Just washing the wheelsets off - CPKC grainer on flooded tracks

[mu26aeh]

Perusing YT in the early morning hours found me watching a CPKC crew walking on water along flooded tracks in Iowa 

Forward to around the 2:30 mark if you don't want to wait.

[nkalanaga]

"Whose train is this?"

CPKC crew with BNSF and CSX locomotives.  Isn't modern railroading fun?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

"Man, these modern U Boats are impressive. They even walk on water!"

[C855B]

Somebody hi-railed that stretch before letting the train set foot on the submerged rails. The loco operating manuals do in fact spec allowable depth above the rails. I recall the SP rulebook or special instructions... gawd, 50 years ago... repeated this info by loco number groups.

[John]

"Whose train is this?"

CPKC crew with BNSF and CSX locomotives.  Isn't modern railroading fun?

seems kind of foolish to me ..  don't we tell people not to drive through high water

[Chris333]

You need to turn up the traction motor blowers. And maybe they are on a downgrade so no power is needed, just coasting.

[DirtyD79]

"Whose train is this?"

CPKC crew with BNSF and CSX locomotives.  Isn't modern railroading fun?

Well of course, you don't want one of your own locos to fall in the drink.

[Maletrain]

seems kind of foolish to me ..  don't we tell people not to drive through high water

Most of the reason we tell people not to drive cars through flood water is that cars easily float away in not very deep water.  (Been there and almost did that myself on RT 50 inside the Beltway many years ago - crawling traffic, bumper to bumper, and waves from a truck going by in the left lane was lifting my old Datsun tires off the road surface and letting it slip sideways.)  But not likely to be an issue for a railroad loco or even a railroad car in even a foot of water.

The other reason to not go through flood water is that you can't see what the flood has washed away under the surface.  There might be a huge wash-out and a hole 10' deep.  The railroad seems to have addressed that with the prior trip through the water with a hirail truck. 

But, first, I would not want to be the guy driving that truck to "see" if it had problems.  And, second, how do they address the possiblitiy that there is a washout under the tracks that is still stable for the weight of that truck, but will collapse under the weight of the loco? 

[sd45elect2000]

seems kind of foolish to me ..  don't we tell people not to drive through high water

Evidently the cost of replacing a bunch of traction motors was a factor in using foreign power.

[wvgca]

does this qualify as washing the wheelsets off ... it was still moving [slowly] in the photo
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[peteski]

Most of the reason we tell people not to drive cars through flood water is that cars easily float away in not very deep water.  (

You forgot to mention the other important reasons  if water is ingested into the engine or soaks other mechanical or electrical devices it can ruin them.

[Maletrain]

You forgot to mention the other important reasons  if water is ingested into the engine or soaks other mechanical or electrical devices it can ruin them.

True enough.  But most stuff is sealed well enough to withstand large amount of splash and spray being sucked under the hood.  That photo that wvgca posted of that pickup truck looks close to the limit for submersion, though.  A lot of air intakes for the engine are not much above that water level.

On the other hand, the U.S. Army has 2-1/2 ton trucks designed to go through deep water, with a snorkel as high as the cab top for the engine air intake.

[Missaberoad]

If you sink your car deep enough to cause damage to the engine you already have other problems! 
Transmission and Diff breathers are pretty low even on cars designed to be off roaded.

As for the train we have very detailed instructions on how to handle water over the rails, max depth and how to run the power through. The gen field switch would be off 

[peteski]

True enough.  But most stuff is sealed well enough to withstand large amount of splash and spray being sucked under the hood.  That photo that wvgca posted of that pickup truck looks close to the limit for submersion, though.  A lot of air intakes for the engine are not much above that water level.

On passenger cars, engine is only several  inches up from the road surfaces.  SUVs - have higher suspension.  But it is not just ingesting the water through the air intake.  There is probably a vent in the transmission.  How about the CV joints?  Yes, they have rubber boots, but those are likely vented too. I would say that unless you have one of those jacked up 4X4 trucks, driving in a foot of water is not good for your vehicle.

[wvgca]

yes, the level was at the limit, and the air breather was already picking up some water. there was no real damage due to water ingestion except for the soundproofing underlay under the carpet .. i had to leave the windows open for a couple of weeks to dry that out ..