I was explaining to my son’s how a locomotive works when one of them asked me a strang question.If the motors run from electricity can the engineer’s have microwaves and coffee pots (Appliances)plugged into the train while there running it.
Tim A
Yes, modern locomotives have many crew friendly conveniences such as water coolers (that also dispense hot water for coffee), hot plates, etc. All of this designed to make those long hours in the cab more bearable.
eolafan, what engines have you been on? I get on BNSF’s newest 70macs and 2002 model year Dash-9s every day and guess what. No coffee pots or water coolers or microwaves. We have a fridge, thats it! Havn’t seen any of this stuff on the UP motors that I have been on either (last one was a GE AC6000). The only motors that I have seen these ammenities on are CN units.
Could you bring your owen appliances on board and plug them in? Or being on a long trip (I heard trips of 8 hours or more.)are you allowed to stop your train to get a hot meal?
On the back of most cabs, inside one of the panels is a plug that looks like a standard 3 prong house plug. Most are 74 volt d/c, so if you got an inverter, you could run a small coffee pot or hot plate. Some motors have hot plates, microwaves built in, but they are buyer options. Most road units have a refridgerator, cooler, it too is 74 volt d/c. Most union contracts provide for a meal period of 20 minutes at 5h,40 min into your 8 hr shift, and over 8hs another 20min @ 10h, 40min into the shift.
The problem is most household appliances are designed for 115/120 volts a/c. Raido shack sells inverters which make d/c act like a/c current, and have a step-up transformer to bring voltage up to 110/115. Mine cost $99.99, its about the size of a paperback novel. As to stoping the train to eat, on our road, (a terminal road) we do stop work to eat, in the yard we have a lunchroom, on the “road” we get in a siding. I would guess most class 1 crews on the road either eat on the fly and claim their meal period, (you get paid if you dont get to eat) or take their minutes when they are in a siding or stopped for opposing traffic.
I’ve only noticed the 74v plug ins on the GEs I’ve never seen the plug ins on the macs and older EMDs (that’s not saying that they are not there). I have never worked with anybody that used an A/C convertor to utilize the 74v D/C so I cannot speak on that. On the road we usually eat on the fly. In the yard we have break rooms to eat in, but I just take my lunch and leave it on the engine. If I get up that way, I’ll grab a sandwich. Ed says that they take sidings for lunch. I have never had the luxury of this. My biggest luck-out was when we would get stopped at a signal that so happened to be across the hiway from a restauarant. I usually would get me and the hoghead something. Annother option is to bring something precooked and place it on a coolant tank toward the rear of the engine (behind one of the last carbody doors on the engineer’s side on most EMDs) it is perfect just hot enough to warm your food, but not hot enough to melt Tupperware. I usually wedge a dish of chili or whatever there for about 30min and voillah, a hot meal! I’ve even heard of guys cooking meat in foil on the exh manifolds, but I have never personally done this. Sounds kinda iffy.
We get lucky because we are a terminal road, both sides of the houston ship channel from Barbors cut, (intermodel terminal) all the way back into houston. Lots of industries we pull and spot, so when meal time comes we are often in the position to just stop. Figured class 1 road crew didnt get this lucky. But most of the time we bring tupperware dishes and do just what ironken does, heat it on the diesel, or the air compressor head. Our switch motors are Boise Locomotive MD1500 . Cat powered, with shaft drive air compressors, and they work real good as hot plates. We have the plug on all of our motors, but no one in the diesel shop know why. I put a voltmeter on them, they are all hot at 74 volts. I havent bothered to check the EMD motors, we only use "road power"on grain and coke trains when we pull and spot them. I was assigned to this for a while, and most of the BN power was GEs, both me and my hogger are coffee junkies, and as we have to wait for Cargil to finish unloading so we can spot, the inverter seemed like the way to go.
all emd engines have this 74 volt plug in. look inside where the breakers are. some are by the battery switch and others are in plain site in the front. we make coffee in a ole style perck style pot. dont use a drip makers burns them up quick. as far as getting min for lunch on a class 1 railroad only in yard work. you dont get that on the road. and you dont get the pro-rata pay either. we only stop the train to get a meal if you are going to be a long time on a train meet. then we stop were we want to or if maintanace in the way gets ya for hours. otherwise bring your food heat it on the radiator or ham sandwhiches. its all good after 8-9 hrs and still not in yet.
I’ve been in the cabs on UP Dash 8 units and Amtrak Genesis units, which both had these ammenities. Eolafan
Like I said Eolafan, the UP units that I have been on didn’t have the “ammenities,” I can’t speak for all. What I can say is that BNSF doesn’t. It is pretty safe to say that I have been on most all of the different flavors of the BNSF/SF/BN.
Ironken, what can I say but that I will take your word for it on the BNSF, as it certainly sounds like you are in a perfect position to be in the know on such things on your road.
ok so i am a conductor for NS and I too am looking for a mobile power source and the only inverters i can find are for an input power of 12 volts. how is this not going to completely blow a 12 volt inverter out of the water to shove 74 volts into it?
don’t do it! It won’t do a bit of good to the inverter, and I’m not sure but what it might not do much for your engine, either, which would make your engineer annoyed… funny thing, though, if you plug a coffee pot in, it seems to work pretty well…
Hence the story about the crewmember who forgot his can of spaghetti back on the engine (From Trains, a couple of years ago). The can blew and the engine room (I believe it was an F unit) smelled like tomato sauce for quite a while.
Too bad nobody has discovered the need for 74V appliances - sounds like there’s a lot of demand, although the RR may take exception to a crew moving their kitchen into the cab before their run…
I am on UP units 3 to 4 days a week and have NEVER seen a hotplate or microwave in a UP unit. They do have the frig or an icebox. The Canadian units are the ones with a hotplate/coffee pot and microwave.
Some years ago I remember hearing something about people cooking meals on their car engines doing this, I think there was a “cookbook” for it called Manifold Destiny. I thought it was a cool idea, and even tried it once, but I didn’t drive quite far enough to heat up my frozen snack food…
You need to broaden your search beyond Wal*Mart and Radio Shack! Seriously though, electric supply companies would probably be able to find you something like this. Anybody got suggestions?
Ed,
As has been pointed out, inverters are almost always 12 volt. Where did you get one that will work on 74v ?
TARGUBRIGHT,
Even though diesel electrics have a electric drivetrain, the power for the lights, radios, computers, controll stand, accessories, ect. comes from a seperate alternator. The main alternator voltage & current is very high, like 600volts and up to several thousand amps.
On the SD45 I was on, it had a plug socket… Im almost sure of it.
Canadian National engines were the first ones i ever heard of with microwaves back in the 80s i think.I also remember guys telling me they were like Hotels next to the Chessie units. Also the cabooses were like a palace compared to the Chessie cabs!
I read somewhere thet the Lake Powell & Black Mesa electric units were loaded with amenities like microwave ovens and such.