Well GE just keeps there awesome fleet just rolling right off of the assembly line. Coming back from Lincoln to K.C. an empty grain train with a new ES44DC BNSF 7640 blew up. The unit got a crank case overpressure, pretty nice for a new unit. Take these GE’s and scrap them all. GM is the way to go.
All the GE is good for is giving the engineer a headache. All the rattleing, shaking, of the console, now that just in the cab, let alone the fact GE cannot produce a unit that can grip the rail like the GM units do.
Just look at the coal trains BNSF runs threw the mid-west. Like most trains that I run that are between 115 cars to 150 cars of coal. Some of the trains like the MHS loads and a few others that don’t have quite as many cars will have GE for power. Get a train that has 135 to 150 cars will have GM 70Macs for power. The railroad knows what engines are good for pulling but they are so cheap they just keep buying the GE crap. Like the MHS loads will have 2 and 1 dp on a 125 car train. Get a KCL or a PAM coal train that has 135 cars and it will be two GMs 1 and 1 dp. Or the Thomas Hill coal train that they have tested with 150 cars and the use of only SD70macs. GE should just stay with making light bulbs or refrigerators.
When the crank case gets too high of pressure and the engine is suppose to shut is self down most of the time, or what has happened many times is the engine will basically blow up. It will blow the piston out the wall of the engine then there is a big mess.
[8]Both major North American builders must pay attention to the quality of their products, which is sorely[:(] lacking[V]! One of the major Asian or European Locomotive builders could field a demonstrator [;)] in North America that could do for Locomotives what Asian (Japanese, primarily) auto manufacturers did to the North American big 3 ( Being a car nut[:o)],too, I will include AMC, so it was the big 4)[:p] starting in the mid-70s!
When this happens, what pressure gets too high? Oil pressure? Combustion air pressure? I have heard this same term used over the scanner when a crew calls in about a unit with high crankcase pressure…
[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D] Luckily BNSF has 30 SD70ACes on order. (Did they get any of them yet?) I think EMD is going to become the #1 locomotive manufacturer after RRs see how nice the SD70ACEs are. I haven’t heard very much good stuff about the GEVO. SD70ACe or SD70M-2 is the only other option. May EMD be #1 again and then be #1 forever!
Just an observation from no one - even from a distance they are incredibly noisy on the outside. You can pick them out of a crowd. The old Dash 9’s were/are noisy, but they have a little age on them. These are new and sound just as bad if not worse.
AHEM… GM doesn’t make locomotives any more! Well, unless you want a Chevy or eleven to pull your trains! Electro-Motive Diesel is once again a separate company.
(Gotta have a little fun! [}:)])
Maybe MPI needs to get back into the horsepower race?
Huh? No, I remember those days, it was more like GM, FORD, CHRYSLER, and amc. They were almost an also-ran then and Chrysler was on their heels, almost, although I did like Dodge Chargers and Plymouth Roadrunners. Beep-beep.
I’ve read stories about when that happened on the early Streamliners, the on board mechanic would block off the offending cylinder and the train would continue on. Assuming it’s not an urban myth, was this done by disconnecting the rod from the crank and shutting off the injector, or was more involved? I don’t suppose that’s possible with a GEVO [;)][;)]
Sounds more like urban legend to me. I am no engineer, but it seems common sense that disconnecting a piston would unbalance the crankshaft. The resulting vibrations would quickly lead to even more catastrophic failure. I would bet that the initial failure of one cylinder would require the complete teardown of the engine and inspection of all the parts for damage. Trying to run an engine one cyl short would probably send it to the scrap heap and send the crew to the unemployment line.
Well it might be the time for General Electric to start BACK, putting their jet engines in locomotives again!![:D] All the railroads would lhave to do is not stop them under stuff that was sensitive to high temperatures and, oh, yes, run them where noise is not a problem[:D]. Rename the engineer position to pilot, and on that basis renegotiate all the work agreements [banghead][4:-)][censored], just look at the money saved![:-,]
Sam
