Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"Thou Shalt Get Sidetracked by Bullshit, Every Goddamned Time." -- The Ghoul

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck,
"FOFF" = Felonious Old Fat Fuck,
"COFF" = Convicted Old Felonious Fool,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset,
A/K/A P01135809, A/K/A Dementia Donnie, A/K/A Felon^34,
A/K/A Dolt-45, A/K/A Don Snoreleone

Friday, November 1, 2013

Because It's Friday

UP 844 pulls a train without a diesel "helper".

Posted by on or about 10:25
Labels: ,

4 comments:

LRod said...

I've always been annoyed seeing an F, E, SD, or GP cut in behind (or, quelle horreur, sometimes ahead of) a steamer. In many of the videos I regularly see, they explain it as needed to help with dynamic braking, but I wonder how they managed those same grades back in the old days before the diesels. I understand that almost all those really heavy iron ladies were built after the advent of the diesels, but still.

As to this vid, with only a five (or seven, depending on whether you count tenders or not) car consist, and only one a true passenger coach, I'm not surprised there's no aux power, if that's the reason they use them so much. I guess the other explanation is the heating/cooling/electrical requirements of the consist, necessitating the diesels for head end power.

Another thing that annoys me is that UP has never painted their auxiliary tender(s) black to match the power. I don't care about the marking of the rest of the rolling stock, but the head end would look so much better all black.

By the way, the chase cam must have had a steady mount. I've never seen such stable shots in pace. All the vids I've seen from Mark I and TSG tend to be on the shaky side. Most of them seem to be from the '80s or '90s, so maybe technology hadn't caught up for them, yet.

LRod
ZJX, ORD, ZAU retired

11/01/2013 12:17 PM
Comrade Misfit said...

One explanation is that if the locomotive has to dump fires for any reason, the diesel can cut in and quickly clear the main line. On private excursions, the railroad can get rather shirty if the main line is fouled for any length of time. For the UP, it's their loco, so they may be willing to run the chance now and then.

11/01/2013 2:12 PM
Eck! said...

multiple reasons, Engine failure is always a risk. Total load is a risk sometimes as wear and tear means more maintenance. The reason I"ve read most is a lot of the non UP engines are not up to standard for radios and signaling systems plus some cannot supply the needed power or air (or the correct levels) for the load they are towing.

UP is an exception as they have a full maintenance staff and location plus they have continuing experience to know what is reasonable and what could be a big problem/risk. Knowing what the locos were designed for wand what they did with them for 60+ years allows for better decision making. That and large locos with the right gear and full equipment allows them to run manifest if it makes sense.

Doesn't hurt if you also own the track!

Eck!

11/01/2013 10:10 PM
Grog said...

Ahh, that's a mellow whistle. :)

Misfit, this an off topic note, but here's a link for the "napalm sticks to kids" you have listed up top.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpsaLApA2eQ

11/03/2013 11:01 AM

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