Re: (rshsdepot) "450-Ton Locomotive at the Waldorf-Astoria"

["Paul S. Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

Was getting rid of the catenary by the Milwaukee Road (and C&NW too?) a good
move or a bad move..
Does the South Shore use same power as Illinois Central and NE corridor?
- -----Original Message-----
From: JIMBEAR <ribear_@_cox.net>
To: rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net <rshsdepot@lists.railfan.net>
Date: Thursday, March 07, 2002 12:05 AM
Subject: Re: (rshsdepot) "450-Ton Locomotive at the Waldorf-Astoria"


>Lucky and Daniel,
>It was even more complicated than that. The New Haven's overhead
>catenary system ran on 11,000 volt AC current, while the NYC's 3rd
>rail system ran on 600 volt DC. The FL-9s were ordered at a time
>when the NH under the lamentable (but unlamented) Patrick McGinnis
>was considering abandoning the entire electrification from New Haven
>to Woodlawn Junction. The FL-9s were designed to run from Boston
>to Woodlawn on diesel, then switch over to the NYC's 3rd rail power
>at Woodlawn to comply with NYC ordinances that required electric
>motive power. The FL-9 didn't need the large AC pantographs used
>on the other NH electrics because the catenary wasn't supposed to be
>there anymore, but they did need special 3rd rail shoes that could be
>set in two different positions -- one for the NYC's under-running 3rd
>rails, and another for the LIRR/PRR top-contact rail in case they had
>run into Penn Station. As Daniel mentioned, the electrical control system
>system required to change from the onboard power to 3rd rail power
>was complicated and never really perfected in the FL-9s -- there were
>several cases of electrical fires in FL-9s including one that had to go
>back to EMD for a complete rebuild.
>
>Jim.
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <CoolGuy127_@_aol.com>
>To: <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 11:30 PM
>Subject: Re: (rshsdepot) "450-Ton Locomotive at the Waldorf-Astoria"
>
>
>> In a message dated 3/6/02 11:15:09 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>> luckyshow_@_mindspring.com writes:
>>
>>
>> > re: NH EMD FL-9's-why would a New Haven power not have catenary but
only a
>> > shoe?
>>
>>        As a layman, it would seem to me that using electric power to run
a
>> diesel-electric engine should be no more complicated than taking a laptop
>> computer and plugging it into an electric outlet.  I would have thought
that
>> the railroad would want to take advantage of the availability of cheap
>> electric power and would choose to run the engines by electric power
whenever
>> possible.
>>
>>        The facts, though, apparently are a little different.  For some
reason
>> that I don't fully understand, the conversion of electric power from
catenary
>> or third-rail to the type needed to run a diesel-electric engine is very
>> complicated.  It is so complicated that these FL-9-type engines operate
under
>> electric power only when absolutely necessary.  They cannot achieve full
>> power when operating in electric mode.  Thus, Metro-North operates trains
>> with dual-power Genesis engines from Grand Central Terminal in New York
City
>> to Poughkeepsie.  The line is electrified all the way to Croton-Harmon,
but
>> the dual-mode engines operate in electric power mode only until they get
out
>> of the Park Avenue tunnels.  The rest of the way, they operate in diesel
>> mode.
>>
>>        So, to answer the first question, the only purpose of the electric
>> mode of the FL-9 was to get the train out of the Park Avenue tunnels.
Thus,
>> there was no need to have pantographs for the catenary on the New Haven
line.
>>
>>                    Daniel Chazin
>>                    Teaneck, NJ
>
>
>=================================
>The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
>railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #307
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