Leo et al...One good anecdote
deserves another...Deserved or not...here one comes.
When the passenger yard around what
now is known as "Lincoln Station"...previously the Burlington Passenger
Depot was put up for sale for development the Burlington was required to
"disinfect" the land and environs. During this process it was
discovered that there was a huge "plume" of diesel fuel under the ground as
well as other assorted contaminents one would expect to find around a
railroad terminal facility.
To correct this conditiont required
hundreds of thousands of tons of soil to be hauled away and "cleaned" I
think by some steam process and then returned. When this started there
were lots of newspaper articles and opinions expressed about the
"contamination" and how it could have occurred.
Many of us who "have been young a long time" had some good laughs
remembering how thin;gs were when diesel fuel cost 5 cents or so a gallon
and fuel costs were not a consideration for anybody. Leo's comment
regarding an "overflow tank" pale in regard with what I used to see at the
fuel racks at each end of the depot platforms.
For example: Train No. 19 would arrive westbound around 11:30pm.
Usually two units would be the power. The units would stop at
the west end of the platform at the fuel rack. The roundhouse laborer
would put the fuel hose on the tank...turn on the pump and then go about his
other chores ie turning the water hose on the windshield, checking the
boiler water and whatever else he had to do.
Meanwhile the fuel tank would fill
up and diesel fuel would spill and gush out Niagra Falls like around
the filler hose and any other opening it could seek out...forming "puddles"
....actually more like lakes between the tracks and the tracks and
platforms. Eventually the laborer would stroll back to the hose and
shut the flow off. Probably, by that time 50 or more gallons would
have accumulated and be in the process of soaking into the ground.
Multiply the above procedure by 15-20 times each day....It takes little
imagination to see why there was a "plume" of underground diesel fuel ...to
say nothing of lube oil..detergent used for cleaning accumulated over 50-60
years.
Conclusion of the matter is that over this entire area now is built an
"entertainment district" known as THE RAILYARD comprised of
"nightclubs"..one of which is named...get ready for it...."RULE G",
hotels, restaurants, and even a huge "arena" used for concerts,basketball
games and other enterprises you would expect in this situation. Other
than the "Canopy" which covered the platform area between tracks 1 and 2 and
the station itself on the east side, you would never suspect that there was
ever a railroad presence there.
Only those of us who remember how it was "back in the day" know
what's underneath it all.
Just think...all of this "conversation" sparked by comments regarding
diesel engine heaters.
It was Mark Twain who once said. "I continue to be amazed at how
much information can be obtained which such a small investment of fact.
Pete
-----Original
Message-----
From:
qutlx1@aol.com [CBQ] <
CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
To: CBQ <
CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Jul 2, 2015 8:24 am
Subject: Re: [CBQ]
CB&Q Overnight Heaters
As explained on the hot start site
these systems save idling and its fuel costs. In my experience back on the Q
and early BN,fuel costs were not as critical. The site glasses for fuel
level became very difficult to read as the units aged. One gentlemen I knew
used a simply method to make sure a unit was full. When the diesel fuel
began running out the overflow the tank was full and it was time to shut off
the pump.
The main fear was dead batteries and
the related inability to restart the unit.
Leo
Bob,
Thanks for that link. According to the info presented
these units were available as early as 1942, almost a decade before the
"Q" began purchasing its GP's.
Later, Dave Sarther Tucson, AZ
-----Original
Message-----
From:
RWA325@aol.com [CBQ] <
CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
To: CBQ <
CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Jul 1, 2015 6:09 pm
Subject: Re:
[CBQ] CB&Q Overnight Heaters
Dave,
Here is a link for the HotStart layover heating system used by BNSF
et al.
I hope this helps.
Bob Arthur,
Princeton, NC
Can anyone help me to understand
the function of the "overnight heaters" located on the fireman's side of
the cab, long hood end, on "Q" GP 7's and GP 9's? Is it to keep
the diesel fuel from turning to gel during the extremely cold
weather? If so, does the diesel fuel circulate through the
heater box to keep from turning to gel? I've had no luck finding
information on-line.
Thanks, Dave Sarther Tucson, AZ