Gerald,
Funny thing is that one of BNSF's shop projects is to remove the seals
on event recorders. They probably consider them an unnecessary
expense. While you could probably erase them with some kind of
magnetic field then you would have to explain what happened to it
and probably get in more trouble for erasing it than you would for
what you were trying to cover up.
BTW, the AT&SF in a long history of saving money only had event
recorders on even numbered units. First purchase that had them on all
units was the 600 series bought just before the merger. Operation
without an event recorder is restricted to 30 mph. Around '97 I can
remember reading a long whining e-mail from a Trainmaster at San
Diego about him getting nothing but odd numbered units when a shipload
of autos had just come in. While this is a thing of the past the computer
program you use to request a crew is still set up to give you an extra
screen to acknowledge if all the units on a train are odd numbered.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: "kd 423" <kd423@hotmail.com>
To: <BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 25 August, 2003 16:45
Subject: [BRHSlist] re: Ottumwa car seals
>
> >Any thoughts on the engineer for locomotive seal usage?
> >
> >Gerald A. Edgar
>
>
> Maybe to seal the speed recorder box.
>
> Most of the speed recorders had a vertical rod that dropped into the speed
> recorder box as the speed increased. If the rod didn't descend to correspond
> to the excess speed, there was no written record of the speeding event on
> the recording paper.
>
> Engineers had lots of ideas for this engineering oversight. The slickest
> solution to this was a small piece of barstock with a hole drilled out to
> the diameter of the speed recorder rod. A machine set screw was located
> perpindicular to the rod's axis so that when it was screwed tight it would
> prevent the rod from descending into the speed recorder and you would always
> be within speed limits, at least on paper.
>
> But to get to the rod, you had to break a seal if it was installed. Nobody
> really checked to verify if it was a wire seal or a car seal when it was
> last sealed. Just have it sealed when you hit the platform or diesel pit in
> case someone was looking.
>
> If you were the outbound crew and it was supposed to be sealed and wasn't,
> you were to report it and have it sealed.
>
> Maybe someone can remember whether or not it was connected to the throttle
> or the air. Don't remember. But I've seen them used on the speed recorders.
>
> Just an idea.
>
> Regards,
> Randy Danniel
> MP206
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