Model Railroading > Mother and Slug question

Ive seen some excellent modeling of mother and slug sets and had a question.
Can a slug be used to control the mother? or can only the mother be the "lead" unit?

Paul Liddiard
Spanish Fork, UT

If a slug has a cab, it can be the controlling "unit". CSX has what, 150 or so? road slugs with fully equipped cabs.

Thanks! That was a very quick response! That's what I wanted to know.
So the slug just has the traction motors, and the mother has the prime mover?

Paul Liddiard
Spanish Fork, UT

Read this, tells everything about them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slug_%28railroad%29

lizzard_45 Wrote:
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> Thanks! That was a very quick response! That's
> what I wanted to know.
> So the slug just has the traction motors, and the
> mother has the prime mover?

Without reading the wiki article.... yes. That's what a slug is. Its function is to spread the power generated by the mother's prime mover over more axles at low speed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/11 19:47 by toledopatch.

I've heard that CSX crews actually prefer to lead with the road slug, because it's a much quieter ride in the slug cab with no prime mover.

Dave

drolsen Wrote:
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> I've heard that CSX crews actually prefer to lead
> with the road slug, because it's a much quieter
> ride in the slug cab with no prime mover.
>
> Dave


Ya, until you pull down on the horn!

lizzard_45 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ive seen some excellent modeling of mother and
> slug sets and had a question.
> Can a slug be used to control the mother? or can
> only the mother be the "lead" unit?

The correct answer is yes and no. CSX has had a bunch of GP30's, 35's, 38's and 40's gutted with the cab, cab controls, DB's and fuel tanks remaining. In these units, you can run the train from the slug unit. N&W had rebuilt a slew of locomotives, ranging from GP7/9's to H24-66 Train Masters to an SD35 and an SDP45 and several RSD-12's. None of these unit were rebuilt with cabs or cab controls, and could not be used to run a train. Seaboard built "MATEs" in similar fashion from U-Boats to run between a pair of U36B's, IIRC, down in Bone Valley.

NS has recently started rebuilding GP38's and 40's as RP-E4C's which are similar in design to the CSX rebuilds, and crews are able to control the train from these slugs.

AT&SF built, or had built for them, slugs, as did UP and I believe BN, all designed without cabs.

Guys on both NS and CSX claim that the slugs with cabs are typically nicer to ride in becasue there is virtually no noise and it's easier to fall asleep,.... er, I mean, concentrate in while running their trains.

NSTopHat

I believe the U36B "MATE" units the Seaboard had -- later on CSX -- were actually purpose-built, not conversions. If I'm wrong about that, I'm curious to know what they were built from.

Lots of other railroads have or had slugs, intended mostly for hump, yard, and heavy transfer service. Conrail converted a bunch of RS11 and RSD5 locomotives into MT4 and MT6 slugs for hump and pulldown service; the MT4s were originally mated with GP10s and the MT6s were paired with SD38s. Examples of smaller railroads with slugs include the Philadelphia, Bethlehem & New England (plant railroad at Bethlehem Steel) and the Indiana Harbor Belt. Though lacking cabs, the IHB's slugs sometimes seem to be placed in the leading position on transfer runs, perhaps as a buffer against grade-crossing collisions, and are equipped with suitable headlights and horns for this purpose.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/11 10:37 by toledopatch.

Don' forget the SP. They had road slugs (TEBU=Traction Efficiency Booster Unit) patterned after the Seaboard Coast Line MATE's, four axle yard slugs built out of retired EMD switchers, and size axle yard slugs built out of retired Alco Centuries. The also had a brake sled built out of a retired Train Master.