I don't know if this is any use here, but if I am not mistaken I believe the MAX light rail train in the Portland metro area has some sound-reducing devices in select tight curves that are basically water spray heads that spray a little water on the track as the cars pass over it in an effort to reduce the loudest of the noises. I don't know if they work super well, but they don't cause any debilitating slippage that I have noticed.
I was just going to ask that. Whatever it is, sand, notch 7 and stick brake are still my weapons of choice against anything that wants some of my adhesion. LOL There's times you can't win with the units you've got no matter what. Some Dash 9s drop their load when they sense wheelslip and won't recover any meaningful amperage until you're on the point of a stall regardless of how much sand you throw. Anything EMD ever made after the 40-2 in DC (I only get AC power once in the proverbial blue moon) is also extremely slippery on any curve at all. They'll pull like no tomorrow on tangent then just give up when the rail bends or gets wet. Don't even talk about wet rail or greasers with SD75s, 60s or those gawd-awful 50s. Sometimes, there's just plain more tonnage than tractive effort and gravity wins. All in all, I'm sure the greasers help cut track and wheel wear or the carriers wouldn't spend the money to buy them but somebody's million-dollar project should be to find a way to keep the goo off the railhead.
it is almost impossibal to keep the grease off the railhead because the weight pushes the grease out from the flange a little bit like when you step on play-dough it spreads out farther
We have flange lubricators on our Locomotive, on the first driver set.... (Grin) It lets us get around those curves on Raton pass. Regards, Kevin Steam in 2011!!
Kevin, I can't tell if your tongue is planted into your cheek, and if so, how far, but.....oh wait a minute, I guess you're referring to your big beautiful 4-8-4.
...which leads to another point...quite a few engines have grease dispensers or dry sticks against the wheel flanges in addition to the ones on the track. Great for a double-dose of slick. :we-eek:
All newer locos on CSX are monitored by GPS and send download information to the road forman. ANY rules violation will be looked over by him/her. The road forman can then fail engineers on efficiency tests from his or her desk. Things that throw red flags are stretch braking, emergency in motion, improper dynamic brake, independent brake application above 15mph, overspeed, throttle stripping, etc. A lot of times a little independent brake application will keep a loco from slipping on greasers but that is a big NO-NO with ERAD.
Somewhat already done... those TORs will dispense a predetermined amount of grease based on the last known value of the consist (AEI scan, either from an existing scanner, or from one put in place specifically for the TORs, or adjustment from CYO). Ideally, they wait a set amount time after seeing the train so the locomotives can pass (I'm not 100% on where speed tables come from, and I don't believe they have any way of actually determining speed on the spot), then start dispensing the grease unitl that set amount is reached. The grease is designed to be 'consumed' on the top and sides as the train passes, so there's very little left on the top of the rail before the next train... you'll still get the gobs from it being pushed out and left trackside. Not perfect, but miles ahead of the old pingers.
I just heard through my extensive network of spys and informents. A NS tie gang just had a collision between two pieces of equipment becouse of a greaser. They worked through the location the day before and the section just reinstalled it that evening. They figure the greaser to be mainly at fault. But speed had to be a part of it.
