Rail roads and their tracks.

[MossRoad]

I'm curious what kind of power the generator or alternator on the locomotive put out, as most locomotives of that time had only DC generators for traction, and another smaller generator that provided power to run electrical control systems and charge the batteries.
Unless it did have AC traction motors and was able to supply 60Hz AC at a suitable voltage.
I didn't see any cables leading off the locomotive to distribute the power.

I found some discussions where it was a M420 and that model is AC. M420R is DC.
It's rated at 1.49MW.

When I had to participate in connecting auxiliary generators to our printing pressroom during a major power outage, it was 3-phases +ground. They had to use 3 cables for each phase and ground, (12 cables total), because if they used a single cable for each phase, they would be too thick and too heavy to move, and too large to connect to the busses. The cables were about 1-1.25" in diameter as I recall. They were stranded cables and very flexible. We used one 0.75MW generator and it would only let our press run around 20% before trippping. So they brought in anther 1MW generator and hooked it in parallel to give a total of 1.75MW (more than the locomotive), and that allowed us to run around 60% before tripping.

So based on that experience, and that locomotive only putting out 1.49MW, it could run lights, HVAC and things like that in several buildings, but it couldn't run something like industrial equipment that pulled large power.

I think overall, the experiment cost them more in repairs to the road and locomotive, etc. had they just brought in large generators.

Maybe it was all that was available at the time, so you do what you gotta do.

 

[BravoXray]

Speaking of locomotives and gensets, back in 73 or 74 during the oil embargo, Miles Labs in Elkhart bought and installed three EMD 20 cylinder 645 series gensets behind the citrus plant. We did the grading for the slab where they were set up while we were doing some other sewer work on the site. I was there when one was delivered, unloaded and set in place. A couple of weeks later we were back doing some final grading work and they were test running one of the units. I walked over and talked to one of the installation contractors about the gensets. If I remeber correctly, they were 3 MW each, 2 would run the whole complex, with one for a spare. Those were impressive units when running at full capacity on a test load, made the ground shake.

 

[MossRoad]

A pair and a spare!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Speaking of locomotives and gensets, back in 73 or 74 during the oil embargo, Miles Labs in Elkhart bought and installed three EMD 20 cylinder 645 series gensets behind the citrus plant. We did the grading for the slab where they were set up while we were doing some other sewer work on the site. I was there when one was delivered, unloaded and set in place. A couple of weeks later we were back doing some final grading work and they were test running one of the units. I walked over and talked to one of the installation contractors about the gensets. If I remeber correctly, they were 3 MW each, 2 would run the whole complex, with one for a spare. Those were impressive units when running at full capacity on a test load, made the ground shake.

The EMD 645’s I worked with once were 1.5MW each, 1.7MW if turbos.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

EMD testing

 

[ArlyA]

A professionally made video of the 4014 and the 844 on there way to Ogden Utah on the 4014's maiden voyage after its rebuild. They did include lots of good info with it..

 

[BravoXray]

We hauled some EMDs out of a locomotive scrapyard in Homewood, IL some years ago. A 16 cylinder 645 engine and alternator were over 45,000#.

 

[KilroyJC]

My grandfather was a Gandy Dancer on theNew Haven Lin before WWII. SAID IT WAS SOME OF THE HARDEST WORK HE EVER DID IN HIS LIFE. He later was a foundryman.

 

[RoyJackson]

My grandfather was a Gandy Dancer on theNew Haven Lin before WWII. SAID IT WAS SOME OF THE HARDEST WORK HE EVER DID IN HIS LIFE. He later was a foundryman.

Definition of GANDY DANCER

a laborer in a railroad section gang; an itinerant or seasonal laborer… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[bdhsfz6]

A professionally made video of the 4014 and the 844 on there way to Ogden Utah on the 4014's maiden voyage after its rebuild. They did include lots of good info with it..

By coincidence, I was at Steamtown National Park over the weekend and took these shots of their recently restored #4012 "BigBoy":

Definitely impressive when seen in person.

There is talk of further restoration to full running condition but it will cost several million $$.