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Re: ET44C4 Failure Stories?
Author: Bill Maltby
Date: 12-20-2016 - 15:05
Sounds like last week there were several trains with C4's that were having considerable difficulty getting out of Livingston and over Bozeman pass. There was quite a discussion of this on the MRL group on Yahoo. Sounds like MRL is adding a unit to the head end of heavy WB's with C4's to get them over the pass. Are these extra units showing up in Helena?
Some comments cut and pasted from the MRL group on Yahoo.
12/13:Reports are that overnight was not a good one for the BNSF C4s (six
axles only four traction motors) on MRL. A grain trains stalled out
climbing Mullan just a few miles out of Helena and another grain
train stalled out climbing Winston.
12/15:Heard earlier on our Livingston Stream this evening
(http://www.railroadradio.net/content/view/252/299/) the Livingston
Roundhouse forces pressed MRL 255 into helper service along with MRL
4404 and 4405, with the SD40 in the middle in what is reminiscent of
UP's DDA40X-SD40H-DDA40X lashups of the late 80s. I'm not sure if they
pressed 255 into service because of some MACs being down or they were
making up yet another helper set to help fill in some rough parts of the
availability schedule, but it was an exciting trip for them up Bozeman
helping a loaded grain train with "Sanders working all the way up the
hill" as one of the crews reported. They are talking about Helper Set #7
on the Livingston Radio, something I've never heard before.
12/15:> In his words "I doubt we'd be able to get started, it was all we could do to make here to Livingston with these two C4s"
12/16:Much earlier this AM a Loaded Grain with but one C4 on the headend and
MRL 252 added at Livingston with the 4404/255/4405 Helper Set and some
sort of DPU fell down on the hill at MP124.5 The Helper started slipping
in the heavy snow and that was all she wrote. (They were heard to
remark... you can't see the tracks we were just on...) This stall ended
up delaying the East Bound Q-train. The Grainer had to carefully back
down to Livingston where the crew died and it's still there as of this
writing. What's interesting they made plans to remove the 252 (for
"Testing"). There is another Grain Train getting ready to leave with 2
C4s and they are going to add either 251 or 263 to the point. Will be
interesting.. You can tune in via our page here to monitor their progress:
It sounds like the train is close to stalling out at the 'crossovers', but they will see if they can make it on to the main. Three more heavies behind it so 'it has to work.'
Some comments cut and pasted from the MRL group on Yahoo.
12/13:Reports are that overnight was not a good one for the BNSF C4s (six
axles only four traction motors) on MRL. A grain trains stalled out
climbing Mullan just a few miles out of Helena and another grain
train stalled out climbing Winston.
12/15:Heard earlier on our Livingston Stream this evening
(http://www.railroadradio.net/content/view/252/299/) the Livingston
Roundhouse forces pressed MRL 255 into helper service along with MRL
4404 and 4405, with the SD40 in the middle in what is reminiscent of
UP's DDA40X-SD40H-DDA40X lashups of the late 80s. I'm not sure if they
pressed 255 into service because of some MACs being down or they were
making up yet another helper set to help fill in some rough parts of the
availability schedule, but it was an exciting trip for them up Bozeman
helping a loaded grain train with "Sanders working all the way up the
hill" as one of the crews reported. They are talking about Helper Set #7
on the Livingston Radio, something I've never heard before.
12/15:> In his words "I doubt we'd be able to get started, it was all we could do to make here to Livingston with these two C4s"
12/16:Much earlier this AM a Loaded Grain with but one C4 on the headend and
MRL 252 added at Livingston with the 4404/255/4405 Helper Set and some
sort of DPU fell down on the hill at MP124.5 The Helper started slipping
in the heavy snow and that was all she wrote. (They were heard to
remark... you can't see the tracks we were just on...) This stall ended
up delaying the East Bound Q-train. The Grainer had to carefully back
down to Livingston where the crew died and it's still there as of this
writing. What's interesting they made plans to remove the 252 (for
"Testing"). There is another Grain Train getting ready to leave with 2
C4s and they are going to add either 251 or 263 to the point. Will be
interesting.. You can tune in via our page here to monitor their progress:
It sounds like the train is close to stalling out at the 'crossovers', but they will see if they can make it on to the main. Three more heavies behind it so 'it has to work.'
