That steel-on-steel contact (steel wheels with steel rails) which makes trains so efficient, and allows low power-to-weight ratios to still get heavy trains to high speeds can also prove to be quite an evil when it comes to even mildly steep gradients like this. Where road cars and trucks have better grip due to rubber-and-silicon tyres (there are other chemical compounds as well, but that's a different story) in contact with asphalt roads, allowing them to climb up crazy slopes in lower gears, trains can struggle even on gradual slopes; much more so with such a heavy load to pull. The driver did a great job here, and the melodious engine note is an extra bonus!
It will neither harm the locomotive, nor break the couplers. Because, it has been manufactured for that. (WDG: Wide gauge -- Diesel -- Goods). The gear ratio has been designed such that, it can pull ultra heavy loads and could withstand full throttle without burning anything at standstill. I have seen five WDG4s, all on full notch climbing up the hill from standstill..
you are correct,,the EMD engines are made for heavy duty,,,more of them are placed as diesel generators in ships,,and run a lot of hours until the electric transference with the other.
5 DG4's together ? Dudhsagar ? It was allotted to UBL for that Only ! 5 DG4's would be required to haul BOXN wagons from Toranagallu to Goa via Hubli, on the Dudhsagar Route. 4 DG4's would be required to haul them from the same place, to Mangalore, via Hassan, on the Sakleshpur-Kukke Ghat Route..
Been looking for a clip like this, watching two diesel locos LITERALLY GET THEIR BACKS BROKEN and FRAMES BENT from being asked to pull way too heavy a load, the engines pushed to the brink of throwing connecting rods and traction motors left smoking and badly burned up! THIS IS TRUE RAILROADING, SEEING HOW CLOSE YOU CAN GET TO UTTERLY BUSTING AND BREAKING THE LOCOMOTIVES WHILE STILL GETTING THE JOB DONE!!
Nice Sound! But the theory of the train not able to move is wrong, the truth being that each EMDs WDG4s can haul 454 metric tons which means that the twin can handle a massive of 908 metric tons at full notch 8 throttle. Truth being the drivers/engineers have to wait for the air tanks to be full as the tanks are emptied after a stop is given which means that the loco has refill the tanks and release the air brakes on all the individual compartments. Thats the reason for the full throttle.
+Zayir Audio Solutions I'm not saying you're wrong, but I was there and I know that the locomotives did struggle a bit to get the train moving. They were notched up before brake release because of the gradient. Trains always do this here and the extra bit of effort is because of the kind of load - this was a fully loaded steel train.
Pretty heavy huffing and puffing by the normally efficient WDG4. Nice to listen to the humming, whistling sounds, then gathering the torque to move along gracefully. Excellent video.
Nice Sound! But the theory of the train not able to move is wrong, the truth being that each EMDs WDG4s can haul 454 metric tons which means that the twin can handle a massive of 908 metric tons at full notch 8 throttle. Truth being the drivers/engineers have to wait for the air tanks to be full as the tanks are emptied after a stop is given which means that the loco has refill the tanks and release the air brakes on all the individual compartments. Thats the reason for the full throttle.
GT46PAC(WDG4) is designed for heavy loads. So, even after full throttle(notch) at zero velocity, neither prime mover nor traction motors will burn. Their performance may degrade if locomotives are streched frequently to full notch. Nice video and sound..
nice sound...but too much pressure on the coupler..starting a train on 6th notch puts strain on the couplers. SWR should have provided additional locomotive.This affects section clearance.
That was one hell of struggle by the twins. For a moment it appeared that the locos would burn their traction motors. Gr8 job by the loco pilots to set it on the move. Superb and rare capture. 👏👏👌👌
These locos are not struggling. It is actually done so that the train does not roll back at the start of the gradient. Hence LP's notch up before releasing the brakes.
The procedure you mentioned does not take more than a few seconds. The train took the better part of five minutes to even start moving. The train was stopped on an up gradient.
Agree with you. If the train had been standing on a rising grade, the service brakes would have been used to hold the train against roll back. Drivers would slowly notch up as the service brakes are released and the brakes slowly start to come off. The expertise of the drivers are demonstrated here in perfect timing: pick up of the load as the brakes come off. Depending on the length of consist and how the auxiliary / control reservoirs are being charged throughout the consist i.e. single or twin (brake pipe plus main res) pipes, it takes several minutes to release the brakes on a formation. You can never release the service brakes on a train of that length in a few seconds!
