it is the prime mover, and yes most pronounced in the 2nd notch! I seem to notice when some engineers run these they go right from idle or 1 to 3, before moving to any of the other notches, cause the vibrations are intense in the cab!

Going from notch 1 to roughly 3 has nothing to do with what engine is on point it's more train handling procedures and stretching the slack out when taking off from a stop.

The 1074's prime mover had something very wrong with it and right now it is sitting in the Wheel/Axle/Motor Shop at BET. I hear it is supposed to get an new prime mover & main generator.

ck4049 wrote:The 1074's prime mover had something very wrong with it and right now it is sitting in the Wheel/Axle/Motor Shop at BET. I hear it is supposed to get an new prime mover & main generator.

Any idea what went wrong with it?

All I heard was that it had a major engine failure back in late September. Im thinking this was the same locomotive that caused the Worcester Line to be delayed by over three hours this past fall.