Passenger Trains > 14 departs twice today out of LA

77 and 510 for power. 510 throwing flames, smoke and spraying oil everywhere.

Tr 14 backs from Burbank Airport to LA. Bad unit swapped with 763.

Maybe out of LA around 13:30.

Posted from Android

I fail to see a problem here. It's a GE.

The 510 puked a few weeks ago on 11 and was taken off at Oakland. It returned yesterday on 11 and... well, looks like history has repeated itself.

<throwing flames, smoke>

We have human "Gate Dragons" for the passengers, and now mechanical ones for the trains too.

Threy must have been back on the Santa Fe 33 Business Car when they backed the train all that way.


chris



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/16 15:07 by Mudrock.

Well, at least they were close enough to home to be able to go back and get something that actually runs.

The 500- 518 series ran here on the coast since at least 1994--the ATK engineers hated them as they were apparently originally intended for freight service and were slow to load etc.  Carl and I rode in the 507 and 518 in 1994 and they were named "Wallowing Wilma" and "slow Sally" acording to what  was written above the windshield in the cab.  :-)
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

That's one very long back up move, good thing it wasn't tomorrow when 510 decided to crap out!

After arriving to LA, the 500 class units had their Software adjusted for Faster Loading

One of the Pennsylvanian engineers told a dispatcher; "it's not much of an engine" when they were using them on those trains. Fortunately they have been relegated to flatter territory.

Posted from Android

In October, 2010, LA Rail ran a special train from LA to Barstow on Saturday, then Barstow to Kelso and back to LA on Sunday.  Power was 509 and 510, however, 510 expired during the night and Barstow shop forces were unable to resusitate it, so we went Barstow to Kelso with 509 running backwards, and then all the way back to LA with only one unit a 6 cars.  How brave, perhaps foolhardy of us!  Somewhow we made it - 510 returned a few days later.

Norm

Norman Orfall
Helendale, CA
TIOGA PASS, a private railcar

The smoke, fire and oil-belching AMTK 510 wasn't the only problem.

Once 14(5) got back to Los Angeles, the engine that had been assigned
as a replacement, AMTK 509, was found to be in STATE OF GOOD REPAIR and
unable to operate.

Then, as a last resort, an F59 was substituted (the AMTK 463, not 763).

One problem with the 500's was the high output HEP generator. It robbed the engine of approx 750 HP. You were left with about 2500HP for traction.
One unit on the San Diegans would lose timetable time. Just with 5 cars. That is why you see them second out on the coast daylight with a P42 on 
the point. They can provide HEP for the entire consist easily.
But what you people don't know is that  when the HEP is isolated, they are good runners. If tuned up of course. Software to make them load up faster
isn't relevant. There is a similar comparison between the 200 class F 40's vs the 300 class. The 300's had a larger capacity HEP generator than
the 200's. The 200's lost approx 400 HP off the prime mover. Later when the 300's showed up, 600 HP was lost off of the primemover!
I know-I worked on both of them plus the 500 GE's.

CarolVoss Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The 500- 518 series ran here on the coast since at
> least 1994--the ATK engineers hated them as they
> were apparently originally intended for freight
> service and were slow to load etc.  Carl and I
> rode in the 507 and 518 in 1994 and they were
> named "Wallowing Wilma" and "slow Sally" acording
> to what  was written above the windshield in the
> cab.  :-)
> C

IIRC, they were built specificly for Amtrak as Passanger engines BUT could be easily reconfigured for frieght service and resold to a frieght railroad once Amtrak stopped operating, which was the thought amoungst a large group of people at that time.

jst3751 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> IIRC, they were built specificly for Amtrak as
> Passanger engines BUT could be easily reconfigured
> for frieght service and resold to a frieght
> railroad once Amtrak stopped operating, which was
> the thought amoungst a large group of people at
> that time.


That's what was said about the SDP40F, but in the case of the Dash 8-32BWH (the actual GE model designation),
Amtrak needed the new power and the P40 Genesis was too far off in the future, so the 500 and 503-519 were
ordered as a stopgap measure, with the 501 and 502 built for California and leased to Amtrak temporarily.  Amtrak's
future under W. Graham Claytor's leadership was pretty secure by then, and expansion was in the works, though all
that would change in a few years after Claytor retired.  The freight design of the 500s was a matter of expediency;
they could be built sooner than the custom Genesis design.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jst3751 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > IIRC, they were built specificly for Amtrak as
> > Passanger engines BUT could be easily
> reconfigured
> > for frieght service and resold to a frieght
> > railroad once Amtrak stopped operating, which
> was
> > the thought amoungst a large group of people at
> > that time.
>
>
> That's what was said about the SDP40F, but in the
> case of the Dash 8-32BWH (the actual GE model
> designation),
> Amtrak needed the new power and the P40 Genesis
> was too far off in the future, so the 500 and
> 503-519 were
> ordered as a stopgap measure, with the 501 and 502
> built for California and leased to Amtrak
> temporarily.  Amtrak's
> future under W. Graham Claytor's leadership was
> pretty secure by then, and expansion was in the
> works, though all
> that would change in a few years after Claytor
> retired.  The freight design of the 500s was a
> matter of expediency;
> they could be built sooner than the custom Genesis
> design.


Yes, that is what I was told by Danny Boehr who ran the power desk for ATK back in the 90's-- (he died in 2003)--- IIRC the engines were originally to go to the Santa Fe but ATK took them first.
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

To put some perspective on this, the 500s are now older than any of the E-units that amtrak bought from the railroads in 1971.  Everyone thought most of those units where worn out when Amtrak got them.

Dave

President of Amtrak got a mechanical eye-opener on his June "electric" trip.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, it seems there is a problem with the diesels.
It also seems electrics fail to load when the juice goes off, which is fairly frequently.
All it takes is an out of control chipmunk in the substation.
"Chipmunk Lives Matter."

So also are most of the Amfleet cars now as compared to the bulk of the Budd-built cars acquired in 1971.
The Amfleets are coming up on their 40 year rebuilds, another "previously unseen crisis" that the future Amtrak president will inherit from the current administration.

DavidP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To put some perspective on this, the 500s are now
> older than any of the E-units that amtrak bought
> from the railroads in 1971.  Everyone thought
> most of those units where worn out when Amtrak
> got them.
>
> Dave

It sucks the 500s always had problems overheating, especially climbing steep grades, sucks Amtrak Managment didn't try to find out why either!