Just checked railpitures.net and heres the pic of UP E-9 Catching fire on the Operation Lifesaver special! Heres the pic.
Did they confuse it with part of their steam program? [:-^]
“Here’s how you extinguish a burning diesel, kids!”
Now that’s what I call informing the public about RR safety!
Can someone say HOTBOX?
I just hope the damage wasnt too bad to the unit. Be a shame. Any more info?
Under the picture on RailPictures.Net one of the comments reads “The fire consisted of oil-soaked absorbent pads on top of the fuel tank. It is not yet known how they ignited.” Somebody else said that there was no damage done.
The fire broke out when a few oil-soaked absorbent pads on top of the fuel tank ignited somehow. No significant damage resulted, and the train was able to continue. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Got that from reading the “Comments” part below the picture here: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=190459
-Brandon
Dang! Beat me to it by seconds. You’re quick!
The culprit here is the oil soaked rags. Oil oxidizes and when it does it creates heat. W/ a bundle of oil soaked rags there no outlet for the heat to escape so it builds up to the (low) flash point of the oil and the rags add fuel. It’s called spontaneous cumbustion and it’s why oily rags should NEVER be stored in anything but a glass or metal container and preferable outside and away from combustable surfaces.
[:-^]You guys are so oblivious…[:-^]
This is obviously the fire safety portion of the program. Teaching little kids the do’s/dont’s of burning locomotives. Way to go Johnny! [tup]
[:-^]You guys are so oblivious…[:-^]
This is obviously the fire safety portion of the program. Teaching little kids the do’s/dont’s of burning locomotives. Way to go Johnny! [tup]
“a few oil-soaked absorbent pads on top of the fuel tank”
“The cause of the fire is still unknown”
Now that combination is what I would call a major oxymoron !
I was chasing that day, and let’s just say it was interesting when someone came over the radio and said “the 949 appears to have a fire just above the fuel tank.” I wasn’t sure how much chasing we’d be doing after that, but they did get underway in a few minutes longer. While it wasn’t bad, there was a tad bit of scorch marks on the locomotive after that. This is a pacing shot of mine from a little further on in the trip, after the fire:
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/WSOR_3807/IMG_2186.jpg
You can see the scorch mark below the second N in “Union.” They shut the 949 down for the remainder of the trip back from Chippewa Falls, and since it was leading it was limited to 20mph the whole way back. They must have inspected the locomotive once back to Altoona, as it was on line and running again for the second trip to Elk Mound a few hours later. Still will take a little bit of paint touch up though, but it appears they did that pretty quick, as in photos a few days later you can’t see the marks.
Credit should really be given where credit is due too; the photo from the first post was taken by Jerry Huddleston.
Noah
[#oops]