PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - -49c

2.5Turbo · #12 01-28-2008, 03:37 PM

Yeah that is terribly cold. I posted on another thread about my trip back to school recently. I took the train across the country and when we got into North Dakota, the temps were down near -20F. That night it got down to -25. Under -20F, the trains are limited to 65mph due to the risk of broken rails at that temperature. All the sink drains on the cars froze up...a maintenance worker at the station stop in Minot, ND thawed out all the drains with a flare, only to have them freeze up again shortly after we got underway. And the condensation clouds from the diesel exhaust were amazing. The dishwasher drain in the dining car also froze up, so for lunch the next day we were all eating on plastic plates and with plastic cups.

No problems with the diesel locomotives though. If I remember correctly they all have fuel tank heaters to keep the fuel from gelling. And it was a good thing too, since they are what provide the power for heating the whole train.