Wow. What heavenly sounds. A bit risky also being underpowered. Should've have given it a banker at least. Considering SWR has 90% gradients. Pilots would've taken it to 6th notch just to get initial momentum.
I was wondering, if the high current delivered during the high notches at standstill would easily damage the windings of the series motors or does wdg 4 use 3 phase AC motor?
You are right the Traction motors windings will burn out if peak current rating of the TMs ( in amps) is maintained unduly long. The LP must notch down if the permitted time is exceeded and bring the ammeter back into green zone of continuous rating ampereage value of the motors. The LP here actually has done a tremendous job of it. It has taken his complete knowledge of his locos and the proper handling of the notches that finally moved the formation. I think the station is Bayyappanahalli near Bangalore which has quite a steep gradient and then after reaching the summit a down gradient. We can observe how the LP has cleverly used the down gradient to accelerate his formation.
RF Nitin Patil mine's actually not awesome but somehow managed to do the job. It's a mono microphone and is extremely susceptible to distortion at the slightest hint of wind.
@Dheeraj Rao Can twin wag9h pull the hell of that loaded steel without any struggle...??? i think no loco can match the power of wdg4 and wdp4 monsters........(MY FAV)....as a diesel loco fan.....
Excuse me for being an American rail fan, but it doesn't seem like those engines have the weight and tractive effort that they could for the amount of horsepower that they have. A pair of SD70MACs would've had the same horsepower, but the lash-up would've been something like 250,000 pounds heavier, and had almost 130,000 pounds more tractive effort. They would've hitched onto an equivalent train and walked off with it here in the US. Of course, many railways in the world use lighter rails, power, and rolling stock, simply because they don't have to move as much stuff at once.
Horsepower has more to do with how fast you can make the train go. Tractive effort deals more with how much pulling force you can put to the railhead, and thus how much train you can make go.
Needs to calculate actual load, gradient and most important starting tractive effort. But starting tractive effort is very high level of force which in turn needs more current (which is of course calculated by on board computer) to motors. Feeding such high current for reasonably long time may damage motor windings so computer won't do it to that extend. Again wheel slip will auto regress the notches. So the answer to your question lies infact that how much tractive effort is available at axle and how it's distributed under various load conditions. In my opinion, whether locomotive is electric or diesel, doesn't matter much. Dear Author, Video is wonderful. Thanks for sharing. ☺
You need to do some research before even comparing two very different types of locomotives with the father-son logic. A little more maturity would be appreciated.
It's not struggling man. Even a single WDG4 is capable enough to rake those 40 wagons. For better control they are using two WDG4. In this it is just building up enough power(thrust) to rake up those heavy wagons comfortably from stand still without slipping on gradient before releasing brakes. Had it not build this much power, It could have slipped and rolled back considering the enormous weight it is carrying in the back. On plain surface it could have notched up on 3rd or 4th. It's same as heavy loaded vehicle reaches to optimal rpm before starting or a race car reaches to a certain rpm before releasing brake.
contrary to comforts of passengers, this video will showcase how hard the LPs and ALPs guard strugle for ensuring safe passage of men goods.I salute them. Is there stations with steep gradients?
Hey Dheeraj who has seen the other 3 engines i believe they r invisible & only way to see them is with Mr.India watch so Mr. Vijay ur now Mr.India hip hip hurrah.So plz tell us all how it feels to be one lol.
Actually these engines are old like 1998 years so it's 2 stroke engine but india is buying ge and Alstom locomotives to cater it's needs for goods trains
Harsha Jade 2 Stroke diesels, as Jonathan mentioned. We don't have turbine engines for locomotives here. They were probably just an experiment many years ago in the US if I am not wrong.
No problem,,the gradients are the trains enemy,,,a 2000 tons train with a 1,5% gradient the locos may have a traction force of 20 tons or more at the start. Logic at low notch,,the electric motors dont have the torque to move the heavy load.Normal,,,but the problem to considerate is the slipping,,,this is a problem that the engineer may be patient.
