Nostalgia & History > The restoration of SP 9010 (cont'd)...

Been a while since we've posted a KM work update here on TO. It's a quiet Sunday, so...

For those who don't know, SP 9010 is the last surviving example of 21 custom-built 4000 HP Krauss-Maffei diesel-hydraulic locomotives, imported during the 1960s and part of the crazy "horsepower wars" of that era. Work continues at the Brightside, CA shops of the Pacific Locomotive Association in scenic Niles Canyon, California under the direction of Howard P. Wise and an all-volunteer crew.

Last May saw the 50th anniversary of SP 9010's delivery, and it operated from Brightside to Sunol as a controlling cab for a special commemorative train over the Niles Canyon Railway -- a former SP mainline which saw SP 9010 in freight service during the first month of its service life in the U.S.

(Photo 1 by Bob Zenk, May 9, 2014)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/15 14:04 by Notch16.

---

All winter, work has continued on some of the necessary but unseen tasks; labors which are hoped to lead to self-powered operation with the very geared drive train that was SP 9010's reason for existence in the first place. 

• the Voith three-converter hydraulic transmission has been spun up to partial load speed with the starter motor and tested for leaks, proper reversing action, and initial filling of the first stage torque converter
• the recently-acquired pair of original SP geared trucks, located in 2010 in France and shipped to California early last year, have been fully inspected; the truck destined to occupy the rear location on SP 9010 continues to be prepared for installation at a near-future but currently unspecified date
• missing main and secondary Cardan drive shafts are being manufactured to order by Germany's Welte Group, to original KM specs with modern materials and technology
• the resilient coupling on the rear Maybach 2000 HP twin-turbo V-16 motor has been remanufactured by MTU Friedrichshafen to full original function
• final bodywork on the rear quarter of the locomotive continues, to match the stunning work already completed on the first three quarters of the unit
• wiring and control circuits are just about fully restored; the unit is already MU-capable, but now it's ready to activate the Maybach when it's time
• work continues to restore the radiators and transmission heat exchanger

Most of this mechanical work is hidden, and the process is less photogenic than a day in the sunshine in front of diesel-hydro and SP fans. But ever since we realized that a.) the rear Maybach and transmission seem to be in good enough order, and 2.) we were miraculously able to obtain geared trucks -- something thought impossible for over four decades -- we've turned to the task of restoring this priceless and unique artifact to powered operation.

The economics of the 1960s ultimately did in the USA KMs. They were perhaps too much, too soon, pushing the envelope with hybrid technology without full infrastructure support. In their day, they were never met with the same appreciation by SP crewmen or technicians as they were eagerly anticipated by management, engineers, designers, and mechanical departments on both sides of the Atlantic. But in working on SP 9010, it's easy to see that these massive locomotives were built with the intent to last forever, and work to maximum capacity. And through the unlikely survival of KM Chassis 19106, and the incredible efforts of the volunteer crew under Howard Wise's direction and skills, we think the real qualities of the joint SP-KM effort can finally be appreciated in a new light for the amazing technical achievement they represent -- then, and now.

(Photo by Howard P. Wise, February 2015)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/15 14:06 by Notch16.

---

Lots of good info on Howard's dedicated SP 9010 website at http://sp9010.ncry.org

Also very entertaining info and photo writeups at the SP 9010 Facebook page, under "Southern Pacific 9010"

Thanks to all the fans who've donated time, resources, and funding. It's been an international effort, and if you didn't know about it before today, please head over to learn more at these two sites!

~ Bob Zenk, restoration volunteer

(Photo 3 by BZ, May 11, 2014)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/15 14:08 by Notch16.

---

After doing the K-M Bob should tackle something easy, like the Titanic. Mass props for an incredible
resto, not only the sheet metal but the "huevos" to tackle those drives. The concept is simple but the
execution is something else.

Out

Thanks for the props, and truly appreciated by all. I've contributed here and there and sweated some sweat, equitably... but all kudos belong with Howard Wise and the full-time onsite crew. Miraculous labors for sure.

~ BZ

Here is a photo taken recently at the Brightside, CA shops of the Pacific Locomotive Association in Niles Canyon.  In the foreground is the new bogie to be used on the restored SP 9010.  In the background is Dave Hussey, Bob Zenk, Dick Harley and Howard Wise.   

I'd also like to mention that the SPH&TS has published a wonderful historical overview: "Southern Pacific & The KM Hydraulics", by Robert John Zenk.  The book is a great read, with terrific photos. 

