Locomotive in PCS Fault and Remote System won't Link Back Up
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Published 2023-03-16
causing a Locomotive PCS Fault. Then we could not get the remote system to link both locomotives back in sync with each other.
I'll tell and show you what a PCS Fault is on the locomotive and also
show some of our efforts trying to get the remote system to link both
locomotives back up with each other.
We experienced 6 coupler pull aparts from the locomotive to the first car
on the 16 mile trip back to the harbor with loaded coal cars. After that
car was dumped off, we took it out and put a different car back in
it's place.
Coupler on the car had a coupler carrier wear plate which had
fallen out for whatever reason. Carrier wear plate fits under the coupler shank.
That caused a mis match in the coupler height from car to loco.
Car went up to mine fine with no problems, but once it got loaded,
then that made the mis match even greater.
Coupler did not come uncoupled, rather coupler on car slid
down enough so that caused the car to uncouple from the loco.
Several low and/or soft spots in the track surface did not help matters.
Car was pulled from train and fixed that evening.
It was a real pain having to re-couple and also every time to re-link
the remote system back up for every one of those pull aparts. But the
guys hung in there and got the train back safely. All this during a
cold November rainy day.
Here is a picture of a coupler carrier wear plate
www.progressiverailroading.com/railproducts/produc…
Air Piping diagram was supplied by my good friend Wally. He started out his railroad
career working for Penn Central and went up thru NS where he retired from.
He was an instructor and tech on the 26 brake system for NS and is an extremely
knowledgeable man on the air and braking systems on all locomotives,
EMD and GE. He is also available for in field service calls on these locomotives
as an air brake specialist and instructor. If you would happen to be in need of his
services, please send me a comment and I will relay his contact information to you.
If you call him, you will be very pleased with his services.
Made November 15, 2022
Disclaimer: I am an employee of Iron Senergy at Cumberland
Mine. My job is railroad track maintenance. I am very fortunate to
have this job and everyone at the mine is very fortunate to have
Iron Senergy as it's current owner. Our past owners had every
intention of shutting this mine down, but Iron Senergy took
over and have kept this mine alive.
Please understand: I am NOT in any way an official or unofficial
spokes person for Iron Senergy or Cumberland Mine. Any viewpoints,
opinions or anything that I show in the videos, or write in the video
descriptions or any answer to any comment, should NEVER be
misconstrued or interpreted as being in any way shape or form,
any kind of official or unofficial statement from Iron Senergy,
Iron Cumberland, Cumberland Mine, any of the mine's management,
any of the contractors that may be shown in any video, nor of
any of my fellow co-workers.
Any viewpoints or opinions I may make in the videos, in the
descriptions, or in any answer to a comment is strictly that of my
own and NOT an official or unofficial statement or viewpoint that
Iron Synergy or any one at Iron Senergy or Cumberland Mine
necessarily has or makes.
Again, we are very fortunate to have Iron Senergy as our current
owners. Please, when making a comment be respectful of Iron Senergy,
Cumberland Mine, my fellow coworkers and also any contractors
that may be shown. Thank You, Dave
#PCSFault#LocomotivePCS#LocomotiveRemoteSystem
All Comments (21)
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Don't sell yourself short Mr. Dave, you know more about this stuff than we do. We appreciate you teaching us about railroading and giving us an inside view of the operations. I've been fortunate enough to be in several steam engines but only one functioning diesel. Thanks Dave, stay safe my friend.
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The public doesn't have a clue how complex the locomotives, machines and operating system that controls the railroad are. The men and women who work the railroad are under-appreciated and their knowledge is unknown until a video like this comes along. Great video.
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Locomotives equipped with a rcs system replaces the Deadman pedal that used to be on the floor. If the rcs (reset control system) cycles and the button is not pushed it will initialize a penalty brake application. The purpose of the power cutoff system ( pcs ) is to stop the locomotive from producing power since the train is in emergency. Some locomotives the pcs also disables the dynamic braking. But newer locomotives are equipped to still provide dynamic braking in order to help get the train stopped.
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My uncle retired out of CSX on the management side, but he's had nothing but respect for the operations team. I'm sending this one to him, because he can totally relate. (There was a run away train of hazardous materials over twenty years ago; he was in the control center in Jacksonville as an observer as the operations team caught and stopped it. He said after that he knew his actual place in the railroad, which was just a salesman. The real railroaders stepped up that day.
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Just like all computers, "Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and back on again?"
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So "turn it off and back on again" is a thing even for trains. Amazing.
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Thanks Dave! Your explanation of the PCS system and the associated problems when it trips made sense to me. I enjoy learning about all the crazy stuff you deal with everyday.
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No two days ever the same. Keeps you on your toes. Takes a lot of knowledge to keep it all running. Thanks for sharing the video and your Knowledge.
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All the electrics and the routing of the switches and signaling; that's real railroading! Thanks Dave for explaining the routing of the signals.
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Dave....Ran these big Old monsters for 40 years if people only knew all the controls switches and circuits that it takes for these big boys to operate....and I will add I loved every minute of it....
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I was quite surprised when I saw the air brake diagram. I was drawing them when I started with N&W. Old school, India ink and Leroy lettering guides. The “checked by” initials stand for Donald Jack Barton, a great guy and mentor.
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These are the things I know nothing about when we are just railfans watching trains roll by. So it is so interesting to see some of the workings of the remote system and the PCS switch system. I also get to see that no system is simple nor is it perfect :) This is another excellent education session - thank you very much!
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The 26L system entered production in the late 1950s and quickly became the standard. It was superseded by the 30CDW in the 1980s, but this and all the newer electronic air brake valves (CCB, EPIC II, FastBrake) all operate in the same manner. Most if not all of the Class I's still operate some older units with 26L brake systems, though EAB of one type or another seems to have become the standard on new or rebuilt units. Like many steam locomotives, C&O 1309 originally had a 6ET system but it was replaced with a 26 during the recent rebuild. The benefits of going with a 26 or newer system include pressure maintaining (the 26 was the first system to make this standard, it became an option on the 24 and earlier systems did not have it), greater reliability, longer maintenance intervals and parts being a lot easier to obtain. Some other restored steam locomotives have also been upgraded with 26 systems, including CP 2816, CP 2860, CN 6060 and NKP 765. That 'Control Chief' setup is new to me, but you'd be surprised at how often we have to reboot the computers on newer GE and EMD road units. The modern Distributed Power system (brand name for Locotrol III) has had a lot of bugs over the years, it took a long time to get them worked out and every time it or the locomotive computer systems in general are 'upgraded' more bugs seem to appear. DP can be tricky by itself, but DP and Pacesetter (slow speed cruise control) are an especially bad combination.
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Dave always something to keep you busy on the railroad.
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What would they do without you Dave! Fascinating video and despite the problems, it was good to see that all the emergency systems worked as they should. Wonder what tomorrow will bring you? 🙂
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It's these little things that none of us see that makes me appreciate what you guys do that much more. Be safe out there and thanks for another great video.
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Great video Dave. I love seeing the wiring diagram and your description. Reminds me of the instructor teaching us in the military technical schools. Have a great day my friend.
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Having that PCS is a real-life saver. Otherwise, it looks to me like you would have a runaway train. Prett cool learning all this stuff from you Dave!
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I really dig that brake system diagram, even though I have absolutely no clue what goes where and what it does. Very interesting stuff nonetheless! Thanks for uploading as always, Dave.
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Your description of the alerter answers my question before I could ask it. Great video again Dave.
