Silverliner speeds

Does anyone know the speed limit of the Silverliners? Are tey like Njt's MU's with a spped limit of over 100mph?

the IIs and IIIs are rated at about 90-95 MPH and the IVs at 100MPH.

By SEPTA instruction Silverliner II's and III's are not to exceed 85mph, and the Silverliner IV's are not to exceed 95mph. Generally, they don't go that fast anyway. I will admit that since the recent change of the guard for the top dog in RRD maintenance there have been improvements.

A friend of mine was on a II that got up to 97mpn on the R7. At the end of the run he said he could smell wires burning.

About 2 years ago, I rode an SL IV at the far end of the R5 (amtrak territory) at 100mph.

Clearfield wrote:About 2 years ago, I rode an SL IV at the far end of the R5 (amtrak territory) at 100mph.

any idea of what serial numbers they were?

There are some exceptional cars in the fleet, but if an engineer has an accident (fatality, derailment, or a radar detector clocking his speed) he's in for a lot of trouble if he's caught exceeding the maximum speed of the equipment. I've had a set of Silverliner IV's, a married pair, up to 108mph on the Wilmington/Marcus Hook line. I've had some good Buds, too. I don't really push the equipment like that any more because of the consequences of getting caught.

SEPTALRV9072 wrote:any idea of what serial numbers they were?

Wish I did.

I gather the SL IV doesn't have the cutout set to 103-105 like the Arrow II/IIIs on NJT did before the rebuild (Yes, they did, I heard it right from EE, and it was to prevent a disasterous motor fly apart at that speed - the motors were right near redline at that point).

FWIW, as delivered the SL II/III cars cut out at around 85 - 90. There was then a service brake above that. Once again, motor protection. The SL I cars had *none* and were tested to 95 or so, but that brought the motors near or above the 6500 rpm redline (yes, 6500 rpm). There were a few failures noted in service, but no accidents as a result.

Oh yeah, wires burning? I think any SEPTA MU qualifies for that, mike The control group will limit TM current, I'm pretty certain it will cut back regardless. I need to get the big red book on the GE PCI (Silverliner II/III) control system though. I'd love to compare it to a Metroliner's system - though I think the cards are different. BTW, the Silverliner IVs do share some control guts with the metroliner (and LIRR M-1s). I know the MG set card rack is the same on all of them.

The SV IV's usually cut out around 95mph with a good set, 79mph per hour max with inoperative dynamic braking; The Buds and Louis' generally cut out around 80-85mph, but there are some exceptions.

The maximum speed for the Silverliner III is 85 mph according to the operator's manual. It doesn't say anything about a cut-out.

As I stated in a previous post, by SEPTA instruction the Silverliner II and III are not to exceed 85mph, which obviously coincides with the manual. Generally the traction power CUTS OUT around 80mph (if you can get them to go that fast), but there are some exceptional cars out there. I'm sure the operator's manual doesn't state that, but that is the reality. Take it from a person who operates them frequently. The Silverliner IV's aren't supposed to exceed 95mph by SEPTA intructions, and most of the time they don't exceed 85mph depending on the units in the consist, and what the governor is set to limit the maximum speed at. Each car in the fleet is different. There are some Buds and Louis', believe it or not, that can considerably exceed 85mph.