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  • Australian (PN) 92 class

  • Discussion of General Electric locomotive technology. Current official information can be found here: www.getransportation.com.
Discussion of General Electric locomotive technology. Current official information can be found here: www.getransportation.com.

Moderators: MEC407, AMTK84

 #613021  by Allen Hazen
 
The December 2008-January 2009 issue of the Australian magazine "Motive Power" has an article about the latest GE locomotives (built by United Group -- formerly Goninans -- who are GE's long-time Australian licensee) in Australia, the 9200 class for Pacific National (the largest freight operator on Australia's open-access rail network). The first half dozen of an order for 15 had been delivered at press time.

These critters have the model designation C44aci. They are thus Australian analogues/derivatives of the AC44: AC motors, FDL-16 engines (apparently Australia air quality regulations aren't quite as strict as the U.S. "tier two," so GE's newer GEVO engine didn't have to be used). For the moment these locomotives seem to be in dedicated coal service in norther New South Wales (the same area where Queensland National's 5000 class are used) but they were ordered with the idea that they could be used elsewhere as well, leading to weight limitation issues. With a full fuel tank (11,000 liters, or somewhat under 3,000 U.S. gallons) they weigh 139 metric tonnes (about 306,000 pounds: equivalent to an Alco PA, but more than 25% less than the heaviest domestic AC44 and ES44), which is o.k. in the coal fields but too heavy for most of the Australian national network. There is apparently some sort of feature which, when engaged (a key was mentioned, suggesting that they wanted this to be under the control of management and not of ordinary operating personnel) can prevent the fuel tank from being filled completely: with limited fuel on board, the locomotives can be dispatched at 136 tonnes or 134 tonnes, which is apparently light enough to allow use on many main lines.

In appearance they are much like the NR and 5000: a long, clean-lined hood unit (a bit longer than U.S. domestic units) with a flat fronted cab at the front (no short hood) and the hood in the rear extending to the end of the frame: no rear walkway. As with the NR, the trucks are a fabricated (lighter than cast frame) version of "roller blades" (the 5000, I think, has the domestic style cast-frame truck: they are I think heavier and QN probably wasn't concerned with the possibility of re-allocating them to other areas). The NR (designed for a maximum output of 4000 hp, and usually limited to lower powers) manages with a radiator compartment no wider than the hood, but the new locomotives have a bit of a "wingspan" on the radiators, though it looks as if the wingspan is not as wide as it is on domestic units.

As with the NR, the exhaust is at the front end of the engine compartment roof rather than the rear as on domestic GE units. I believe that the turbocharger is at the usual end, but that exhaust is routed from it through a muffler that runs the length of the engine: Australia noise regulations are apparently stricter than those in the U.S.
 #613448  by MEC407
 
Can't wait to see photos of this strange and wonderful beast. :wink:
 #619434  by dash7
 
MEC407 wrote:Can't wait to see photos of this strange and wonderful beast. :wink:
i found some here.
Image
Image :-D
 #619538  by MEC407
 
Nice! The third photo looks like a petting zoo. :wink:
 #619874  by dash7
 
The second photo is in the yard outside the goninan/ge factory in broadmeadow (newcastle),nsw, for some reason when they are testing and inspecting the loco's they place it inside a fence which is already surrounded by a 7 foot barbed/razor wired fence!,go figure!,anyways last time i was there taking photos through the fence people passing on the freeway behind me probably thought i was a terrorist! :-D
 #623376  by Allen Hazen
 
The January 2009 issue of the Australian magazine "The Railway Digest" has an article (by Peter Clark, who for a number of years has written a disproportionate number of the more technical articles appearing in Australian railfan magazines) with some more details about the 92.

Designing something with the power of a big North American locomotive that will be able to oprate on Australian track involves counting the ounces. As an example of what the locomotive designer is up against, Clark notes that the Australian Rail Track Corporation (which owns much of the infrastructure of the national system) recently installed concrete ties on a portion of the main line from Sydney to Melbourne ... under 74-year-old 100-lb rail!

The consequences for big GE locomotives(*) are that capacity and route-availability have to be traded off agains each other. The previous GE AC type in Australia, the 5000 class for Queensland Railways National, were intended for dedicated use in one small area: the Hunter Valley coal fields of northern New South Wales, and were able to have cast-frame trucks and GEB13 traction motors (the type used on domestic AC44 and ES44AC). The 92 class have, initially at least, been posted to that region, but they were ordered with the idea that they could be used elsewhere in Australia, not necessarily on coal trains. So, to shave the ounces, they have fabricated trucks and smaller GEB30 traction motors.

So: apparently GE, in order to sell locomotives to a broader segment of the world's railway industry, is willing to offer heavier and lighter traction motors, both AC and DC, for standard gauge locomotives (the NR class, roughly the Dash-9 version of the 5000 and 92 AC40/AC44 derivatives, is lighter than the 92 -- and so can be used over most Australian main lines -- and has 791 motors: a lighter weight design than the 752).
---
(*) If you are talking to a nationalistic Aussie, you'd get points for calling them "United Group" locomotives. The builder's plate -- there's a photo in the article -- says "Model C44aci DE Locomotive / Designed by UGL Rail and General Electric Company U.S.A. / Propulsion system furnished by General Electric Company U.S.A. / Manufactured by UGL Rail" and goes on say that the net power is 3180 kW, the bogie mass 20.3 tonnes, the coupling centers 22 meters apart, and the total mass for low, medium and high fuel tank capacities are 134 tonnes, 136.2 tonnes and 139 tonnes. ... Data table in the article adds that the gear ratio is 85:16 (maximum speed 115 km/h, though for the moment at least they are restricted to 80 km/h in deference to the track), engine is a 16 cylinder 7FDL, "traction and auxiliary generator" a 5GMG 192, length of body 20.83 meters, width over cab 2.905 meters, height over rail 4.25 meters. And the amounts of fuel carries at the three maximum weights are 7,300 liters, 10,000 liters and 13,500 liters.
 #686236  by dash7
 
Hi Allen,
any news about goninan using the Evo12 tier 2 series engine for possibly a weight saving alternative as i know that in Australia they don't have to be EPAT2 compliant so perhaps the air to air heat exchanger could be possibly made smaller to fit the Aussie loading guage and possibly save more weight as i know that every pound is critical to meet the subjected stricter axle loads on the Australian Rail track Network?
cheers, Derek :-D
 #686575  by Allen Hazen
 
Dash-7:
I haven't seen anything about a proposal for using the GEVO-12 on a Goninan/GE unit, but that just means i hasn't been publicized. The 12 cylinder GEVO isn't really very much lighter than the FDL-16, but in a situation where even a few hundred pounds makes a difference (Australian railways have track and trains under separate ownership and management, and the track people set very strict and precise weight limits) I suppose it's possible. I'll keep my eyes open.