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05/02/02 7:39 |
Bill Kuebler |
All available photo
evidence shows that the Phase 3
conversions occurred well before the Loewy scheme was first applied to a set of units (6506 in March
1953). If memory serves, this
conversion was done to sets 6503-6506 about the time, or just before the time, they got F-5As to replace
the middle F-3B unit--October 1948.
Not sure about when they did
6500-6502, but would guess about the same time or very shortly thereafter. By the time 6500-6502
got their F-7As to replace one of the
original F-3B units in each set (Spring
1949), I believe the As had been converted to Phase 3. By the time of the Loewy scheme, all the
major conversions and louvre add-ons
(middle louvre on most B-units, for example)
had already been completed. This last remark concerns only the F-3/5/7s, since the first F-9s were
acquired in 1954, during the Loewy
era. The F-9s went through no major
modifications that would affect their outward appearance, except for the various conversions back
and forth between passenger and
freight service, which resulted in engine
number, steam generator, and paint scheme changes. Now you've given me a second reason to
go through all my F-unit pics/slides.
Will do so one of these days. Should be
able to ID most of the individual units as to the color of those anti-slip treads on the noses and
maybe nail down the conversions for
6500-6502. This much I can say right now:
The white treads were a 1960s thing, and it involved more than a few units. For you modelers out there (and
historians for that matter), here's
one to ponder: Ever notice that on trains 25 and 26 during the period 1956-62, whenever there was one F-9A in
a three-unit locomotive (trioed with
F-3/5/7s) the F-9A was almost always
the trailing unit? Rarely was it the lead
unit. The NP even went so far as to turn sets around, if necessary, so as to make the F-9A the
trailing unit on trains 25 and 26.
This rather consistent pattern did not
hold true for other passenger trains in that era. Lots of photos show trains 407-408, for example,
with the single F-9A leading a pair
of F-3s. Nor did this pattern hold true
after 1962, even though there were still many instances of one F-9 unit being trioed with two of the
older models on trains 25 and
26. Just for the fun of it, let's
call this trivia stumper #2. Any
ideas? All your hints appear in the paragraph above. While we're at it, let's add question #3
to the series. Throughout the diesel
era (not just 1956-62), whenever a set
of passenger units included an F-9A and an F-3/5/7A, several NP enginemen in passenger service (I have
no idea how many, but it was more
than a few) very much preferred to have the
F-9A in the lead, given a choice. The reason for this is related to the reason behind question #2
above. And one more hint: this
preference for the F-9A in the lead did not hold true for freight unit sets. With mixed F-3/5/7 and F-9 freight unit sets, they didn't seem to care
which type they had in the lead. This could be rather interesting. I'm
curious to see what ideas you come up
with. Admittedly, the answer to #3 here
involves a very tiny detail, one that few fans would be aware of, but that enginemen were acutely
aware of. NP vets, especially
enginemen, are disqualified from this trivia
quiz. (Actually, they're over-qualified for it.) Detail variation, aint scheme, passenger,
F3, F5, F7, Pine Tree, Loewy, 1940s, 1947, 1948, skid strips,
modifications Compiler C Frissell |
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05/04/02 16:30 |
Bill Kuebler |
1. In a mixed locomotive
consist, why would the F-9A usually
be the trailing unit on trains 25/26 during the period 1956-1962? LWBaxter nailed it.
The story of NP's electro-pneumatic brake system on trains 25/26 is a long one and full of
controversy and interesting tidbits.
This is the short version of the story, with lots of details left out, but enough to cover our purposes here and a little more. NP air brake manuals
referred to the electro-pneumatic brake
system with the initials "SA", so
that's what I'll call it here. "SA" refers to the electro-pneumatic system, and
"AU" refers to the standard
automatic brake system. These were the letters used in the master controllers, too. The SA system was used on the NCL for a
short time beginning in 1952, when
those trains were fully streamlined and when
there were only F-3/5/7 units on the roster. By the way, NP's F-units, both freight and passenger,
all models, all came equipped with
the 24RL automatic brake valve system.
This was a very popular brake valve among enginemen. It was very precise. As one once told me,
"If you wanted to set seven
pounds, you got seven pounds, not ten." The newer 26L type was much less popular. Also, the 24RL
was a pressure maintaining system, a
nice feature that offset leakage
losses in the train line.
The SA system, which involved extra components, including controllers in the cab units, was intended
for use only on the NCL. No other NP
trains used that system. The SA system
also involved special equipment on all the NCL fleet cars. Not just any car could be used in the NCL
during those years if SA operation
was to occur. For example, only a few of the
500-517 series day coaches were initially equipped to be "trainlined" with the NCL (this
included PA components, too).
Essentially, the SA brake system worked much like a straight-air system (hence, the letters "SA"), at
least in terms of the results it
produced. It was very fast acting and
all the cars' brakes applied or released virtually simultaneously, a remarkable feature that the standard AU system did not have. The 24RL brake valve
was used with either system, but it
functioned differently in SA mode than
it did in AU mode. Anyway,
the NP discontinued SA use shortly after it was first used, but left most of the system components in the diesel units and cars. Then came the F-9s,
beginning in 1954. They also had 24RL
brake valves. When they first showed
up, the NP was not using the SA system.
Then Jess Cannon replaced George Ernstrom as General Mechanical Superintendent on 3/31/56. One
of Cannon's first decisions was to reinstate
the use of the SA system on the NCL.
