Can’t recall the last time I saw a torpedo!
Worth a try!
Nah, yellow thingy still rules!
The cylinders are marked with lables “Not brake cylinder, for traction control only”
The reason there are 2 of them is it has to compress the coil springs the axel rides on, and those are some big heavy duty springs.
The system can be disabled from the cab, we used it switching all day saturday, and if the system had been on the wheel would have been lifting and lowering all day long!
Did not find a way to manually lift or lower it, just an “enable/disable” switch.
Remember, Santa Fe used B+B trucked EMDs and GEs on thier intermodal trains because they could hustle, and the additional traction motor was not needed once they were at track speed, and because they were priority trains, they didnt have to start or stop often.
If so, it’s a mystery. Looks like there’s no pressure in the two cylinders that turn the lever to lift the axle? Yet the axle is in the air? How does that linkage work, anyway?
What’s the maximum air pressure in the actuating cylinders, and how big are the pistons?
I would guess about 90psi from the main trainline or reservior, there is no minimum or max extension on the system, it is either on or off, the cylinders extend like brake cylinders to about 8" or about one half a turn on the crank, no more or less.