I look forward to the day when the 9010 moves out of the shops on her own power.  I plan to be there.

Tim Costello

---

A KM and a DD40 ought to be left alone in a building together for a night, see what kind of beast they would produce. Ha! Seriously though, the locomotive was built to last forever and was ahead of its time, in a way, so we're the DD40s. A combination of the two, with today's technological advances, who knows what could be made.

Hey, Mr Z, are you still planning on having one operational motor or has that changed to (dreaming wildly) both? Truly enjoy seeing the progress, BTW.

Thanks!
Roustabout out

Hey, Mr. T!

No change to the game plan. The rear Maybach looks healthy from all we can tell so far; the forward Maybach was damaged in service in 1968 and subsequently corroded from having rocker covers left off for four decades. Service parts are available, but for the moment, until we can spin up the rear motor, we don't know what expenses might be incurred there, and that's the one with the associated transmission still in place.

Nothing's being done to prevent future revival of the forward V-16, and it would be undeniably great to hear both of them throttle up! But for now, resources are focused on the rear power group. But dream? You bet. :-)

Thanks for all the good thoughts and support!

~ BZ

Just need to find another transmission someplace. Maybe on a tugboat about to be scrapped.

Would be nice. But the Voith L 830 rU that precisely fits the space was a custom-build for the USA ML 4000 C'C' locomotives only. 

There is one still around. It's in the collection of the California State Railroad Museum, and came from one of the Alco-MaK DH-643 diesel-hydraulics. We work quite cooperatively with CSRM, and have inspected the unit on a few occasions. It's intact, but has suffered from exposure to rain in the course of its life away from the locomotive it was built for (which was long ago scrapped).

The case profile and three-converter guts are basically the same as the KM version; external variations are fundamentally limited to the chassis mountings, the oil pan footings, and the 90-degree power takeoff gear for the Alco-style Voith cooling fan drive. There are also small internal differences, with Alco specifying different case thicknesses and different bearings, ostensibly to give them the ammunition to promote a more robust unit that its KM competitor.

Biggest problem, though, is that the Maybach and Alco prime movers had about a 500 RPM difference at full throttle. This means that the internal "step-up" gearset on the Alco unit is different from that on SP 9010. Add to that the lack of a Dynastarter, and you have an inability to provide a starting impetus for the forward Maybach to which it would connect. Nothing that couldn't be solved with enough spare capital and a contract for rebuilding and modification with Voith, but very low on the priority list for the moment. The expense to create a new gearset would likely be staggering, and that money is a resource best used elsewhere at present. And especially because even half of a working ML 4000 is still a 2000 HP locomotive with six driven wheels.

Builder's photos of the KM (left) and Alco (right) L 830 rU transmissions. Lower photo is the Alco transmission at CSRM recently. Note the drive sprouting out the top in the Alco-based unit. 

~ BZ

---

---

So on the 9010 KM, each V-16 was responsible for powering its own local truck, right?  Were the E-units and DD40's etc., like that as well, or could one diesel apply power to either or both trucks?  Does the electric transmission have an advantage in this respect?

Right. Each end of a KM diesel-hydraulic was self contained, even down to dual air compressors, hydrostatic oil pumps for fans and radiator shutters, and engine cooling water preheaters. One of the advantages sold by KM very early on was the option for fuel savings by using only one powerplant and driven truck at a time -- this idea of course decades ahead of modern fuel and consist management. SP likely never took advantage of that option, except by default after a failure.

~ BZ

Notch16 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One
> of the advantages sold by KM very early on was the
> option for fuel savings by using only one
> powerplant and driven truck at a time -- this idea
> of course decades ahead of modern fuel and consist
> management. SP likely never took advantage of that
> option, except by default after a failure.

I have to grin and chuckle at that. I've spent a while reading early MILW electrification history. The Boxcabs were also effectively set up as a pair of identical units in the early days. The Electrification Dept was always ragging on Operations to have the engineers shut down one unit if the power wasn't needed, as it saved several dollars an hour in electricity. And this was in 1920! ("No big deal" you think, but that would have been about $100 an hour in today's money. So yes, it was a big deal for a railroad that would spend three man-days to collect or refund fifteen cents.)

Notch16 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Would be nice. But the Voith L 830 rU that
> precisely fits the space was a custom-build for
> the USA ML 4000 C'C' locomotives only. 