So as to be able to use F-9s in locomotives, the NP equipped the passenger F-9s with hoses and connections for the SA system, but not controllers. Thus,
in order for the SA system on the NCL
to be functional, no F-9 in the consist
could be the lead unit. If an F-9 did lead, the AU mode had to be used. This did happen on occasion,
but not often. The requirement for
F-9s to trail for SA mode operation seldom
posed any problem, as there were not that many F-9s then. On occasion, a three-unit consist of all F-9s
appeared on the NCL, and in that
case, the AU mode was used. As for other
trains, it didn't matter. All passenger units were compatible for any position in the
consist, brake wise, if the AU mode
was used. Finally, the NP
permanently discontinued the use of the SA
system in May 1962. By mid-1964, all SA brake system fittings, hoses, cables, and components on
units and NCL fleet cars had been
removed by various shop forces during
scheduled maintenance. Q #2:
With passenger locomotive consists, why would some engineers prefer the F-9 in the lead versus an older
model? This is an obscure matter.
It fits under the heading "Human
Factors," a phrase nonexistent in the NP days, even though human factors were still factors because
humans were involved. This preference among some engineers was
true throughout the 1954-1970 era.
And, we are assuming here that we're talking
24RL brake valves in all units, even though one or two F-9s were given 26Ls toward the end, as
previously mentioned. The
difference was in the brake valve handle quadrant. The passenger F-3/5/7 units all had
"inside quadrant" valve
handles. All the other F-units--passenger and freight F-9s, and freight F-3/5/7s--had "outside
quadrant" valves. For those
unfamiliar with F-unit cabs...The automatic brake valve handle in an F-unit was on the brake pedestal, which was in front of and slightly to the right
of the engineer. (Incidentally, this
meant that unless he wanted to imitate a
pretzel, the engineer had to use his right hand on the brake valve handle rather than his left, as was
the case on most other locomotives,
including steam, and this "right hand
use" was something that some men didn't care for, as it seemed awkward to them and they never got
used to it. But that was the
arrangement in all F-units. Other than that,
F-units drew few complaints and were quite popular.) These brake valve quadrants involved a
series of irregularly spaced and
sized groves and notches that determined the
brake valve "schedule," a fancy way of saying
"various positions, each of
which did certain things." The 24RL brake valve position/schedule involved the following, in the
order shown (beginning from a handle
position furthest from the engineer
and going toward him): Full Release
(usually just called "release")
Run ("running" with brakes released) 1st Service Service Lap (sometimes called "Lap") Service (this was a range of positions,
the furthest right of which was
called "Full Service")
Emergency From Full Release
to Emergency, the handle moved through a
roughly horizontal arc that was about 90-degrees, maybe a little more. Anyway, the various notches and stops of the quadrant on
an "outside quadrant" were
just that, on the outside of the
quadrant where they could be seen. On "inside quadrant" types, they were hidden out of view under
a metal cap over the valve, a cap
that sort of resembled a miniature Chinese
hat. On the inside quadrant types, the engineer had to find the various stops and notches strictly by
feel; he could not see them. The
really irritating part of this was that the
Full Service position's stop was easily overridden or overshot, so that it was very easy to
accidentally place the brake valve
handle into emergency when only a full service application was desired. On the outside quadrant types
this was no problem, as the engineer
could easily see what he was doing,
but on the inside quadrants, it was all done by feel. The handle's position in the horizontal
arc provided some visual cues, but
they were not precise by any means. Feel
was necessary for precision. And because the stops and notches were irregularly sized and spaced,
there was always that question;
"Is this the stop/notch that I think it is?" Generally, the men in regular passenger
service for long periods of time got
used to this and it was no big deal to
them. But men who were in freight service and then made a trip in passenger service found this to be
a problem. A few of them complained
quite a lot about those "inside quadrant" valves. Of course, some men learned quickly and never complained. They just did their jobs and
got by. I have been told that those
inside quadrants were necessary in order
to use the SA system, although my air brake manuals and materials do not make this point obvious. I believe
that was the case, however. An inside
quadrant valve could not be rendered
an outside quadrant merely by removing that cap. Switching from one type to the other would require a whole new quadrant assembly. Even though the NP
got rid of the SA system in 1962,
they did not change the valves. As
for the SA system itself, that's yet another interesting story. Like most things, the system had
significant advantages, but also some
drawbacks. For one thing, the
"schedule" of the brake valve was entirely different in
SA mode as compared with AU mode,
even though the engineer used the
same handle. This, in itself, took some getting used to. Moreover, there was no
"Emergency" position in SA mode. In an emergency situation, if the engineer placed the handle all the way over to the emergency position
associated with AU mode, out of
habit, so as to get an emergency
application, nothing would happen in SA mode except for this popping sound. He would have to move the
handle back the other direction a
ways to get an application! This was very
counter-intuitive, and one of the nuances of the SA system that some engineers disliked very much.
There were other aspects of SA mode
that were quite controversial, too. At
least one engineer on the Fargo Division disliked the SA mode so much that he preferred to just use
AU mode whenever he had train 25 or
26, even though supervisors frowned on
that. At one time, the NP even installed seals to prevent men from switching over to AU mode except
in an emergency. In 1957, Warren
McGee's father was on train 26 and
experienced a problem with SA mode during a brake application for a 40 MPH curve at MP 42
west of Columbus. By the time he
converted over to AU and set the air, they were into the curve at 70 and nearly dumped the train into the Yellowstone River. Human Factors was very much present in
NP operations, even though they
didn't have that name for it.
consists, F3, F7, F9, electro-pneumatic brake system, 24RL brake
valve, NCL, North Coast Limited, valve handle quadrant, cab, SA, AU Compiler
C Frissell |