Nostalgia & History > SSW 9338 West at Tunnel #41 (1988)

Big grain train got onto the #2 track at Shed 47 to take the shortcut thru Tunnel 41. SP was using any power it could find including sd9s and sometimes sd7s.

Tunnel 41 killed one of the sd9s. Train has a 5 unit swing helper with many hood doors left open for ventilation. Early FRED blinking and the Sugar Bowl xing wig wags.

Norden CA
May 1988

Thanks for looking
-Lee

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Last '9 is boiling over

Nice hearing those tunnel 41 wags at the beginning on video. Never saw anything coming out of that vent stack located at the dynamic brake fan area on a SD9 till now. Thanks for sharing.

Bring back the #1 track for uphill trains--it had more ventilation in the snow sheds and was better for the engineers.  

The problem with the #1 track was that it wouldn't fit tri-level autoracks yet alone double stacks.

Nice to see all those thunder chickens

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bring back the #1 track for uphill trains--it had
> more ventilation in the snow sheds and was better
> for the engineers.

 
Granted the #1 track, (which I think was still in service when the wig wags were,) had some space for cooling between the tunnels, BUT, the grade was steeper as the track had to climb to a higher point before it tipped over. 

The #1 track also had curves that caused binding, while the #2 is straight.

There was some discussion between crews about the merits of each,  but I don't remember anyone calling the dispatcher and asking to go West on #1.

About twelve miles per hour the smoke will start to come out the front of the engine, and we knew we were in trouble if we weren't close to the West end.  On one trip, we were going so slow that the smokie had gotten so far out in front of us, and was so thick that we couldn't see the rail in front of us.  The speedometer had stopped reading, and we weren't sure we were still moving until the engineer got the idea of having me shine my light through the side window at the tunnel wall.  We were still moving and decided that as long as we were, we wouldn't stop and back out through almost two miles of really hot smoky air, and take a chance on breaking in two.


As information, starting with the dash2s, EMD engines reduced to throttle 6 when the hot engine alarm came on, which helped them stay running..  That is why the rear SD9 in the video boiled, it got the hottest air of all the units in the consist, and it stayed in run 8.

The SP (if not others) had a problem with crews blocking the low water stop button in, so they got a hot oil sensor installed in the crankcase which would dump the oil going to the oil pressure sensor in the governor, which would immediately shut the engine down, and nothing could be done to circumvent it..  At 7200 feet of elevation, an engine without a good pressure radiatior cap would boil at about 198 degrees....
G

Love that Cadillac sound!

Oliver Barrett

Truly epic railroading.   Nothing today comes close to drama on a hill.
 

Man, even by 1988 things were looking pretty ratty there.  No graffiti to speak off but still...