FA+
Shop
Diesel locomotive lore
6 years ago
General
People may say they're kind of boring, especially compared to steam engines but that's like saying they're cleaner than them, it's a stupidly high bar to clear. Here are the sometimes kind of sad and/or funny backstories behind the ones at the museum I've been volunteering at the past month.
Sorry for any mistakes, hardcore trains buffs or anyone very familiar with a certain railroad museum in central Florida (that I won't mention by name just so people there don't learn about my furry side). I don't care if furries know I'm there, though, it's not a publicly visible position and even if someone did call them yelling "SHE'S A FURRY" I don't think they'd care, they've had weirder people work for them and they appreciate my ability to worm into tight spots for free too much.
1633 (ALCO RS-3)- The museum's main engine for years. Taken out of service in the late 2000s due to governor problems but apparently can be run in a laughably redneck way in a pinch by using ropes and sticks to push its electrical switches.
8204 (ALCO RS-3)- Used alongside 1633 until its battery died. Not having the money to get a new one because of the nonexistant budget at the time, it was put aside as a parts donor for 1633.
251 (ALCO S2)- aka Alsatia or "That piece of shit". Gift from a rock quarry and in pretty crap shape partly due to having two cylinders disabled supposedly to make it smoke less. It's an ALCO, notorious for being "honorary steam engines" because they can be very smoky things. Kind of the equivalent of removing a dragon's lung to stop it from breathing fire. I've read that the dark smoke is from turbo lag, if anyone's more familiar with internal combustion engines, let me know if what the company did was effective at all, I'm curious. It's pretty beat up as a whole and staff were basically told to stop looking for things to fix on it because it's in such a state and just wait for issues to crop up. Also hated by drivers because its antiquated and kind of strange control-wise, doesn't have a speedometer, and tends to yoink the train too hard when it starts moving. I honestly really like this thing because it has a funky paint job that's faded to pastel pink and yellow on black and white and I've gotten real physical crawling up in the engine to work on it. Also the only engine with handrails on top of it so putting the rain cover on the smokestack is less precarious.
1835 (EMD GP-7)- Main engine atm, ex-Army gift with some wacky backwards parts like the some air valves. Has a boaty-sounding horn rather than a typical train horn that staff make fun of.
1822 (EMD GP-7)- sister to 1835 but something ruined a traction motor around the time it was being brought down to the museum so they just chopped the shaft connecting it to the wheels off, leaving it with 3/4 motors now and just a parts donor for 1835. It sits behind 8204 looking similarly crusty and abandoned.
8330 (EMD GP-9)- It was acquired in the late 2000s in an engine crisis after it traveled between a bunch of railroads in the US and Canada and was originally a B-unit (locomotive with no cab), but a cab was added later. It used to be the other main engine with 1835 but volunteer staff didn't blow down the cylinders properly to remove the water from them and it went boom on the Christmas train and now has I think two unusable pistons that were damaged from that and a bent rod from one in the museum that I helped clean up. It can be used in a pinch but doesn't run too great. By far the best horn there, not like it has much competition with the smaller engines having less impressive horns and 1835 having that boat horn.
100 (GE 44-ton switcher)- Main yard switcher. Seems to be one of the more reliable engines there since it's been used the most while I've been there and not had any drama like 1835, 251, and every piece of track maintenance equipment. Rides and sounds like a school bus on rails, about the same color, too. I've actually driven this little guy, it's supposed to be the easiest one to drive and it wasn't much trouble for me. Pumping diesel into it by hand is a pain, though. I sat there for like 10 minutes until my thumb got sore from squeezing the handle, only to fill a quarter of the tank... it's 400 gallons or so total. Gets used for track inspections, rescuing the track maintenance guy when his ride breaks down (which happens... pretty regularly).
204 (EMD CF-7)- Ah yes, the Kinder-Morgan Surprise. Scrap engine the museum bought to see if they could fix or just use for parts, it was semi-functional so the last several months they've been restoring it to working order. It's a fairly uncommon EMD F7 rebuild that's about the same mechanically, but has a more boxy and practical new body shape that gives the driver better visibility. Used to have a toilet and air conditioner in the cab that were removed in the restoration. I've been doing a lot of work scraping, cleaning, and replacing traction motor brushes on this thing. Especially the brushes, staff love me because I'm the only one small enough to squeeze under the undercarriage to get to some of them AND I'm doing it for free. They're hoping to have it ready for Christmas.
50 "The Critter" (Plymouth 40-ton switcher)- This little guy is much shorter height and length wise than 100 but weighs almost as much as it because it's absurdly dense because the steel is super thick. Doesn't run much but it's supposed to be operational.
904 (EMD F7)- Another unusual F7 rebuild this one supposedly far rarer than the CF-7 (only heard of a few others online). It's sat in the end of the yard since at least 2004 after being bought from its previous owner in Canada or possibly a museum in Florida affected by a hurricane, the former being more likely, slowly rotting and looking awfully ghostly with its white and mint green color scheme and dark windows. It was originally a normal F7of the FP-7 for passenger use , but had its engine and traction motors removed, leaving it just a cab and a shell that can be used to control another engine on the other end of a train. So the ghost engine can basically possess others. There's a pipe dream to paint it Atlantic Coast Line purple (which is a gorgeous color scheme just look it up) and control a less glamorous engine with it on the other end, but it would be expensive to do for something that would just serve to look really cool and nobody knows when they'll ever do it or if it'll rust away to nothing before they do.
