Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancpudn
I've done nowt all day but drive trains  It's even Winter on those  |
I remember the first time on a train where the a fresh heavy snowfall was above rail level so that you couldn't actually see the rails, just snow straight across, that was just weird . . . . and somewhat unnerving at first!
Severely pee'd off one brutal winter night when I hit a snowdrift and got snow into a traction motor (huge electric motor that drives the wheels, one per axle) while at full power putting about 1,800amps down to the traction motors. Remember it well, there was a bang and a brilliant blue flash lit up the countryside, "WTF was that?" then the engine shut down and wouldn't even turn over when I tried a restart! Driver only freight so I was on my tod, before the days of mobile phones etc, had to apply handbrakes to secure the train then walk over a mile in knee deep+ snow to the nearest lineside phone to speak to the signalman and wait there in the falling snow for an assisting loco. I made enquiries after the event and was told snow had got into one of the traction motors causing a catastrophic earth fault sending the 1,800amps to earth through the motor casing blowing the cr@p out of the power circuits including the main generator!