Willybru21
Active Member
The absolute maximum they’ve run has been 30 cars and 4 engines (4th engine on the back).
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Bordercollie
Senior Member
I thought that there is some theoretical maximum length the HEP cables are good for? I don't know what that is.
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
To the moon and back.
smallspy
Senior Member
There might be, but to the best of my knowledge it's the HEP alternator that always ends up being the limiting factor. And on VIA, that limit is about 15 cars.
Dan
Willybru21
Active Member
So what do they do for longer trains? VIA runs above 15 cars extremely often, even right now.
crs1026
Superstar
smallspy
Senior Member
VIA's system is different from Amtrak's in that in normal operation it can be configured as two separate lines, one on each side of the car.
That means in the case of the Canadian, one side of the train - and thus every second car - is powered by one locomotive while the other side (and every other car not powered by the first) is powered by the second locomotive.
VIA's system also allows for a mode that allows them to operate with Amtrak's equipment, although due to the limitations of VIA's equipment the result is that it isn't quite as capable as Amtrak's. Amtrak generally spec's higher output HEP alternators which allows them to power more cars from their one circuit than VIA could, although VIA's two circuits can power more cars in total.
Dan
Bordercollie
Senior Member
So with the Siemens fleet do they need to be compatible with the legacy HEP system? Incase an F40 or P42 needs to tow a Siemens trainset?
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
This is a good Q. I know that the new Siemens trainsets were hooked up to a GO trainset and driven around Willowbrook Yard/TMC to test a rare scenario where a GO train may need to move a VIA.
smallspy
Senior Member
The Siemens sets have at the very least an Amtrak-compatible system. This would allow them to operate in conjunction with the old equipment, and to allow them to use the existing wayside connections. We've already seen this done, so at the very least we know this much.
But do they have the full VIA spec? I honestly don't know yet.
GO's HEP and VIA"s HEP are incompatible with each other. They use different voltages, and the plugs are wired differently to ensure that they can't be accidentally connected.
GO's testing simply involved coupling up a loco to a Siemens set and hooking up the air in order to pull it around the yard - nothing more.
Dan
crs1026
Superstar
A look at the many pictures of the VIA trainsets online seem to show far fewer connecters on the noses of either cab car or locomotive, especially in comparison to models produced for US customers.
Maybe the VIA nose has folding doors, but I see little sign of those. And the couplers protrude so far that any such hidden connectors would have to be pretty long.
I suspect that from nose to tail the HEP is indeed North American standard, but at face value one wonders if the trains have been specc'ed without full nose connectivity. The various releases about the trains indicate the locos produce 600 kw of HEP power, so the 1.2 mw spec may not apply (although the cables themselves are probably off the shelf, and top-and-tail operation at a later date may be futureproofed somehow)
There must be hotel power connections.
Indeed, some details we don't know yet.
- Paul
smallspy
Senior Member
Both cab ends of the sets have a HEP plug, one on either side (they are coloured red). This is not expressly indicative of being set up with VIA's HEP system versus the Amtrak version, but rather that there are at least 2 connections - one on each side of the car. What it does mean, however, is that the set can only power one side of VIA's two-sided system when plugged in to older equipment.
The 27-pin MU (yellow or black) and 27-pin COMM (blue) have been replaced with Cat5 plugs (orange). The equipment can not be MU'ed or communicate with older equipment because of this. More importantly, as the bearing sensors on the older equipment communicate via the COMM lines, the Siemens sets can't even pull the old equipment around in service.
There are also both trainline and main res air brake connections at both ends, as per standard for all passenger equipment.
Other than the MU and COMM, the Siemens sets have all of the same connections that you would find on any other passenger equipment in North America.
Dan
Allandale25
Senior Member
daptive
Active Member
Would been a shame if those steel supports were accidentally knocked down……….
SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
Oh nooo, what a shame the bush shed got destroyed! What a shame it will have to be replaced with something that’s actually nice!