Sorry for any mistakes, hardcore trains buffs or anyone very familiar with a certain railroad museum in central Florida (that I won't mention by name just so people there don't learn about my furry side). I don't care if furries know I'm there, though, it's not a publicly visible position and even if someone did call them yelling "SHE'S A FURRY" I don't think they'd care, they've had weirder people work for them and they appreciate my ability to worm into tight spots for free too much.
1633 (ALCO RS-3)- The museum's main engine for years. Taken out of service in the late 2000s due to governor problems but apparently can be run in a laughably redneck way in a pinch by using ropes and sticks to push its electrical switches.
8204 (ALCO RS-3)- Used alongside 1633 until its battery died. Not having the money to get a new one because of the nonexistant budget at the time, it was put aside as a parts donor for 1633.
251 (ALCO S2)- aka Alsatia or "That piece of shit". Gift from a rock quarry and in pretty crap shape partly due to having two cylinders disabled supposedly to make it smoke less. It's an ALCO, notorious for being "honorary steam engines" because they can be very smoky things. Kind of the equivalent of removing a dragon's lung to stop it from breathing fire. I've read that the dark smoke is from turbo lag, if anyone's more familiar with internal combustion engines, let me know if what the company did was effective at all, I'm curious. It's pretty beat up as a whole and staff were basically told to stop looking for things to fix on it because it's in such a state and just wait for issues to crop up. Also hated by drivers because its antiquated and kind of strange control-wise, doesn't have a speedometer, and tends to yoink the train too hard when it starts moving. I honestly really like this thing because it has a funky paint job that's faded to pastel pink and yellow on black and white and I've gotten real physical crawling up in the engine to work on it. Also the only engine with handrails on top of it so putting the rain cover on the smokestack is less precarious.
1835 (EMD GP-7)- Main engine atm, ex-Army gift with some wacky backwards parts like the some air valves. Has a boaty-sounding horn rather than a typical train horn that staff make fun of.
1822 (EMD GP-7)- sister to 1835 but something ruined a traction motor around the time it was being brought down to the museum so they just chopped the shaft connecting it to the wheels off, leaving it with 3/4 motors now and just a parts donor for 1835. It sits behind 8204 looking similarly crusty and abandoned.
8330 (EMD GP-9)- It was acquired in the late 2000s in an engine crisis after it traveled between a bunch of railroads in the US and Canada and was originally a B-unit (locomotive with no cab), but a cab was added later. It used to be the other main engine with 1835 but volunteer staff didn't blow down the cylinders properly to remove the water from them and it went boom on the Christmas train and now has I think two unusable pistons that were damaged from that and a bent rod from one in the museum that I helped clean up. It can be used in a pinch but doesn't run too great. By far the best horn there, not like it has much competition with the smaller engines having less impressive horns and 1835 having that boat horn.
100 (GE 44-ton switcher)- Main yard switcher. Seems to be one of the more reliable engines there since it's been used the most while I've been there and not had any drama like 1835, 251, and every piece of track maintenance equipment. Rides and sounds like a school bus on rails, about the same color, too. I've actually driven this little guy, it's supposed to be the easiest one to drive and it wasn't much trouble for me. Pumping diesel into it by hand is a pain, though. I sat there for like 10 minutes until my thumb got sore from squeezing the handle, only to fill a quarter of the tank... it's 400 gallons or so total. Gets used for track inspections, rescuing the track maintenance guy when his ride breaks down (which happens... pretty regularly).
204 (EMD CF-7)- Ah yes, the Kinder-Morgan Surprise. Scrap engine the museum bought to see if they could fix or just use for parts, it was semi-functional so the last several months they've been restoring it to working order. It's a fairly uncommon EMD F7 rebuild that's about the same mechanically, but has a more boxy and practical new body shape that gives the driver better visibility. Used to have a toilet and air conditioner in the cab that were removed in the restoration. I've been doing a lot of work scraping, cleaning, and replacing traction motor brushes on this thing. Especially the brushes, staff love me because I'm the only one small enough to squeeze under the undercarriage to get to some of them AND I'm doing it for free. They're hoping to have it ready for Christmas.
50 "The Critter" (Plymouth 40-ton switcher)- This little guy is much shorter height and length wise than 100 but weighs almost as much as it because it's absurdly dense because the steel is super thick. Doesn't run much but it's supposed to be operational.
904 (EMD F7)- Another unusual F7 rebuild this one supposedly far rarer than the CF-7 (only heard of a few others online). It's sat in the end of the yard since at least 2004 after being bought from its previous owner in Canada or possibly a museum in Florida affected by a hurricane, the former being more likely, slowly rotting and looking awfully ghostly with its white and mint green color scheme and dark windows. It was originally a normal F7of the FP-7 for passenger use , but had its engine and traction motors removed, leaving it just a cab and a shell that can be used to control another engine on the other end of a train. So the ghost engine can basically possess others. There's a pipe dream to paint it Atlantic Coast Line purple (which is a gorgeous color scheme just look it up) and control a less glamorous engine with it on the other end, but it would be expensive to do for something that would just serve to look really cool and nobody knows when they'll ever do it or if it'll rust away to nothing before they do.
