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 Post subject: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2020 10:14 pm 

Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:06 am
Posts: 329
Here is a fairly quick video of our testing of the air compressors for C&NW #1385. This was done a couple of weeks ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHg6m3pm1gw ...mld


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 Post subject: Re: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 7:24 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
Excuse me if this is a basic question, but: is one compressor for the engine brakes and one for the train brakes, or is one a primary and the other a backup? Or do they cycle?


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 Post subject: Re: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 7:54 pm 

Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:50 pm
Posts: 2815
Location: Northern Illinois
None of the above. They are piped in parallel to double the air output. The more CFM available, the faster the loco can charge the train.

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 Post subject: Re: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 10:10 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
Dennis Storzek wrote:
None of the above. They are piped in parallel to double the air output. The more CFM available, the faster the loco can charge the train.

Interesting. What is the reason for using two smaller compressors instead of one larger one (which would cut down on the number of moving parts)? I would guess that it makes it easier to place them somewhere on the engine.


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 Post subject: Re: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 12:20 am 

Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:06 am
Posts: 329
There are probably several reasons but my conjecture includes that earlier, shorter trains got by with just one pump and the Cheap & Nothing Wasted had all the parts & expertise already on hand to keep the singles running. Why invest in another type of pump? Another thought is that if one fails you still have one lung to work on........mld


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 Post subject: Re: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 5:25 am 

Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:03 pm
Posts: 1070
Location: Warszawa, Polska
PMC wrote:
Dennis Storzek wrote:
None of the above. They are piped in parallel to double the air output. The more CFM available, the faster the loco can charge the train.

Interesting. What is the reason for using two smaller compressors instead of one larger one (which would cut down on the number of moving parts)? I would guess that it makes it easier to place them somewhere on the engine.


And before you knew it, engines were being fitted with two of the cross-compound pumps.

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 Post subject: Re: Air Compressor Test
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2020 8:47 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:19 am
Posts: 6399
Location: southeastern USA
If anything is going to kill you out on the road it is most likely to be one of the finicky appliances rather than an axle or frame breaking, since they are more complex, require more attention and include less robust parts. Having two is insurance a well as capacity. A yardgoat or industrial power could get by with one but out on the road is a different thing. Not saying it wasn't done, especially with shortlines..... but the cost to a shortline of a delay to the daily train is less critical than the tying up of a mainline carrying many trains per day.

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