Winterization Hatches SD60's

[Jack Doran]

I seen some Oakway SD60's roll though Galesburg the other day. It looks like they are getting the winterization hatches back on them. When I first seen a SD60 it had it removed and that was the way a lot of them were. Now a lot of them have them back on. I read in a book their lease is up at the end of 2001. Might they be getting ready to go somewhere. http://www.trainboard.com/eek.gif

------------------
Keep on railroad'n

[ed pinkley]

i remember reading somewhere that the bnsf requires the winterazition hatch be on the first fan. the sooline also runs em that way i think.

------------------
ed pinkley home of the pinkley taurus

[tunnel88]

Was the hatch put back on a unit that didn't have it? I know some units have em and some don't...

[Gats]

The Oakways came with hatches new. They were removed in the early/mid-90's. Interesting to hear they are being replaced again.
Ed, you will find all locos fitted with winter hatches had them on the first radiator fans. The only exception are those with only one radiator fan like the PhIV GP9's and GP18's.

Gary.

------------------
Gary A. Rose
The Unofficial TC&W page (http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/)
TrainBoard Moderator and Member No.377
Partying in the Olympic City - Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...
N to the Nth degree!

[tunnel88]

What i was asking was are you sure the hatch was off of the unit to began with?

[Gats]

My understanding was BN went through a period of removing them off all the SD60/M's, amongst others. This I read somewhere. I might be able to check more into this.
But the reason for replacing them on the Oakways is the interesting part though. As Jack spectulates, their leases are due in late 2001. I wonder whether that is the reason for their restoration since that is 15 months away, or is there an expectation of a severe winter this year. Any forecasts been given?

Gary.

[Kevin M]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gats:
I wonder whether that is the reason for their restoration since that is 15 months away, or is there an expectation of a severe winter this year. Any forecasts been given?

Gary.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Up here in Washington we have been told we are gonna have a wetter colder winter this year. yea, for me that means from November through The first of may will be nothing but cluds and rain, last year we had rain everyday for 5 months, and its gonna be worse this year! Mabey BN will be forced to Rotary Stevens or Stampede! or at least bring out the big plow!
Kevin

[Gats]

5 months of rain? Wow, I bet you of all can breath under water! http://www.trainboard.com/biggrin.gif
I know of Seattle's reputation for being precipitous 250/365 days a year, but to have it straight, not for this little black duck.
Has BN's successor replaced all the concrete ties up Steven's and Stampede Pass way? They were having trouble with them dissolving due to the constantly wet conditions.

Gary.

[Kevin M]

From what I can see from Hwy 2 Most of Stevens pass is concret ties, there are a few places that arn't though. I'm not quite sure how much of Stampedee Pass has concrete, a good portion of it is though. I've never heard of BN or BNSf having problems with ties disolving cause of the rain up here, they stand up to it pretty well. Whe I say we had 5 months of strait rain I dont mean it rains all day, It only has to rain for a few minites to quailify and we get alot of misty rain were its not big drops, its like beiong in a cloud almost, its really annoying.
Kevin

[Jack Doran]

The only reason why I was wondering about the hatches were. The fans are a primer color were the hatches are suppose to go. For the units that don't have them yet. I seen Oakway 9069 though here the other day and it did not have it on yet. Its fans were primer gray. And these are the only units besides the SD 9's that have these hatches. The phase 1 SD60M used to have them but they were removed along time ago. Maybe since the C44-9W's are coming at an alarming rate they may leave early. http://www.trainboard.com/eek.gif Just a sepeculation!

------------------
Keep on railroad'n

[This message has been edited by Jack Doran (edited 01 October 2000).]

[tunnel88]

I saw about 5 Oakways today and all had hatches... I saw a SD60M as well but can't remember if it had the hatch or not~ http://www.trainboard.com/redface.gif

[Gats]

Sorry for the delay, Jack. I think you will find the primer painted fans are refurbished fans that have replaced the originals in preparation for reinstalling the winter hatches.
From a maintenance viewpoint, I know the last thing I would want to do is replace a dud fan after the hatch has been reinstalled http://www.trainboard.com/biggrin.gif

Gary.

------------------
Gary A. Rose http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/cat01.gif
The Unofficial TC&W page (http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/)
TrainBoard Moderator and Member No.377
N to the Nth degree!

[Art Winter]

Just what is a winterization hatch?

Art

[CPRailfan]

I was just gonn aask the same question Art.
Could someone help us out?

------------------
What's that?
A train horn?
Sorry, gotta go!

[Gats]

My take on this;

It's the box you find on some EMD (in this case) locomotives over the forward radiator fan. It channels warm air from the radiator back into the engine room. I imagine it does this by a shutter arrangement which when closed passes air warmed by the radiator coils, after being drawn through the radiator grills, through some form of vent back into the engine area rather than to 'atmosphere'.
The idea is to maintain a higher engine temperature, and greater efficiency, during the cold winter months.
As an aside, the engine cooling system normally used in a diesel locomotive is water based rather than glycol based (as in your car) and that is why they are idling when not in use - they suffer engine freeze if left off for extended periods. I believe this is when the water actually freezes in the cooling galleries within the engine.

