http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xznP1Sfx0U&feature=channel - You’ll see the guys speed in his car at 80 MPH at the 0:56 Second Mark in the video.
1. Automotive Speedometers are routinely 1 to 5 MPH fast.
2. Speedo appeared to indicate 77-78 MPH.
3. GE Freight locomotives are geared for 75 MPH maximum.
4. EMD Freight locomotives are normally geared for 70 MPH maximum.
5. Your mileage may vary.
They probably just put new tires on the drivers, thus increasing the diameter and making the speedometer read slow. Hey, it happened to me in a military staff car quite a few years ago. I got off with a warning from the nice RCMP constable, but I learned later that someone had placed tires a full inch in diameter larger on that vehicle.
{kidding about the loco…}
-Crandell
Well, the most I saw on the speedometer was a bit under 80, probably closer to 75. There’s no reason at all to doubt the authenticity of this video. And kudos to the photographer for holding the camera so steady!
Experience in clocking trains has shown that locomotives are capable of exceeding their speed rating, sometimes by substantial amounts. There must be a way of causing that, but I haven’t found an engineer who knows about it or is willing to talk. [;)] I’ve mentioned in the forum before that a couple of friends and I, all using our own watches, clocked a number of 35-second miles from the vestibule of the Grand Trunk Western’s Mohawk in southern Michigan (between South Bend and Battle Creek) on April 25, 1970. The locomotives involved were a pair of GTW passenger GP18s and/or GP9s, with 83-mph gearing.
I’m willing to bet that nearly every engineer wishes he could move his train over the road like that!
no its true, I had a 71 pontiac lemans 5 fast a 78 dadge van 13mph slow a 88 gmc van 10 fast a honda 6 fast several trucks runing usually 5 mph fast and a few trucks running 5 slow, checks were done by gps some by radar several times and others on measured mile. i even had 1 car every now and then the odometer would start running backwards. while driving forward in 5 years it never go over 23000 miles that car stayed in warrenty for a long time.
About 103 MPH, for those who were wondering.
Someone once wrote that the best morale-booster for the train crews was to get the trains moving, and faster ! Like the U.S. Navy is about ships, with a few notable exceptions I doubt if many railroads have had much interest in slow locomotives.
- Paul North.
I have about 4 mechanics that I know who have told me that there are NO perfect systems in calibrating speedometers, period. I had one car–a 1983 Aries in fact that could be slow by 16mph–then be fast by 6mph th
Sure looks real to me. Nothing (with the small possible exception of the speed) to indicate it’s a fake. The older look of the tape quality would take someone with a top notch editing program to duplicate, I would think.
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Calibrate speed by using GPS.
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Unless you are very close to the train matching the speed is difficult.
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Had more than one tire man admit that even replacing the same size tire by same manufacturer there could be differences in diameter. They recommended alway putting same lot numbers on the driving wheels. ie if having to replace one tire be sure that 2 remaining tires bought at same time be on drive wheels. I have a lawn mower with same size same manufacturer drive tires but diameter is 1" difference that is how I discovered this tire variance…
This does beg the question, though - aside from the event recorder, or a weed weasel with a radar gun, would the railroad even notice that one of their trains was doing 80 in a 70 (or whatever track speed is there)? Does the dispatcher ever look at the clock and say “Gee - you guys are in a little early, aren’t you?”
Reminds me of an anecdote about a name train, in which the orders to the engineer read “do not arrive at XXXXXXX before 3:00 PM”
Have to be pretty good GPS–I’ve seen errors in these as well----
Hence throwing out speedometer calibration, which adds to above—[:-^]
I’d say that is probably why one could argue their speeding tickets—even the radar guns could be off—[:-^]
We have 1 dispatcher that know exactly how long it takes to get between 2 points, he sits down for the first 15 min of the day and plans his whole day out train meets and all. and if you show up early he has had the gall to call in and tell the trainmaster you were speeding and have the tapes pulled. so yes eyes are watching, also NS is starting a new program or has started its engines are all hooked up by satilite and records speed dynamic application knows where you are and what you should be doing, if you grab the independant while moving to stop it reports you. and if you are speeding it flags you right then and they report you to the local roadforman, in otherwords you haft to be perfect doing your job now
I know this was here yesterday, but just now took a look at it. i see no reason to doubt the speed the train was doing. Did you notice the train overtaking the vehicle on the parallel highway in the video, so no question it was moving lively.
The terrain certainly looks flat enough to enable the power to get pretty good speed up on the train. Certainly, that main line through that area must be up to it…I drove out thru there years ago and even then the track was great. The speed on the speedometer certainly looks close enough to me to be right around 80 mph.
And I believe those types of freight cars are capable of such sustained speeds. Boy, the fuel must be really flowing through those diesels to keep that tonnage moving at that speed, also considering the wind buffeting…
Dispatchers that are on their game make mental notes of when each train on their territory pass a control point and the time…they immediately calculate in their head the time the train will pass the next control point…in single track territory they plan their meets, in some cases, based on run times where there are multiple sidings that will facilitate the meet.
In the Timetable & Train Orders days of operation the following orders were routine in granting time to inferior trains to advance against superior trains without limiting either train to a specified meeting point.
"NO 1 ENG 1446 WAIT AT FLORA UNTIL 1230 PM
WAIT AT IUKA UNTIL 1250 PM
WAIT AT SANDOVAL UNTIL 100 PM"
Time specified would be later than the employee Timetable specified times for that schedule at those locations. Inferior trains would use those times to judge if they could clear in the sidings at those locations in conformance with the rule by those times and advance their train accordingly.