Metra F40C 611/614 Status

Is the same engineer going to be at the throttle (or at least on-site) during this test as during the original accident in question, or are they simply replicating statistics collected from the locomotive's black box?

Well given that this same accident has been re-simulated a cupple times already I don't think so.

Here are a few photos of 614 today (25 Aug 2006) on 2141 at Deerfield, crummy though they are since it came through during a thunderstorm.

http://members.trainorders.com/meh/f40c/

As far as I could tell, 614 was not operating, or at least was not above an idle. The lead unit (114) was in run-8 throughout the station stop. Usually when two F40s are on a train, the lead unit idles down during station stops according to the throttle position, while the second unit stays in run-8 to provide HEP.

Saw both 114 and 614 at Libertyville, comming through going toward Fox Lake heard both engines, rode on 2156 from Lib back toward the city, both units were running got some great earfull of both engines at lib and when I got off. she was nice to see and impressive eventhough she was the trailing unit, I talked with the crew on the the train and they told me that 614 did give them some proublems, yet when the train went out on the bridge to wait for 2143 to clear the Engineer solved the proublem, she was running and sounding smooth. Heard her when I got on the train and when I got off.

Dam look like i will be up to see that

Signed, sealed, delivered 614 on a platter

Now that we've got 614 out I (like everyone else) would love to see her in mainline service. We'll see what happens. Only time will tell.

Here is 614
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=156540
STAR TREK 40TH ANNIVERSARY

It figures they would do that while I was out of town. Thanks to those providing pictures.

I was wondering why 614 was now in front of 611 and further north (west?) in the yard.

Does anyone know where 611 & 614 are? They are not in their "normal" place at Western Ave. I haven't seen them for a couple of days.

They are back in their customary spot now. I saw them last night from 2227.

I spoke with an engineer this morning. Apparently they brought 611 & 614 inside to get out of the snow. They are still kept in running condition in case the MPs start failing again. He said he misses them, they ride nice like a Cadillac. While they started slow, once they got going, they were real fast. His favorite power now is double-headed 100s. They start fast and stop well.

So if I went to the Western Avenue station, would I be able to see them?

TheGortex wrote:So if I went to the Western Avenue station, would I be able to see them?

Unless you've got some REALLY high-powered binoculars, they're barely visible from the platform, even on a clear day on a weekend when the yard is empty otherwise. Your best bet for seeing them (without trespassing of course) would be to ride the cab car of any inbound Milw or NCS train, and to get a camcorder shot out of the front cab car window. They're usually stored on the yard track closest to the mains, but, since the trains are usually flying through there, all you might get is just a fleeting glimpse.

But if you want to take your chances, who knows, Metra might run these engines on a final "farewell" tour at some point. Stay tuned...

I went to Western today, and got a video shot of them. Nothing new to report. When my camera stops messing up, I'll post it on youtube.