Railroad Forums
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eolesen wrote:Lets see here, you're trying to compare the ARR which basically has one line from Anchorage to Fairbanks with the UPRR which has lines all over the western US. Union Pacific power is spread out all over the western US. Trying to keep a hand full of HEP equipped units near Council Bluffs where the business and excursion trains are kept isn't a good use of equipment nor very practical. Locomotives earn their keep pulling trains not waiting around Council Bluffs for the rare business car special or steam excursion. In the case of the UPRR power cars work better as to allow anything from a GEVO to a Big Boy to full the train.
It's a fact. EMD has offered inverter based HEP as an option for the past 10 years. ARR is definitely using it. I'm not sure why UP hasn't wound up with a few that can be used with their Heritage fleet. Having a dozen or two for executive and engineering specials would be a lot more flexible and probably cheaper than the dedicated power cars.
eolesen wrote:Inverter technology has evolved a bit. There's room for three inverters in the SD70MACH, so they won't need to go with only three axles.Wonder if they’ll keep the two power + one HEP inverter solution, or will move to the six power inverter (with one part-time devoted to HEP). Realistically, there’s enough space for a HEP sled too if Metra would prefer for some reason.
A third inverter allows them to use two for truck power in an A-1-A arrangement, just like the E8/E9's, and the third inverter to HEP.
eolesen wrote:How hard is it for people to accept the fact that these won't have genset HEP?.....I think people are also forgetting that most SD70MACs have an as-built weight of 415,000 lbs. Assuming an upper limit of 432,000 lbs, that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room to work with in terms of adding in an ENTIRE genset skid (diesel engine, alternator, associated framing and electrical wiring, fuel lines, exhaust manifolds, etc). They're already being rebuilt with Tier III 16-710s, which comes with additional cooling systems, so you've already lost some of the 17k lbs wiggle room you started with. And that doesn't even consider the question of where within the locomotive you'd fit such a skid without lengthening the body 4-6 feet: https://web.archive.org/web/20041114163 ... MAC_EN.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The F59's came as-is from Amtrak. The SD70MACH's will come from rebuild.
eolesen wrote:There could be more wiggle room if the fuel tank is reduced from 5000 gals down to 1500 or 2000 (the F40PH's came with a 1500 capacity).Even if you reduced the fuel tank size, you're pretty short on internal space inside the existing locomotive body. I doubt even adding another 6 feet would create enough space for a genset skid.
A 3,000 gal fuel reduction should take off around 18,000 lbs, plus the steel is probably another 2,000 lbs.
Tadman wrote: ....not so at MilwaukeeMr. Dunville, I had "just hired on" at the MILW when the decision was made to operate FP-45's as trailing units only in psssenger service. On A-Day, "we" withheld those units from Amtrak, knowing the potential for "problems" over the road, let alone if they operated over a foreign road (remember, on A-Day, the roads assumed liability for "anything and everything").
Fan Railer wrote: Even if you reduced the fuel tank size, you're pretty short on internal space inside the existing locomotive body. I doubt even adding another 6 feet would create enough space for a genset skid.It's established fact they're using inverters. Period. There. Will. Not. Be, Genset. Head. End. Power.
