CaptainCrutch

CFs don’t have tilt cabs, just a doghouse rear of the cab (unless it’s a 4 door in which case it’s just in the cab). The whole drivetrain is located entirely between the axels.

It sounds to me like it’s losing prime in the fuel system. I’d try pumping that hand primer a bunch and if it starts with ease doing that then you have the answer to your problem. Alternatively it could be something up with your shut down linkage, either the linkage itself or the part inside that actually shuts off the injectors. But my money is on the fact it’s losing prime, I had a similar issue at one point on my CF, and that was it.

Most Mission BBQs have some great gathering for 9/11, so naturally the one in the town my trucks hail from asked to have them. It was only me available today so I only brought the CF, but she wasn’t the only one. Here’s just a couple pics I managed to snag before everyone ate and headed home, lol.

Surprisingly the heat loss really isn’t that significant, and on their first prototype they were getting a 50% fuel reduction to do the same work, because when the diesel motor is running its running at a constant throttle right at the peak of its horsepower curve, which is way more fuel efficient than having the diesel mechanical driveline we all know and love. And you can actually use a smaller diesel motor to do more work than most conventional trucks. Hybridizing a truck in the manner you mention would negate a lot of that efficiency, but it could definitely get you a little more fuel mileage. There’s a reason trains don’t get driven directly off the prime mover, instead they just have electric motors on every axel that are powered by the diesel generator… exactly like this truck. There’s really no new technology here, it’s just a new application of something that worked for Mack back in 1927, and pretty much every train since before 1964.

Indeed, the blue logger is their retrofit prototype. My understanding is it uses half the fuel of a conventional truck while having so much power they kept snapping the driveline on it. And unlike if it was full electric it actually weighs less than it did before the conversion.

Finally after the technology has existed for about 100 years, and used regularly on train locomotives for about the past 90, someone has built a Diesel Electric truck. Not a fully electric truck that requires as much power as a whole neighborhood to charge, but a really sensible application. Edison Motors is a Canadian company who are huge proponents of Right To Repair, and built this truck using mostly American made parts in a tent in just 6 months, using lessons learned when testing their prototype that was built off a 1962 Kenworth. They intend on producing off-highway trucks like this new prototype, retrofit kits so you can take any truck and convert it to their drive train, and in the future highway trucks styled more after the classics we’re all used to over the “aerodynamic” style that all the manufacturers seem to keep trying to push us towards. Finally I’m comfortable saying this is the future of trucking.

Well the show was today and tomorrow, so I’m a little late in sharing its existence, but it seems like there were a fair few to pick from this weekend. Either way I got the CF out again and took some pictures of the other trucks that showed up. Cool little event with the farm tractors having their “Spudfest” there was plenty of good food too!

Oh believe me, I know that all too well…

I’ve just been real busy. I could probably count on my fingers the number of times in the last year and some change that I’ve even been home to look at the trucks. Luckily my dad and younger brother have been having their fun with them while I was away. I’m likely to drop off again, but that’s just how life goes sometimes.

It’s always nice to leave the CF for a while, and come back to find it starts like it ran yesterday. Decided to take her to a little local show today, and she was joined by other trucks in her own colors.

The 707a & 707b are pretty interchangeable across the board, just a few minor differences of which I can’t remember. The 707c sort of has the head turned around so the exhaust manifold is on the other side. I don’t know what other changes there might be associated with that.

All my life people have looked at my name and read it wrong. My name has the word crutch in it but it fairly regularly gets turned into crunch. So some number of years ago a group of kids thought to call me Captain Crunch and I guess the corrected version stuck. Doesn’t bother me none considering my family history in the fire service, although somewhat strangely my ancestors seem to always miss the rank of Captain…

I don’t think that’s a 707 motor but I guess I could be wrong. Probably one of the smaller Mack gassers.

As nice as that would be, for these first few runs we’re letting the most experienced ones take over, until they can get a handle on it. This engine hasn’t run in almost 70 years, nobody alive has ever driven it, it’s like a new car you’ve got to get used to it. Point being my time in the cab isn’t here quite yet. Maybe sometime next year…

Well, we ran the locomotive up the line today. What a beast!

I’ve heard of this project, I believe I was talking a year or two ago to one of the guys working on that engine. It is incredible to see all the huge steamers take to the rails again! It was just a few years ago many thought that Strasburg’s 2-10-0 locomotive would be one of the biggest that could still run, now here we are with Berkshires and Big Boys and locomotives in between pulling trains again. I know there’s an old engine in a park in my town I’d love to see fired up at the old station… In the meantime I suppose I have our Beast of the East to scratch that itch.

Luckily with 1309 we don’t have to worry about many corners being too tight, despite what some news sources and former railroad employees said… She was built for the mountains, and larger engines ran on our road anyways. Just shy of 100ft long, barely fits on our turntable!

I don’t know the torque numbers, I’m sure it can be calculated, but railroads use Tractive Effort for that sort of measurement, and this one has a little more than 70,000 lbs. For comparison the other diesels we have can only do about 50,000 lbs and 40,000 lbs, but a lot of the big freight diesels you see on the big railroads have around 80,000 lbs. Regardless I’m pretty sure the earth itself turns under 1309 when it starts off, you can certainly feel it…

They’re a pair of steam powered air compressors. Rail cars and the engine use air brakes, and this particular engine was designed for hills, so it got plenty of air to hold the train back without locking up or running away.

1309 is a 2-6-6-2 wheeled locomotive while the Big Boy is a 4-8-8-4 wheeled locomotive. The big boy is bigger, notably so, but that engine is so big it can’t come this far east. Still, 1309 is about the biggest engine you can reasonably operate regularly, and she’s much bigger than most of the other engines in steam.

No more pictures of her recently I can share publicly quite yet, but be sure to see plenty come December 17th! But I do have some older pics of before she was completely finished.

Well I guess it’s time y’all found out why I disappear from here for long periods of time. Yesterday marked the beginning of the end on the latest project of mine, the last Baldwin locomotive has breathed life again. It’s taken 7 years, countless people, millions of dollars, blood sweat and tears… But finally #1309 is alive again after nearly 70 years since the C&O railroad retired her. Obviously I didn’t do this alone and there’s plenty of people who’ve put far more work in than me, but I can atleast hold pride that I had a hand in this. Now I hear it’s almost time the jolly fat man borrows her to bring kids to the North Pole…

My CF will be there but I won’t. Some other family of mine are taking it Saturday. Can’t wait to see the pics!