Newbie introduction and a few questions...(Los Angeles, CA)

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Hello everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself and greet everyone here.

I’m 24 years old, and work at a post production facility near the Glendale Amtrak station. I’ve been a railfan since I was about 10 years old when I would tag along with my father when he would pick up my older sister from LA County High School for the Arts passing by the old Taylor yard, and nearby mainlines.

There are not many young railfans (if any) that are into the same things I’m into (cars, partying, etc), but i feel i will not grow out of my interest in modern railroading. My friends still make fun of me as I gawk out the window whenever i pass by a yard or mainline with activity. I may pursue a career in the field (I’m well on my way in higher education), with the help of any local UP employees (wink wink) that are on this forum…

Now to the questions…thanks in advance! (i’ve tried searching, but with mixed results that didnt really answer my questions, please excuse any “stupid” questions)

  1. When some older locomotives idle (many idle at the siding near the glendale metrolink accident), particularly GM’s, they make a constant hissing and popping cacophony of sounds. What is that???

  2. Why dont they shut off the locomotives altogether when they idle?

  3. Why was the vast majority of the SP Locomotive fleet so dirty and aesthetically unpleasant?

  4. I’ve noticed that many, if not all the smoking/fire spitting images on Railpictures.net come from C40-8’s. What is the cause of the fire and smoke?

Thats it for now! I’ll speak with more of you soon. Thanks again!

2

First let me be the first to welcome you. Now my opinions in answer to your questions:

  1. The hissing and popping sounds are likely the excess air from the compressor tanks being let off, the air hisses and the valves will pop at times.

  2. So

3

The hissing and clicking sounds are the blow down or spitter valve on the air reservoir…on GEs, it makes a long, deep hiss, on EMDS, a series of short, rapid clicking sounds.
It is part of the water separation system, and drains the water that collects in the air reservoir.

Clean or dirty, the locomotives don’t care…and SP had other things to spend money on besides washing them.
Plus, that takes a locomotive out of service for a few hours…most only get washed when they are shopped for a long period of time.

Some new locomotives do shut down, and restart, when left alone.
The older ones don’t, saves wear and tear on the engine, and extends battery life, plus the fact that sometimes, they get a little balky and don’t want to start back up.
The practice of leaving them running is old, but has a purpose, if they are attached to a train, they keep the air pressure in the brake system charged.
And, with older engines, the odds that it might not start back up are pretty good!
Diesel engines are, by design, meant to run constantly, the fuel use at idle is pretty minimal.
New locomotives have an auto stop/start feature, they shut down when isolated, and no control surface has been moved within a set time period.
When the air system gets low, or the batteries need to be charged, they start back up, and run for a set time before shutting down again.
This keeps the air pumped up, the batteries charged, saves on fuel, and keeps the diesel at operating temperature.
Trust me; a cold start on a locomotive is a pain in the fanny.

GE fires…turbo lag, and un burnt fuel in the stack…when the engineer notches out the throttle, the heat from the exhaust stack can catch the unburnt fuel in the exhaust on fire…remember, they are full of soot, which can get and stay red hot…the turbo lag lets unburnt fuel get into the exhaust, which is why some older GE smoke big time…this fuel can ignite if the soot in the stack is hot eno

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Welcome to the forums[tup]. We’re all eager to share our knowledge and misinformation[:-^]with any and all who ask.
Dirty locomotives on SP has been around for awhile but some of us old-timers remember Penn Central that suffered from dirt, peeling paint and other things that were of less than pressing importance.

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  1. When some older locomotives idle (many idle at the siding near the glendale metrolink accident), particularly GM’s, they make a constant hissing and popping cacophony of sounds. What is that???

The crew trying to get out? [:I]

  1. Why dont they shut off the locomotives altogether when they idle?

Ever tried to hook up jumper cables to one of these babies![:0]

  1. Why was the vast majority of the SP Locomotive fleet so dirty and aesthetically unpleasant?

The dirt is all thats holding them together. [;)]

  1. I’ve noticed that many, if not all the smoking/fire spitting images on Railpictures.net come from C40-8’s. What is the cause of the fire and smoke?

Its really got a BOILER under all that sheet metal, they just dont want to tell the EPA that they’ve still got a few stealth steam locos out there [:D]

I went to Cow Pucky Pomona also, School of Architorture, though a few years ago…[:D]

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Funny answers you have…also funny is that you knew that I was a student at Cal Poly Pomona…

Thanks everyone for the answers! I knew the idling had something to do with the PITA process of restarting a diesel, but had no clue about the auto restart feature. [8D]

I read a book about the Penn Central a long time ago, and was always intrigued by east coast railroading after reading it.

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Also, SP did not have enough money to spend.

I got a “tour” (unofficial) of a yard a few years ago where they were install the equipment to shut down locomotives after a certain amount of time spent idling. If I remember correctly, it would restart the locomotive under certain circumstances and sound an alarm for a certain amount of time before restarting.

