Good evening everyone how is we all doing. Well the other night when i was sitting on a charter I kept hearing an engine and to me it sounded like it kept letting off air pressure. It sounded like it was building up then it would release. I know that it is normal but it was happening like every 2 or 3 minutes. I was sitting by where the Up does switching for trains that come into butler yard and then send the trains north and west. But it was wired to keep hearing the air kicking in and out like it was. Now my question is would what be causing something like to happen my though would be a bad air compressor or a leaking air hose of some sort. But I’m not sure any inputs into this topic are welcome. Also for anyone that might care the school year up here in wisconsin has started as of today. Well the year round schools anyway. And we less then one month from the real school year starting on Sept. 2nd
What you heard was the automatic blow down blowing water out of the air system, brake and other componets prefer dry air to fuction.
Rodney
locomotive engineer BNSF
I would agree. But I don’t think it should blow that often. I would think the disicant that is used to dry the air needs to be changed. It is probably not a high priority item to service.
The UP engines use spitter valves on the ends of the main res to drain the water out. They are constantly making noise. He might have been hearing the safety valve popping off. They release air at 155 psi, in case the compressor don’t shut off like it should. The main res should be kept around 130-140 psi (MoPac engines 120-130 psi).