smallspy
Senior Member
If you look at the back of the loco, the rest of the standard connections there - HEP, MU, COMM, etc. - are as they usually are on a loco. The only thing that's changed is the coupler - or lack thereof.I knew that the coaches would be semi-permanently coupled together, but it was never clear how the locomotive would be coupled to the coaches. As I mentioned in post #9,978, Transport Action Canada claimed that it would be a standard coupler. Obviously they were (once again) mistaken. There really isn't much need to semi-permanently couple the locomotive to the train (passengers aren't walking between the two), so the only reason to semi-permanently couple it would be to increase flexibility, and allow trains of any configuration, rather than requiring locomotives to be coupled to a Business 3A coach (and vice versa). OTOH, using a standard coupler would make it quicker and easier to swap out the locomotive if necessary and allow standard coaches to be inserted between the locomotive and the first Venture coach.
Does anyone know if this type of semi-permanent coupler is bidirectional? In other words, do coaches have the same coupler at both ends or are there different front and back couplers?
The drawbar that goes into that pocket is not "handed", and so yes, the orientation and even number of the individual coaches can be changed if necessary.
Safety in an accident is part of the reasoning, yes. But comfort is also a very, very big part of it.I would assume that the another benefit of semi-permanent couplings is increased lateral and longitudinal rigidity , but that would depend on the specific design and is almost certainly less important than the operational benefits of standardized couplers.
Those of us who have ridden in the leading section of a J-train a lot will remember the feeling of getting "bucked" around far more than on a normal train. This is due to the slack in the couplers, and the loco behind powering up to catch up to the leading loco. Even with the current tightlock couplers, there is still slack in the system, and combined over many coaches can amount to a substantial distance. The problem is so well known that some crews would do things like isolate the second loco, which leaves it in idle for the time it's coupled and connected.
Drawbars eliminate this problem altogether.
One could also just run around the non-Siemens coaches as well at the ends of the run, too. Both ends of the trainset have all of the standard connections, as well as the couplers.I'm sure that you could have some type of emergency coupler if you wanted to. Or connect the conventional cars at the end of the fixed trainset. But then you would need to wye the train at the destination.
At least you can still have a mixed J-train consist.
For the same reason why the long-distance Amtrak locos are rated at 4200hp. To increase the servicing intervals, and thus the maintenance requirements.I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else yet. Looks like they're 4200hp given that the Amtrak SC-44s have 4400hp while the Brightline SC-40s have 4000hp. Not sure why though.
By derating them (as well as a couple of other minor changes), they are allowed to have an interval of 184 days between service inspections under FRA's item 49 CFR 230.15, which normally calls for a 92 day interval. TC has allowed for these same sets of rules to take effect in Canada, although it seems to be much harder to find reference to them.
Dan