http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=1808
What is the cause?
Holy Frijoles! I’ve seen stack fires, but nothing like that. Made more impressive by being a little dark too.
I’ve seen this before on youtube they said the brakepads were stuck down on the wheels whice makes the sparks.
How can a train keep goin on like that without the crew seein it. I would think on a left turn or at least a straight area they would see it(if someone cares to look at the side mirrors).
I was just wondering if the brakes bads are stuck. Wouldn’t the engineer would know? Do the railroads have a policy?
handbrakes were still set
Don’t think that it was a hand brake as the wheel was sliding big time; could hear it sliding in the video. Also if it was a hand brake all wheels on that truck would be affected. With the weight of a locomotive it’s hard to set a hand brake tight enough to slide wheels, unlike an mty freight car. I think a traction motor locked up.
Kurt Hayek
I think you have it right – locked-up motor, wheelset sliding and burning off steel. But I’ve seen the same damage done with a handbrake that was not released, too. However, I think that’s the wrong axle for the handbrake, unless NS puts it on a different axle than other railroads.
RWM
I am going to rely on my vast expertise to say you are absolutely right. Well, I am 50% accurate. This was the subject of an earlier post, and someone with knowledge of the incident gave the exact same account.
Gabe
P.S. When I was 16, I drove a few blocks with my car handbrake on. My father wasn’t too happy with me. Admittedly, this wasn’t a handbrake, but I imagien NS can’t be too happy right about the time that this was found out.
To Railwayman
Looked at the video again and the comments with it. Locomotive involved is NS 6199, GP60, with handbrake on front truck. The photographer found out later that it was indeed a locked up motor.
Don’t know if loco was on line or isolated, crew should get wheel slip alarm if on line. Note power just ahead was a slug, does NS use GP60+slug sets?
Regarding handbrakes, if loco is working power the brakes can’t overcome the rotation of the traction motor, although you do notice the loco doesn’t move as well, as I know from experience! At least I didn’t ruin any wheels!
Kurt Hayek
Kurt:
I thought you couldn’t drag a wheelset against a set handbrake either, but one of my crews did it one night about ten years ago on a DPU’d AC4400 – for 13 miles. It tripped a detector at that point. This happened during a power swap between two trains about 2 am one morning, and the crew that forgot the handbrake got a small vacation.
RWM
Around 2002 the Bay Colony and Seminole Gulf bought a couple of GP9s from FEC.SGLR chopped the nose on one unit, painted it and sent it up to Bay Colony. CSX hauled the unit, with the handbrake set, from Fla to Mass. CSX repaired the damage at one of CSX’ shop. CSX then hauled the unit back to BCLR, with the handbrake set. BCLR finally made their own repairs and made CSX pay for it.
No, the GP60 is in the lead. The unit on fire is an SD40-2 and the axle is on the rear truck. It can’t be the brake set because the brake is on the front truck on that unit. The deal turned out to be a siezed traction motor and the hot box detector a little up track from there didn’t catch it!
my guess it would be that, the air hoses are all hooked up. The big air is hooked up and cut in, but the three other hoses, are hooked up but not cut in, making it that the third unit’s independent brake is not releasing.
the the unit on fire is part of a slug-mother set.
is there not any speed restrictions in effect for those hump slug mother sets ???
…If the axle / wheel set, was actually sliding {and it sure looks like it was}, I wonder how much damage was done to the rail{s}…and what distance…?
As you notice the video it when for miles without interruption. My question would be if the hotbox detected?
that is not a hump mother set, that is a new set that ns is trying out for coal operations, the 6199 was here for a long time as a switch engine ( junk then ) and went out for service and will be matted up for coal drag service. the hand brake is on short hood end and was not the problem here all hoses was cut in and this was a traction motor that failed. and no there is no speed restrictions on these units
No, that is a hump-mother set. It was coming from allentown where they use them on the hump.
When, if ever, is the crew going back to work?