I'm sure someone will correct, or add to, this as I am working purely off assumption. http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif

Gary.

------------------
Gary A. Rose http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/cat01.gif
The Unofficial TC&W page (http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/)
TrainBoard Moderator and Member No.377
N to the Nth degree!

[Art Winter]

Gats.

Is this something relatively new? My railroading ended in the early 80s and I have never seen these. We ran in the mountains and I noticed that the fans were thermostaticly controled and only as many as needed would run. At times you could hear a banging noise as if shutters were opening or closing. By the way do you know Ray Bell from Burpengary he's on the Atlas F1 racing forum.

Art

[tunnel88]

I think they had em back as far as the early GPs...

Quick def.
DEFINITION, WINTERIZATION HATCH
What is a winterization hatch?

A hatch or cover used to cover up or close off the normal ventilation
for oil-coolers, air-coolers or excess fan/radiator area for extreme
cold weather.
(http://www.canit.se/~griffon/modrail/faq/r2sourc.txt)

[CPRailfan]

thank you very much! I'll look for these hatches next time I go train watching.

------------------
What's that?
A train horn?
Sorry, gotta go!

[Jack Doran]

I seen a Phase 1 SD60M the other day that had the hatch on. I thought that all of them were remove on the SD60M's. Guess I was wrong.

------------------
Keep on railroad'n

[BN4EVR]

May I offer a suggestion as to why the winterization hatches are reappearing on the Oakway SD60s and SD60Ms? OK then. These locomotives are becoming increasingly common again up here in North Dakota. My guess is that Glendive is reinstalling them for the
upcoming winter here on the frozen prairie. Personally, I don't mind one bit that locomotives come up here to run out their last hours. It's kind of like the F-units in Washington in 1981!

[Tom Bentley]

I saw 2 Oakways thru here today. They both had the hatches back on. I read somewhere that they were removed because of low clearances at some power plants. All loaded coal trains thru here any more all have MACS on them except for a few with foreign power.

------------------
QFAN

[D21]

Re: The concrete ties on Stampede/Stevens

I also heard a while back that they were having problems with those ties. I think that because the ground was so moist there, that they tended to shift often and erode quicker. But that is just a guess, I really am not sure.

I am a newbie to this board. Any advice or suggestions?

Scott

[Maxwell Plant]

Welcome and have fun! Are you just a railfan or do you model too? Try anything that looks fun here. Smiles http://www.trainboard.com/biggrin.gif http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif http://www.trainboard.com/wink.gif http://www.trainboard.com/frown.gif http://www.trainboard.com/tongue.gif http://www.trainboard.com/redface.gif http://www.trainboard.com/mad.gif UBB codes Bold Itallic BOTH and you can go to profile and make a signature, like this below...

------------------
Brent Tidaback, Member #234
BNSF Railfan-to-the Max and a N-Scaler to boot!
"Ship it on the Route of The Roadrunners!"
The Aransas Odessa & Western, a division of the BNSF

[Gats]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Scott McKemy:
Re: The concrete ties on Stampede/Stevens

I also heard a while back that they were having problems with those ties. I think that because the ground was so moist there, that they tended to shift often and erode quicker. But that is just a guess, I really am not sure.
Scott<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Welcome aboard, Scott.

I heard the same thing. Due to the wet conditions the concrete ties (or sleepers) are 'melting' and failing prematyrely. The plan it to replace them with wood.
Steel was mentioned somewhere along the line but these have proved to be as short-lived as concrete, particularly in tunnels in wet areas.

Gary.

------------------
Gary A. Rose http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/cat01.gif
The Unofficial TC&W page (http://www.pnc.com.au/~audiosat/)
TrainBoard Moderator and Member No.377
N to the Nth degree!

[D21]

Hi:

I am a railfan, but do a bit of N Scale modeling. Right now, im beginning to go into the UP Steam/Diesel transition era. Hopefully this new Rivarossi Management will agree to produce some Big Boys and Challengers for Con Cor.

Once I get the hang of this board, I will try and mess around with a signature. :) I wonder if that smily will do what I think it will.

Scott

[D21]

Nope, nope. Have to remember to keep the nose out http://www.trainboard.com/smile.gif

Scott

[Colonel]

Hi Scott,
I'd like to welcome you too trainboard, we have lots of forums include N scale and Union Pacific which will suit you, we also have the inspection pit forum for all general topics on model railroading. I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

------------------
Regards

Paul Cassar-Moderator & Member number 50
http://www.iconbazaar.com/people/sleuth.gif SPAD Investigator #1
ICQ 61198217
http://users.bigpond.net.au/railroad2000