Control Car Remote Control Locomotive
Encyclopedia
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
body with remote control
Remote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
equipment installed. The term and the units are a creation of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, which is widely adopting remote control of locomotives in switching
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
service. They are sometimes improperly called slugs
Slug (railroad)
A railroad slug is an accessory to a diesel-electric locomotive. It has trucks with traction motors but is unable to move about under its own power, as it does not contain a prime mover to produce electricity...
, and differ from normal remote control locomotives as they cannot move on their own.
Use
It is coupledCoupling (railway)
A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...
to a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
(or a consist
Consist
A consist , in North American railway terminology, is used as a noun to describe the group of rail vehicles that make up a train. A near-equivalent UK term is rake but this excludes the locomotive....
of locomotives) which lack remote control equipment; it is set to be the lead locomotive in command of the others, controlling them through their multiple unit control connections
Multiple-unit train control
Multiple-unit train control, sometimes abbreviated to multiple-unit or MU, is a method of simultaneously controlling all the traction equipment in a train from a single location, whether it is a Multiple unit comprising a number of self-powered passenger cars or a set of locomotives.A set of...
.
Until all locomotives in switching
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
service are equipped with remote control apparatus, the CCRCLs provide an easy way of ensuring that remote control capability is available. They do not require taking active locomotives out of service to equip them with the remote control capability; instead, this can be added when the locomotive is next scheduled for a normal overhaul.
Conversion
When a locomotive is converted to a CCRCL the traction motorTraction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
s and fuel tank
Fuel tank
A fuel tank is safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine...
are removed. The windows are plated over, the locomotive is painted gray with red lettering, and remote control
Remote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
equipment is installed. The locomotives used are old GE
GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation, formerly known as GE Rail, is a division of General Electric. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation industries. It is based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Locomotives are assembled at the Erie plant, while engine...
-built locomotives, models B23-7
GE B23-7
The GE B23-7 is a diesel locomotive model that was offered first by GE in 1977, featuring a 12 cylinder engine. It is 61 ft 2 in long. It competed with the EMD GP38-2. General Electric also produced a variant, the BQ23-7, for the Seaboard Coast Line.Ten Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México...
and B30-7
GE B30-7
The GE B30-7 diesel locomotive model was offered first by GE in 1977, featuring a 16 cylinder motor. It is 61 ft 2 in long. A change to the original B30-7 was using the 12 cylinder FDL rated at 3000 horsepower, resulting in a B30-7A, B30-7A1 and a cabless B30-7A .B30-7As were built...
. These have a low value on the used locomotive market.
Sources
- Graham-White, Sean. UP CCRCLs. Retrieved on January 28, 2005.