Some Questions

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Ok here I am here again. Along with a list of questions.

  1. Is there any resource that I can find that will help me identify different locomotive types? I can identify things like SD70, SD90, SD40, Dash 9 and so on. But I would like to be able to identify and SD40 form an SD40T or SD40-2. As well as find the differenced between Dash 8 CW, Dash 9, AC4400, AC6000, and ES.

  2. Who is responsible for fixing grade crossings and putting crossing arms at the crossings?

  3. Where are the GE and EMD plants in the US??

4 Can anyone identify this car and what it does?
http://www.geocities.com/miniwyo/UnkRC1-A.jpg

Thanks!!

2

  1. Contemporary Diesel Spotters Guide

  2. The railroads themselves tke care of lights and gates-usually the signal department I think

  3. La Grange, Il (Chicago) for EMD, although I think all production has shifted to London, On. And Erie, Pa for GE

  4. Side dump car, most railroads use them for ballast service.

These are the answers as I know them to be. Please feel free to soliciate info from others as well.

3

It is easy to distingui***he SD40T-2 from the SD40 and SD40-2. Look at the back end. The radiator air intakes are low on the SD40T-2 and high on the others. Also, the back wall is perpendicular the side walls on the SD40T-2, while the the back walls are not on the others. Also, the SD40T-2 is longer than the others.

There was no such thing as a SD40T.

4

(4) Mudchicken’s favorite toy, a Difco 33 Cubic Yard Air dump car. Never enough of these guys around on a railroad. They build them near JoeKoh at Findlay, OH…If you don’t know how to unload one of these rascals, you can derail it in a heartbeat and dump the train air even quicker. Be careful with the handle!

5

(2) The question (in general) has been answered in several recent threads. “Fixing grade crossings-” what part in particular? Railroads cannot add crossing arms to existing mast mounted flashers and bells without regulatory agency approval (and you can’t downgrade them either for the same reason). What are you specifically asking for?

6

Thanks all.

Some follow up questions,

Where might I find one of theese books to buy on the net?
Which one would be the most up to dateand usefull while trackside?

Mud - What I am asking is, who fixes the grade like in between the rails and surrounding areas, basically the driving surface.
How much does it cost to put in crossing arms?
Also, How does a crossing arm work, how does it detect the train coming and when the train is clear?