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Welcome to the discussions. I don’t think there is anything wrong with a 24 year old gawking at trains. I am younger than you, have enjoyed trains my entire life, and very proud of it.[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

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AHHHH the sound of an idling diesel !!! To me it is like the silky touch of a loving woman. Just lay there and let the throb go through you. BLISSSSSSSS!!!
ok - reality check please…
No, really, to me an idling diesel the size of the rail engine is one of life’s gifts, and if you are like me, then you should thank your stars that you have them right under your workplace windows!!!
I live on a small island and trains do not exist here. The only chance I have of seeing rail is when I’m in the UK. I have been shoooed off more platforms then I’d care to remember. I simply cannot resist an idling engine! Whenever I have the chance, I’d always go and stand as close to the engine as I can. Reactions vary from being invited into the cab - HEAVEN!!! - to being asked to please leave the platform or security will be alerted. I do not blame the people, I mean imagine seeing someone approaching an engine, only to stay on the yellow line and stare fixedly into the air filters/radiator intake/whatever when most sane people shun the engines because they are dirty, noisey but necessary beasts!!!
Wot i’m sayin’ 'ere is yer’s the lucky un, enjoy yer luck.

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I moved to the area around 85… Seems like it wasn’t that long ago that you could sit on the side of San Fernando down there at the South end of Taylor, next to the tower. How things have changed. I also use to go to the top of the hill at the park… Don’t do that any more either, for obvious reasons. It also use to be fun tracing the old rat hole tracks through the streets, between Taylor and downtown. Very little evidence of those left now. Glendale station looks great. Too bad you guys lost #11 though.

Dave
-DPD Productions - Featuring the NEW TrainTenna LP Gain RR Scanner Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

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Calpoly48…
Uhh, he knew because its part of your screen name?

Eric…
It varies by railroad, but most of them do shut off now…
On my railroad, if the locomotive is isolated, after ten minutes and no control surface is moved, it will shut down.
If the battery charge drops, or the air in the main reservoir drops below a set pressure, or the water temp in the water jacket drops below a given temp, an alarm will sound for 15 seconds, and the auto start will engage.

All the GE Dash 9s, and the New GEs on the BNSF have this feature…all the MK built locomotive, under all the names MK has used, have it too.

Most EMDS have it, but you can order them without it…

Ed

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CP 48
welcome to the forums!!!
stay safe
Joe

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One of the guys installing the system said it was just going in on switch engines. The two there at the time were GP15-1s.

There is also a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,so vsmith had a 50% chance of calpoly48 having gone to Pomona. Around here, when someone says Cal Poly, the San Luis Obispo part is implied. It is rare that someone says Cal Poly and is refering to Pomona. I am guessing it is probably the opposite in the LA area.

14

Maybe I should have said most of the “Newer” EMDs have it…

The old GPs /SDs dont…wasnt a workable concept when most of them were built… computers back then were the size of your refridgerator!

50/50 chance, not bad precentages!

Maybe Vic should play the lottery!

Ed[:D]

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Hello Calpoly,If you have time on some morning,just walk over to the Glendale station on the south side there will be a lot of old personnel who are interseted in trains.they should have all the answers you want. I’ll be sitting between the waiting room and the south side with an America Flag band on my hat.If not you can ask for Gene…Dave

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[8D]

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On Friday June 10, i was at the end of my shift, and heard some diesels rumbling away. i walk over to the station, and low and behold, theres a 3 unit intermodal stopped on the main line. Two SD70’s, the head unit with flared radiators, (i believe it was 3871) and a KCS SD40. Amazed that I never saw power so close i can touch it (i follow the rules) from the station sidewalk, I walk back and forth to admire the scene. At first I thought it was waiting for a southbound freight to get out of the block, since one had just past (a single c40-8 with empty double stacks), but it turns out i asked the engineer from the window, and he says “speedo cable broke…u wanna come inside?”

Shocked and appalled, i literally ran up the steps, to see for the first time in real life, the inside of a locomotive. Small story short, the crewman was really cool, showed me around, and was surprised i knew so much about the trains he worked on every day. coolest thing ever…

While the speedo was being replaced…another southbound past by, but with much cooler power…a c44cte on head, something i dont remember for the third, but the middle was none other than an ex BN still in executive paint SD70MAC. Seeing one in LA on BNSF territory is rare, but on UP, is almost never seen, especially in these parts.

Easily the most awesome hour of railfanning i have ever experienced.

18

I also met 2 other gentlemen who were there to see the event, as they heard it on the scanners they had. they informed me about the small friday night gatherings at the burbank metrolink station. they said they were from corona, ca. if either of you are reading this, Greetings, and I would really love to have a picture of the head unit of that train, as both of you were both snapping away…thanks!

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So, calpoly48, all my life I’ve heard of a school called “Cal Tech” (or "Caltech).

Where is it? Does it have any relation to the Cal Poly schools???

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Cal Tech is the California Institute of Technology, a private school. http://www.caltech.edu/