True for the special housing of the transmission. But the L830 rU itself has been used on other locomotives as well. Years ago, I made the following compilation from the Voith list of deliveries and I thought it might be of some interest to the readers of this newsgroup:
 

• ML 4000 C´C´ prototypes built by KM for the SP & D&RGW (6 units with 2 transmissions each) in 1961 
(http://sp9010.ncry.org/cabunits.htm). 12 transmissions and 3 spares have been ordered.
• ML 4000 C´C´ production units built by KM for the SP (15 units with 2 transmissions each) in 1964 
(http://sp9010.ncry.org). 30 transmissions and two spares have been ordered.
• DH 643-H built by Alco for the SP (3 units with 2 transmissions each) in 1964. 6 transmissions and no spare (!) have been ordered.
• ML 4000 C´C´ built by KM for Brazil (16 units with 2 transmissions each) between 1966 and 1969
(http://sp9010.ncry.org/brazil.htm). 32 transmissions and 2 spares have been ordered.
• DHG 4000 built by Henschel for China (class NY5, 4 units with 2 transmissions each) in 1966
(http://www.tieliu.com.cn/cmtd2/2006/200611/2006-11-03/20061103102831_12296.html). 8 transmissions and 1 spare have been ordered.

There was a derivative of the L  830 rU transmission, the L 830 rU2 with two output flanches, which was used in the first lots of the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) classes 2043 and 2143 (with one transmission each). From this derivative, 32 transmissions have been ordered from Voith. Including the later ones, 128 transmissions of the type L 830 have been built.


˜E111

Sounds like there might be a spare transmission sitting around someplace in China or Australia.

Thanks for your hard work! I will really enjoy your locomotive. wag216

Congrats on a restoration being done in a timely AND proper manner.

Thanks for all the kind words! The 9010 team appreciates them all.

E111's list of Voith L 830 rU transmission production is of course complete and correct, and that list was generously provided some time ago to the SP 9010 team. To the best of our knowledge, the only Voith L 830 rU transmissions presently residing on U.S. soil are the one at the rear of SP 9010, Voith Serial No. 15 393, and the former Alco transmission (bearing significant mechanical differences) from DH-643 Chassis No. 3374-02 residing in Sacramento at CSRM. No parts are known or confirmed to remain of the 16 Brazilian meter-gauge Series Units built in 1966 and 1969, and we're not aware of any remaining transmissions in either Austria or China, not to say they don't exist. 

We're not averse to sourcing spares. We've already reached across borders and oceans to obtain the geared trucks that will help us power the rear half of SP 9010. So nothing is impossible, and to locate some L 830 rU transmission still existing in Austria or China (which has not been determined, as far as we know) is also not impossible. It's just not necessary.

The issue is need, balanced with available resources. All future funds going to the restoration will focus on paying back the cost of having Cardan shafts manufactured, for hiring the large cranes we need to lift SP 9010 at least seven feet off its existing trucks in order to install the rear geared unit, and for returning the rear Maybach V-16 to operation. Unless those things are done (and unless we also complete the remaining bodywork and cosmetics) SP 9010 will not reach its goal of self-powered operation and complete visual restoration to authentic original appearance. Finding a second motor or transmission is part of a dream wish list only, since self-powered operation will be possible with only the rear group -- and that will have the potential to be a 2000 HP locomotive!

Add to that the practicality of fuel expenses, and the limited operation with light consist loads that the unit will face in its future, and there's no reasonable need to restore the forward half of the powertrain -- other than the undeniable "cool factor" it would present for fans. Us too. That'd be great. We'd love to see smoke blowing from both exhausts for sure. But the issue also exists with where we would store and protect a 'wish list' motor and transmission, since we're maxed out on such real estate now, and for the foreseeable future.

Of course, a "hot lead" about potentially available parts sent us to France, and we went to extraordinary efforts to secure the geared trucks that are now being prepared to help bring SP 9010 to self-powered operation. But without them, there would have been no locomotion. We don't need that transmission because we have one that looks to work, and we don't need that other motor either, not to make 9010 run on its own. And that's why obtaining a spare transmission or motor -- even if we could secure them easily -- would be a nice thing, but is not part of the active restoration plan at the moment. 

As it stands, SP 9010 is moving towards operation with the rear power unit only, while its on-hand spare parts sources at present include two trucks, one motor, and the potential for a similar transmission. That pretty well covers all bases for now. :-)

~ BZ