Guys,
I’m interested in buying the new SD45-2 in Undecorated but they have one that is with and one without the Anticlimber. What is this device? I’m looking to paint the engine MRL and I’m not sure which one is best. Can someone please help. Thank you.
Zak,
From the brilliant minds at Wikipedia.com, their definition of an anticlimber:
Early on, pilots were normally fabricated of bars mounted on a frame; later on, sheet metal pilots were often used for their additional smoothness, and some cast steel pilots were employed for their mass and smooth shape. Early diesel locomotives followed the same plan.
Slower speed locomotives often had a pilot with steps on it to allow yard workers to ride on the locomotive; these were called footboard pilots. Footboard pilots were outlawed for safety reasons in the 1960s and were removed. Modern locomotives often have front and rear platforms with safety rails where workers can ride.
Modern diesel locomotives have flatter, less wedge shaped pilots; this is because a diesel locomotive has the cab near the front, and the crew are vulnerable to impact from obstacles pushed up by the pilot. Indeed, most are fitted with a device known as an anticlimber above the coupler to prevent struck objects from travelling up over the frame and through the cab area.
I hope this helps you.
Don Z.
Okay if I understand this correctly, then this picture is on an engine without the anticlimber:
And this one has one:
Zak,
Not claiming to be anywhere close to an expert on the subject, but from what I read, it looks like you hit it on the nose! I believe you’re correct; the second picture would be a locomotive equipped with an anticlimber.
Don Z.
It’s not just modern locos that have anti-climbers. Old trolleys and F-units had them as well. On an F-unit, it’s the large block of metal above the coupler with ribbed pieces off to each side of it, wrapping around the base of the nose.
The idea is not so much for grade crossing collisions (although that’s part of it), but for head-on type collisions with other locos or with RR cars. In a major accident, the draft gear when severely impacted tends to allow equipment to “jump”, sort-to-speak…or rather it tends to climb on top of the other unit. If it does so, it may just telescope, meaning that it will smash on top of the frame and clear off the loco above the running board. This is not good for anyone involved.
The anti-climber is supposed to help prevent that by having a strong frame extension that will tend to lock the two colliding objects together at the point of impact.
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Zak,
Looks like you got the answer for what it is. The question reamins: “Which one is best?”
Since MRL picked up most of their locos second-hand, the answer will be: It depends. You should study photos of the specific units you wish to model. MRL may actually have bought some of each, with or without anticlimber, of the same model locomotive, depending on what the orginal customer speced.
I think you may be talking about the new Athearn SD-45s? If so, Athearn has been getting pretty good about getting such specific details right on their new releases. Not always, but most of the time. If they are giving you both as options for a MRL loco, it may just be becuase MRL had some of both types. Then it’s up to you, whether you want it with or without.
Anti climbers go way back into steam days… but they were originally designed for and fitted to passenger cars. This was because they managed to strengthen the frames so that the cars didn’t telescope in a head on smash but they then rode up onto each other and crushed downwards or toppled over. neither were things that you wanted to be involved with. Some anti-telescoping-anti-climbing designs were pretty much the whole end of the car around the diaphragm.
On diesel locos the design is as stated… I don’t think that any of the safety cab locos have anticlimbers because the frame is extended up into the low/wide nose to give protection to the crew.
Safety-cab/wide nose diesel locos still have anticlimbers… For example this BNSF SD70MAC with the jumbo anticlimbers:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=329727
GE safety-cabs also have them, like this UP AC4400CW:
Wrong again! [:(]
Got the info though! [:D]
Is there any apparent logic behind what locos get fitted and what dont? Do they show up more in some areas and less in others… like more in the mountains and less on the prairie?
Dave,
Diesel locomotives started getting those large slab anit-climbers in the early 60’s - on the rear of the unit! EMD applied them to the rear of SDP35 and SDP40 units to enlarge the walk-around space behind the steam generator. Later they applied them to both ends of F45/FP45 engines. By the early 70’s, BN was ordering SD40-2 engines with the large anti-climber on the front of their engines. IIRC, ATSF also was an early user. They are sort of ‘standard’ on most new engines, and this may be some mandated safety feature that is now required on new road engines.
Jim
Guys,
As I’m starting to understand this whole concept of anticlimbers, I’ve been looking at different SD45-2 that MRL uses, and noticed that the ones from CSX and CRR don’t have the anticlimbers but the SD45-2 the MRL got from AT&SF do have them. So I guess it is up to me on which road number I want to model of MRL.