Thought you would like to see these photos of an AEM-7 on fire that my department recently ran in Washington Union Station. Apparently the fire gave the crews quite a workout, crews remained on scene for some hours.
Here is a link...
http://dcfd.com/
Dave
These DC (original) AEM7s keep catching fire. #911 caught fire a few weeks ago, and i think another AEM7 also just recently bit the dust because of fire. It seems these engines have been having a lot of issues lately. AEM7s were not know to just burst into flames like they have been lately (although it has happened before, just not so frequently).
As much as it pains me to say it, I hope Amtrak gets those Eurosprinters faster. These oldies are burning up. The Rebuilt AEM7-ACs have a good record, but they are only about half of the whole roster i think.
Wonder if it's just lack of maintenance - dirt buildign up in the cooling fans and so forth and then catching fire? Interesting if the rebuilds are not having a fire problem - they've been overhauled more recently and should be cleaner.
--Randy
rrinker Wrote:Wonder if it's just lack of maintenance - dirt buildign up in the cooling fans and so forth and then catching fire? Interesting if the rebuilds are not having a fire problem - they've been overhauled more recently and should be cleaner.
--Randy
Actually, that appears to be it. I can't name sources, but i was just discussing the burning of AEM7 #911, which burned out completely not very long ago. It was seen to be leaking thyristor oil, which cools down said piece of equipment. Apparently the unit was sent to Wilmington (where the electric locomotives are overhauled) but the shops there only topped off the transformer fluid, wrote it off as there being no problem, and sent it off on a Heavy long distance train, where it promptly leaked oil and burned up.
I'm not sure of the circumstances of 933's burning, but I bet it was a similar fire.
The early 2000s Rebuilds (AEM7-AC) are totally different on the inside (and very different on the outside in terms of the roof equipment). While being freshly rebuilt helps, the different design prevents this sort of issue from happening.
It appears that the Rebuilt AEM7-ACs will be the only "old" amtrak power left by the time EuroSprinter locomotives begin appearing on the Northeast Corridor. the old AEM7s clearly are falling apart and burning up (typical electric locomotive death), and the HHP8s, themselves only 10 years old, are plagued with to many problems and are difficult to repair.
I talked to some of the firemen that were there at 933's incident, they said the primary fire was from oil in the bottom of the mechanical compartment. Lots, and lots of oil. Sounds similar to what GEC said about the death of #911.
Dave