It's a DC class locomotive, 82 ton, 1230kW and 140kN of tractive effort. All from a General Motors 12 645cc V12
Heh!
Here's a big V12 that starts slightly better than our Golf on really cold mornings, as a few committee members will testify!.... It starts at about 00:58....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwg4iRcf60
Wow - that is a lot of smoke!!! Very impressive clip
*favourited*
Sorry Kieran but did that thing actually start ?
and why did i sit watching it trying
"Finishing second means you are the first person to lose"................ (Gilles Villeneuve)
quite compelling watching
Bye for Now!
Hang on a second - Need to adjust my anorak!Originally Posted by Mark 4
I'm no 'spotter' but these big engines are quite something, especially when you're stood near one as it opens up!
The engine did start. It 'catches' at around 54 seconds in. The running-up after that is because the governor on these engines is oil pressure driven and it takes a while for the oil to get thin and hot enough for it to work properly. Whilst the oil is cold the pressure is still very high, so the governor keeps pegging things back untill pressure drops... This almost stalls the engine, so then it opens the taps again and it runs up. The English Electric diesels in a lot of '60s-->1980s British Rail locos are based on very old designs. No Glow plugs or anything like that.
That one's actually pretty good... Try this for a "START, you &%$£@#!!!" engine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4MjC1Ywofg
I like trains too - I remember seeing the massive coal trains that go down to Richard's Bay (a bulk sea terminal in South Africa) - a 22 000 tonne gross coal train
http://www.bwring.net/rail/sar/11E03..._coallink.html
Hang on a second - Need to adjust my anorak!
The engine did start. It 'catches' at around 54 seconds in. The running-up after that is because the governor on these engines is oil pressure driven and it takes a while for the oil to get thin and hot enough for it to work properly. Whilst the oil is cold the pressure is still very high, so the governor keeps pegging things back untill pressure drops... This almost stalls the engine, so then it opens the taps again and it runs up. The English Electric diesels in a lot of '60s-->1980s British Rail locos are based on very old designs. No Glow plugs or anything like that.
That one's actually pretty good... Try this for a "START, you &%$£@#!!!" engine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4MjC1Ywofg
How do they "crank" the engine - must have a shedload of batteries or something? What does the "after five minutes of priming" mean?
Normally they use the generator that's on the end of the engine. The batteries energise the coils and the whole thing becomes a dirty great starter motor. Some of them are started with compressed air, though that's not so common on UK locos.
'Priming' as I understand it is a auxilliary oil pump is switched on to get the oil across the bearings so they're hydrodynamic when the beast is cranked. Doesn't normally take so long but that engine had only just been reassembled, so I imagine they took their time to make sure nothing was oil starved.
All very well, but the two classic diesel locomotive sounds have not been covered:
1) Napier Deltic.
We all know about inline engines with a single bank of cylinders driving one crankshaft, and V engines with two banks of cylinders driving one. But what about the unique Deltic, with three banks of cylinders driving three crankshafts (two pistons per cylinder. Sort of three V engines stuck together...). For an example of the unique sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojkAY...eature=related
2) Paxman Valenta.
This one was a staple of my childhood, when my father would come home from business trips on the train. We would always wait on the platform for the HST to leave, just to witness the screaming turbos of the Valenta.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ICc...eature=related
I'm not sure who wins the sad award in this thread, but it is 1:30am so it's probably me.
It's been a crazy year, But through all the damage done,
I have turned and I have learned, To make next year a better one,
Singing Oh Hallelujah,
Singing Oh I am home.
This is the coolest sounding train I've ever heard - it just sounds MAD!!!
Garratt's are coolerYou should know what one is Ryan
How do you know it's not fitted with Garratt's?Garratt's are cooler
NO, Garratt, not Garrett
Doh.I should know this but I don't. Learn something new everyday
The Garratt was most widely used in Africa with Zimbabwe currently maintaining an average of four locomotives to perform shunting duties around the city of Bulawayo. The most powerful of all Garratts irrespective of gauge were the South African Railways' eight GL class locomotives of 1929-30, which delivered 78,650 lbf (349.85 kN) of tractive effort.
Cheese is rice that is some power... "a reputation as amongst the largest and most powerful steam locomotives in the world."
Thanks B - that was interesting reading!
There is a GMAM in Parnell, it's F'n HUGE, especially considering it is 3ft 6in gauge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainline_Steam
Didn't realise that they owned another 2 that are still in SA
GVR also have an awesome little 2-4-4-2 Mallet which I've been on, and I've also been on the Garratt at PBR in Melbourne.
Isaac, I am with you: The Paxman Valenta is mostest seriously coolest engine in the world, especially the newer revised units that run quieter....until they're on boost!! GNER have a couple of them and I have been impressed. Apparently National Express are going the same way.
There are two re-engining programs for the HSTs. One is to the Paxman 12VP185, and the other is to the MTU 16V 4000. First Great Western are using the latter, whilst most others are using the former. The MTU powered ones sound like virgin voyagers (being the same engine...).
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