I thought Earl Shieb was painting locomotives, for $99.95 RIIIIIIGGGHHHHT
Randy
They simply neglected to mask off items like rags, water bottles, red flags (grey flags) etc.
Randy
Remember what I said about brain damage Gabe ?
Randy
…and all this time I thought they were only picking on me. Guess it wasn’t personal, after all.
The old PRR guys I used to work with told me they used to call the FM switchers they had in Chicago “blowtorches” for their propensity to have fire out the stack after extended periods of idling.
I’m not sure anybody answered the second part of your question. Generally, white smoke doesn’t indicate a reduction in HP, but black smoke does. Under steady conditions, even a little black smoke from an EMD can indicate a measurable drop in HP.
No… Pickin on some one is leaving your SW-1200 idleing in the wintertime with the shutters open parked next to the trainmasters new car.
Randy
Now all you amatures have had your say. Listen to PROFESSIONAL diagnostic information. I used to operate a fleet of diesel vehicles on the highway and diesel smoke is no different whether it is from an engine working on tracks, roads or water. My old engine fitter has penned a few lines and here is his reply. It sounds like text book stuff to me!
Excessive diesel smoke is due to incomplete combustion, normally caused by faulty injection system or other engine troubles. A small amount of exhaust smoke is normal during initial start-up or rapid acceleration. Abnormal Exhaust smoke may be black, white or blue. Each type of smoke indicates engine problems and these are outlined below:
Excessive black smoke is caused by a rich air-fuel mixture. This may result form problems with the injection pump or infection timing, which may in turn be clue to a choked air cleaner, worn fuel injectors, adulterated diesel fuel or the engine itself.
White smoke occurs mainly during cold starts, when the fuel tends to condense into liquid and does not burn due to cold engine parts. The most common reason for white smoke are low engine compression, a bad injector spray pattern, late injection timing or injection pump problems.
Excessive blue smoke indicates problems from low engine compression and/or worn piston rings, scored cylinder walls or leaking valve stem seals The blue smoke is caused by crankcase oil entering the combustion chamber and being emitted after partial combustion through the exhaust.
I’ve enjoyed reading this thread and I should have replied earlier as some folk got it all wrong.
Cheers TraincontrollerUK
Hmmm how many years do you have to bust your *** on locomotives to be considered an amature?
Randy
I remember doing some trainwatching at SP’s Dolores Yard in Long Beach, circa 1987 and witnessing some spectacular “smoke shows.” Four or five tunnel motors slowly pass by with an “everything but the yardhouse” train, only to stop and wait for a switch to be thrown or for permission to continue further down the line. Several minutes later, the train begins to move, while a huge cloud of grey/white smoke erupts from the locomotives. Later that day, I got to see, and photograph, a couple of SP’s GP40X’s, and an SD9 with an orange “ashcan” headlight.
Damn, 4 years of college and 26 years on the RR, wasted!
Randy, remember that the British wrote the book on inefficient forms of diesel combustion. No point trying to argue with them there!
Tell me about it… I knew I should have been an adult film star.
Randy
Was the “professional” advice really that different from the “amatuer” advice? Other than the fact that the “professional” would have charged for it and he is easier to sue? I feel as though I just went to the doctor and told “yep, you have a cold,” that will be $480.
Gabe;
I think the point Randy was trying to be made is that a) at least half of the people posting weren’t/aren’t amatuers, and b) they were termed amatuers by a person who didn’t know the answer himself but had to go ask someone else. And that person said the same things that had already been posted several times! But that is all too typical forum behavior.
“Read everything before you post anything!”
Umm . . . dgwicks,
That was kind of my point! Hense (1) the strategically placed quotation makrs in my naration, (2) my notation that “the professional’s” advice was not any different from the other advice given, and (3) my sarcastic allusion to his claim that he a professional who did not offer advice different from people who did feel the need to call other people amatures while being generous enough to answer my question.
Randy,
if I mis-worded my response to indicate anything other than the fact that I know you know what you are talking about and don’t take serious anyone calling you (or others) amatuers, I apologize. I assure you, my notation was intended to convey my opinion that it was very fooli***o refer to you as an amateur.
Gabe
I don’t mind being called an amatuer… I’ve been called worse… at least I make a pretty good living at it. LOL !!!
Randy
I hated when that happened! Plus it is rather dangerous as the walkway, grabirons, and steps also get a slick coating.
Yea… but you got to admit it’s pretty cool when a RR officials car gets the lube oil treatment
Randy
When I was on the Cheap & Nothing Works (C&NW) I used to dread being the first engineer to operate a “rebuild”. Invariably there would be problems, such as clogged air filters (painted over), paint spray in the electrical cabinet (and on the relays & contactors), and others I cannot remember right now. What was just as bad was the sickly puke green color the interior of the cabs (and control stand, brake valves, seats, windows) would be painted.
Strangely, though, whoever did the Crandal rebuilds of the UP E8&9 A&B’s for the commuter service did a good job, considering the amount of work that was needed. Except the cabs were the noisiest I had ever been in!
It’s been my experience that the smokiest of the locomotives comes from a variety of issues NOT common to automobiles or even tractor trailers. The class one I work for prefers the intake filters changed every six months. Problem is, the work packet the computer spits out frequently omits the work item requiring to change the filters every six months. The mechanics certainly aren’t ambitious enough to check. So for the most part a large percentage of this carriers locomotives rolling around have air intake filters that are just about plugged solid. I have noticed during numerous load tests where dirty air filters will rob between 100 - 500 horsepower. On GE’s where the turbo freewheels all the time this is a big deal. The GE guy said that one test is to place a sheet of cardboard right over the intake grills see how much it smokes then! The GE will over fuel to compensate when the problem is a lack of ability to suck fresh air in. In result black smoke and if we’re lucky lots of flames. All locomotives when cold as mentioned above will blow white smoke when started - particularly Alco’s. I have witnessed some GP38-2’s blow white smoke even when warm but usually it’s a bad injector - identified usually by cutting out the injectors one at a time by disconnecting the rack. I have also witnessed GE’s with bad turbos that won’t spin enough or at all make ALOT of smoke and ALOT of racket. EMD’s with bad turbos or bad overrunning clutches will do it too.
What I know about diesels I’ve pretty much picked up in these forums (thanks for the education, guys!!) but I would tend to think if > anything < was spewing oil it would be a pretty good candidate for a rebuild. Unless I missed something…
In 30 years of trucking it was always : black smoke= too much fuel, blue smoke = engine oil in combustion chamber, white smoke = water vapor in combustion chamber. Seemed to be true for Cummins and 2stroke Detroits.