"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
02/11/2018 at 16:20 • Filed to: Two stroke, Railopnik
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"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
02/11/2018 at 16:20 • Filed to: Two stroke, Railopnik | 5
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How was your Saturday? Mine involved two strokes, hydrodynamic transmissions and an exploration of abandoned infrastructure.
I took a trip by train. Actually four of them, two in each direction. A somewhat irrational decision as it happened because in hindsight it would have been cheaper and quicker to drive. But I digress.
First up was the two stroke, one of these.
What we see is the pointy and unpowered end. Propulsion (yes, propulsion. The loco is always at the southern end and I was heading north. No, they don’t turn them around. You can’t easily swing around in something nearly 200m long.) is by a GM locomotive from Canada with a 3,200 bhp two stroke which supplies a stream of electrons. They’re rather less aerodynamic and look like this and are typically in this state of grubbiness:
Loco hauled rolling stock is supposed to be something of a premium item as compared to the more usual (here) stock with underfloor engines because you can’t hear the engine. It’s quieter certainly but still gave a rather non-premium bumpy ride until I realised that if you can sit in the middle of the coach you’re between rather than on the wheels and it’s a more satisfactory experience.
Leg two, on a branch line, involved one of these, built in Japan in 2000 and powered by a brace of 350 bhp Cummins diesels.
My pre-boarding preparations involved walking along until I identified the location of the engines (towards the middle, if you find yourself on one) and avoiding sitting above them. Still a fairly noisy experience starting off though. First gear (gears on a train? Yes! Hydrodynamic transmission) involves a loose torque converter and lots of noisy revs as you accelerate. Things quieten down as you reach maximum trundling speed and you spend quite a lot of time coasting downhill anyway. I say trundling, but it actually reached about 110 or 115 kmh which isn’t that far off the point where it could be called high speed in America...
One thing you notice a lot of on railway journeys is just how much of the infrastructure has been abandoned. Freight by rail has almost ceased here so you seem mysterious derelict sheds, rusty lines leading to dead ends and decaying wagons. These ones are going nowhere.
Steam’s gone too but you still see these. I asked the platform dispatcher what it was. “Water tower”. No further information was forthcoming.
Water in the tank upstairs, stores downstairs I guess. It’s been there since about 1848.
Overall though, just over an hour and a half plus time getting to the station for a journey that would take a total of about an hour and a quarter by road and would cost a bit less in fuel.
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> Cé hé sin
02/11/2018 at 16:31 |
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*tries to member anything note worthy bout saturday*
nope.... i did nothing (well i made a pretty kick ass angus cheese burger and fries for me daughter.... veggi burger and fries for the missus.... nothing for meself as i was quite happy sticking to liquid bread for the day)
(also that water tower is giving me some serious fallout vibes... i love it)
pip bip - choose Corrour
> Cé hé sin
02/12/2018 at 04:34 |
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Saturday?
went to the state library of Victoria, trying to find an ad from 1994 for a Yugo car. found it too.
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Cé hé sin
> pip bip - choose Corrour
02/12/2018 at 06:13 |
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Was it worth it?
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pip bip - choose Corrour
> Cé hé sin
02/12/2018 at 06:27 |
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yes.
yes it was.