Alright, we've all been wanting to see 4014 put in some hard work instead of simply coasting along. Well it's happening right now. 4014 is pushing a stalled frieght in NE. Here's a link to the Facebook video.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Too bad the person taking the video couldn't hold the camera/phone still!
@Hot Water posted:Too bad the person taking the video couldn't hold the camera/phone still!
.... and shoot with his phone held horizontally!
@Hot Water posted:Too bad the person taking the video couldn't hold the camera/phone still!
Jack, in the few videos that are posted about this, we can all clearly hear 4014 grunting & snorting, sounding like she’s making power, …..but what about 4015? Is she just along for the ride? Or is she pushing too?….somewhere I heard 4014 isn’t allowed or capable to make all the power she can??…..
Pat
@harmonyards posted:Jack, in the few videos that are posted about this, we can all clearly hear 4014 grunting & snorting, sounding like she’s making power, …..but what about 4015? Is she just along for the ride? Or is she pushing too?…
Apparently not, as one of the better videos shows the diesel is only at idle.
.somewhere I heard 4014 isn’t allowed or capable to make all the power she can??…
Not true! However, in some past incidents she wasn't steaming all that well, but in this paticular case, she is at such slow speed, there does not seem to be any issues being at full throttle, once she stopped slipping and gained a bit of speed.
Pat
@Hot Water posted:
Yeah, ….I was listening closely when 4015 went by in the video, definitely sounded like she didn’t have a care in the world, and 4014 was definitely doing the work, by evidence of the slip, ….when she got a grip, it definitely sounded like some power was being put on the ground……maybe not her angriest moment, but sure sounded like she was getting angry,……😉
Pat
Cool to see the big guy working for a living. 
That was awesome! Whoever was at the throttle of 4014 must have been feeling really good.
Dan Weinhold
Guess I can eat crow, she’s barking in that/this video. About time with wheel slippage
That was really awesome. I can think of a few other people that should be eating crow about now, a lot of crow, I mean like bushel baskets. It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong, I wonder if we will be hearing from anyone else on this subject,
@superwarp1 posted:Guess I can eat crow, she’s barking in that/this video. About time with wheel slippage
What a joy to hear the beast pushing the train through the grade crossing
What a glorious sight! Thanks for sharing.
This reminds me of a Railway Series story written by the late Reverend W. Audrey. It is titled Super Rescue and the plot is about a failed steam locomotive coming to the rescue of two diesels. Though it is a children’s book it is still fun to reminisce on the old days of steam.
That's pretty awesome! What a beast of a machine!
Just out of curiosity, is it standard practice that the next train shove a stalled train to get it going again? Or was this a right place, right time for a little "hey ma, watch this!" action?
@Boilermaker1 posted:Just out of curiosity, is it standard practice that the next train shove a stalled train to get it going again? Or was this a right place, right time for a little "hey ma, watch this!" action?
I have to believe that this would be somewhat standard operating practice if the situation happened to arise. Why wouldn't you do that, having a train stalled on the tracks for hours costs a lot of money and really screws up schedules!
I absolutely loved watching the video. In the first video I heard the wheel slip and in the following, much higher quality video, we got to see it. Fabulous !!!
@Boilermaker1 posted:Just out of curiosity, is it standard practice that the next train shove a stalled train to get it going again? Or was this a right place, right time for a little "hey ma, watch this!" action?
It's happened before with UP big steam. I can't remember if it was 844 or 3895. @Hot Water would know more.
@superwarp1 posted:It's happened before with UP big steam. I can't remember if it was 844 or 3895. @Hot Water would know more.
It was 844, back in the early 2000s (2005?). There was a stalled westbound manifest train that had lost one of their 3 SD40s, due to ground relay action (thus no loading). The freight had stalled pretty much at the beginning of Archer Hill, thus blocking the westbound main track. There were many, MANY eastbound freights, thus preventing 844 and her light train consist, from crossing over and continuing of to Cheyenne. The obvious option was for 844 to couple onto the rear of the stalled freight, and assist all the way up the hill.
I believe I wrote the story for either Trains Magazine, or Railfan & Railroad Magazine, can't remember which.
One consideration is that 4014 is pulling only a light consist of about seven cars, so it has significant tractive effort to spare. But it seems to me that in normal operation, a heavily loaded following train with engines operating near capacity would not be able to provide much assistance to a stalled train ahead of it (unless it uncoupled from its own train first).
@B Smith posted:One consideration is that 4014 is pulling only a light consist of about seven cars, so it has significant tractive effort to spare. But it seems to me that in normal operation, a heavily loaded following train with engines operating near capacity would not be able to provide much assistance to a stalled train ahead of it (unless it uncoupled from its own train first).
And THAT is generally what they do. After helping the stalled train, the units would be cut off and run light back in order to retrieve their train.
Hot Water -- Thanks for confirming my supposition.
