KCS 4688 - Diesel Prime Mover Runaway at Kansas City, MO
KCS 4688 decided enough was enough that morning and its prime mover decided to "run away". This occurred at the west end of KCS Knoche Yard at the Service Track. You could see the smoke pouring from the ES44AC from up to 10 miles away.
A runaway diesel engine is a mechanical ailment that is the result of seals failing, thus allowing the engine to combust its own lube oil as fuel, rather than diesel. This causes the engine to overspeed, and essentially the RPM's increase uncontrollably.
The only way to stop an engine from doing this once a runaway begins is to shut off the source of intake air for combustion and starve the process of oxygen. In the case of a diesel prime mover this large, this task is basically impossible. Essentially all you can do is wait until the engine runs out of lube oil and either stops running, seizes up, or suffers a severe mechanical failure, sometimes in the form of an explosion.
The 4688 made one awful noise when it seized up and flamed out at the end. KCFD was on scene to put the flame out in the end. Also on scene were KCS and GE Officials from the nearby locomotive shop, as well as KCPD for traffic control on Front Street due to the smokescreen being laid down from the stack.
After all of that, KCS used this photo and it scrolled across 60 inch TV screens on a slide show in their headquarters building for at least year.
Locomotive: KCS 4688
8-20-12
Kansas City, MO
KCS 4688 - Diesel Prime Mover Runaway at Kansas City, MO
KCS 4688 decided enough was enough that morning and its prime mover decided to "run away". This occurred at the west end of KCS Knoche Yard at the Service Track. You could see the smoke pouring from the ES44AC from up to 10 miles away.
A runaway diesel engine is a mechanical ailment that is the result of seals failing, thus allowing the engine to combust its own lube oil as fuel, rather than diesel. This causes the engine to overspeed, and essentially the RPM's increase uncontrollably.
The only way to stop an engine from doing this once a runaway begins is to shut off the source of intake air for combustion and starve the process of oxygen. In the case of a diesel prime mover this large, this task is basically impossible. Essentially all you can do is wait until the engine runs out of lube oil and either stops running, seizes up, or suffers a severe mechanical failure, sometimes in the form of an explosion.
The 4688 made one awful noise when it seized up and flamed out at the end. KCFD was on scene to put the flame out in the end. Also on scene were KCS and GE Officials from the nearby locomotive shop, as well as KCPD for traffic control on Front Street due to the smokescreen being laid down from the stack.
After all of that, KCS used this photo and it scrolled across 60 inch TV screens on a slide show in their headquarters building for at least year.
Locomotive: KCS 4688
8-20-12
Kansas City, MO