Nostalgia & History > UP Turbine 15 ... 'tale of the tape'

On 9/8/68 I got this photo of eastbound #15 at the west end of Cheyenne yard ... and not long after I was at the east end of the yard when a crew member, just getting off the 15, just handed me the tapes ...  #15 was shut down at the time, so we could actually hear each other!!!

 

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Neat photo, but what did the tapes indicate - sound level for the turbine in decibels?

PasadenaSub Wrote:
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> Neat photo, but what did the tapes indicate -
> sound level for the turbine in decibels?

No! The speed-recorder was not capable of recording sound, only track speed. Besides, it really wasn't all that loud in the cab, what with that big turbine exhaust way back on the rear end of the second "unit", which was the actual turbine.

The lead unit only had a "Pony" motor for hostling and starting the turbine, otherwise I don't think it was on line.

M-636 Wrote:
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> The lead unit only had a "Pony" motor for hostling
> and starting the turbine, otherwise I don't think
> it was on line.

If you call 800HP an "Pony" motor. And due to their noise and high fuel consumption the turbine was only run when it was needed to actually pull the train.
Gas turbines of this era had pretty short operating lives, just like their early jetliner brothers, so they didn't run them when they didn't have to.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/24 11:03 by PHall.

Looking at the tape, how do you tell
where they are when they're doing
55 mph or whatever?

I know it will never happen, but if there is one railroad motive artifact from the past I would want to witness would be a turbine brought back to life. Big boy, just another steam locomotive, but a turbine, truly one of a kind.

 

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Follow the pencil line,  looks like 54 at it's peak.

timz Wrote:
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> Looking at the tape, how do you tell
> where they are when they're doing
> 55 mph or whatever?

Great photo and discussion; thanks!  A C&EI boxcar with a UP Turbine... there is no way to top that!

timz Wrote:
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> Looking at the tape, how do you tell
> where they are when they're doing
> 55 mph or whatever?

IIRC those gaps in the horizontal lines indicated miles. You'd have to establish some point where the stylus was at
stop, 0 mph; then begin counting the gaps from there to the point in question.

maybe the 50 was west of laramie declining on sherman hill, coasting into Chian?

Very interesting post! Did most all locomotives of this era have this technology aboard?
Speed Recorder?
Notice it goes up to 120.
Great Photo too!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Me Too.  Totally agree.   I think I would be thoroughly impressed by one of these operating.

webmaster Wrote:
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> I know it will never happen, but if there is one
> railroad motive artifact from the past I would
> want to witness would be a turbine brought back to
> life. Big boy, just another steam locomotive, but
> a turbine, truly one of a kind.
>
>  

This style of tape only recorded speed and distance.  When the tape was removed from the speedometer, the company employee removing it (usually a Road Foreman of Engines or Mechanical Department employee) usually wrote directly on the tape the Mile Post where it was removed, as well as date, time, and locomotive number.  By working backward, the speed could be determined at various Mile Posts enroute.  The accuracy was not always the best in those days, as wheel diameter could vary and affect the accuracy; as this was before we "miked" the wheels to assure accuracy.  Also, it was not unusual to see a tape "streaming" in the breeze from a trailing unit after the engineer had removed same and helped it out the window.  Engineers were required to report inaccurate speed recorders and missing tapes to the Train Dispatcher for proper record keeping, as well as to destroy the evidence!