it is well known on here already that i am a GE fan…not an EMD fan…and this pic is one more example why i like GEs better…
when they do die…they go out with styel!!!
http://www.csx-sucks.com/pictures/?fire2.jpg
csx engineer
Thats a GE going up in flames you can see by the shape of the cab and the overhanging radiators possibly a C40-9W
i know its a GE…thats why a i said something to make EMD fans smile…
also is not a dash 9…its a dash 8
csx engineer
Talk about getting flamed!!!
Duh - silly me! I thought I had you there for a minute - I could see it wasn’t an EMD, then I read on…Wow - that is quite spectacular.
Now someone tell me why this would happen?
Mookie
Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Very good of GE to provide crews the best central heating ever. Or, is it nice of them to provide a bond fire…does it come with marshmallows?
Although I had very little experience on GE’s, and judging by the location of most of the fire, my best guess: either a fuel filter came loose or one of the fuel filter sight-glasses broke. Either one would cause lots of fuel to soak the engine compartment. Now if this was the cause, how it actually ignited…?
However, if memory serves, did not GE have the prime mover mounted reversed (turbo towards the long-hood end) from EMD? I seem to remember crews for other railroads telling me they liked the GE better (much quieter) because the turbo assembly was towards the center of the locomotive, and not directly behind the electrical cabinets, as it is on EMD’s. So maybe the turbo blew a gasket or flat out exploded.
What about that tank car just behind the loco???
Thankfully it’s just Cargil corn syrup
Well Mook, GE’s are notorious for having return fuel leaks. ( the fuel that is unused goes back to the tank. ) If there is a leak, it can spray on the exhaust manifolds and ignite. Or it could have a broken high pressure fuel injection line which will do the same thing [:D]
My first thought was turbo exploded and 2nd thought was the tank car. But…is this one of those fires that will stay pretty contained and not probably affect the tank car; the tank car is built to be pretty safe until the fire dept can get there; the fire looks a lot worse than it really is and it will eventually burn itself out; and the last possibility - Mookie is wrong about all of the above.
Notice the gentleman in the cab - looking a little puzzled even from this distance.
csx engineer
I get your take on that. Those damn EMD’s get old, soak up tons money for rebuilds and repairs and get shuffled from one owner to another until someone finally shows some mercy and pulls the plug. LOL
Jay
Caption this:
“So that’s why it won’t load!”
So, does anyone know what the deal is with this web site? Is it just a random disgruntled person who does not like CSX?
Anyone have any thoughts about it?
Gabe
Too bad you can’t see the expression on the face of the conductor (I’m assuming) leaning out the window on the lead unit.
csx engineer,
what do they teach you to do in a situation like this? Was the train moving while on fire?
Well they have to shuffle the EMDs around like that because they just can’t find a GE worth rebuilding. And when there is an auction of older engines the very few GEs that do make it there seem to stay there while the EMDs find new homes. Just read the Trains article about the loco auction that appeared in the mag about 6 months to a year ago. Now you know why GEs are called “Toasters”.
Jim- Actually I am neutral on the GE vs. EMD issue. I don’t buy 'em, run 'em or fix 'em, so I have about the same amount expertise for engines as I do on string theory.
I see it from an enginitarian view. Do you want the end quick and flashy or the long slow trip to the torch, with the humiliation of de-rating, accumilation of rust, or, worst of all, scavanged for parts. I see it as a great moral dilemma.[;)]
(Well, what??? Rain has stopped my progress on a major landscaping project.)
Jay
I think that’s why the dude in the lead unit is looking back that way;to see if his hamburgers,hotdogs,marshmellows,or whatever is “Toasted” yet.[:)]
Gabe
Think the internet equivalent of talk radio.
Jay
Jay - enginitarian?
Mook