September October 1967 #177
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ilepoSls Volume XIX, No .5 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1967 ' Milepost No. 177 Public Relations Department WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RY. TIDEWATER SOUTHERN RY . O scillograph re cords 516 Mission Street th e f luct uati on s of San Francisco, Calif. 94105 teste d vari ables in a n Lee " Flash" Sherwood, Editor in str umentation van be s id e th e tracks. Da:a on each impact j,$ logged and com pared with previous Member te st results. Association of Roilroad Editors *Mile post No. 177: Straight a nead to Marys ville about 1 V2 miles distant. MANIFEST Page Cover Picture Story on Page 8 .... .. F1·ont Cover A Boxcar Gets a Physical.. ....... 3 $1 Million Cash and 1,000 Mustangs ....... 8 MAN wanting to make certain his Watch For a Good TIP ............ .......... ....... 10 A heart's in tip- top shape usually R.E.B .... ? ....... .14 has the doctor use an electrocardio She Carries No Shillelagh! .. .15 graph to measure and record changes which occur during a heartbeat. Using People on the Move ..................... .16 A BOXCAR electrical impulses, the machine charts Keeping Track of the Nation's Freight Cars .. .17 electrocardiograms which provide a WP is Willing People .. .18 linear "picture" of the heartbeat and "Bill" Hallam Retires. ....... 20 GETS A can pinpoint any imperfections . Retirement .21 FreightMaster, a division of Halli Mileposts in Gold . .... 22 burton Company, is doing something similar with a Western Pacific boxcar Caboosing .......................................... .24 PHYSICAL in testing a new hydraulic cushioning Dear Editor: ......... 33 unit at research facilities in Duncan, In Memoriam .... 34 Oklahoma. Railroad Lines . .Back Cove1' (Continued on Page 4) 2 ~ 7 MILEPOSTS SE PTEMBER-OCTO BER, 1967 3 A Boxcar gets a Physical ... lricLion cush iOlllll g <i(' vices. It will be r eturn cd 'CillipPl'd with new Freight The Western Pacific car has been Mastcr hyd rtllI Ii (' (" lI ~ h ioning units and assigned to FreightMaster for several other m ociifi euti o l1 s. months. Actual testing of the experi On of tl1(' /ill ll i ~{('rics of tests took mental cushioning unit on the car be place on J lil y G. 'I'll(' unit being tested gan May 31 and will be completed was th n shiPt H'(i to I·'ort Worth, home soon. Engineers have compiled data of Frc ightMnst(' I"s Il HlI1 l1(acturing fa and a stack of oscillograms in an ef cilitics, fOI ' l1l odi/ieu ti ns before re fort to design a new cushioning unit suming th ' t 'sls. Tlw unit had under with 55% more stroke than the present gon nin' s ' ri '8 of l 'sls, with more FreightMaster device. than 200 impa ·ts a t sp ' ds of 3 to 14 The boxcar, loaded with anchorcd mph, wh cn it was' nt to F ort Worth. concrete blocks and wired like a heart Th c Frc ightMast r c ng inec rs in patient for the tests, came to Duncan Duncan simulated the most rigid con from Western Pacific with standard ditions imaginable to give the new cushioning unit a complete work-out Th is typical oscillogram registers six variables during the testing program. Jack Ste- on impact. Da rker, vertical divider lines enclose tenth s of seconds, and th e light vertical lin es (Continued on Page 5) split the tenths i.nto· hundredths. Th e Halliburton truck propelling the hammer car A Boxcar gets a Physical ... toward the W P boxcar equipped w ith the new Fre ightMaster hydraulic cushioning, device is phenson, a Halliburton development equipped with a special speedometer developed engineer working on the project, said by engineers to register the exact speed called for in vari.ou s tests . Radio contact is maintained the boxcar tests were designed to "es by technician in white hat (right). Running tablish the optimum performance of alongside, hammer car to connect test wires is the new FreightMaster unit." blurred figure of another Halliburton techn ician. The Western Pacific boxcar is a 50- foot, 70-ton car, the standard size used hammer- or striking-car; and a back by the Association of American Rail up or braking car. The striking car is roads in its Chicago testing programs, propelled by a converted Halliburton where new railroad products receive truck into the test car at varying final tests and ratings before going on speeds, and the test variables are re the market. In the Duncan tests, three corded on an oscillograph in a van care are used: The test car, in this beside the tracks. case the Western Pacific boxcar; a (Continued on Page 6) 4 MILEPOSTS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1967 5 A Boxcar gets a Physical . on impact tests, sway tests and experi mental design work on leased track unit began in January. The unit on age. They use freight cars, acceler the Western Pacific car is the eighth ometers, strain gauges, dynamometer used since testing began. The first couplers, radio control and modern seven units were tested for mechanical monitoring devices. There are also two performance, while current tests are testing areas in Duncan. aimed at the porting design of the unit. FreightMaster recently modified and The present FreightMaster hydraulic rejuvenated a 1925 Pullman car with cushioning device has a 9- inch stroke. air conditioning, an all-electric kitchen The experimental unit has a 15-inch and sleeping quarters for 10, for use stroke and is basically a new design, in research testing of cushioning units utilizing the FreightMaster concept of and related equipment. The 85- foot hydraulic fluid systems. research car, a former bedroom -loun ge Though FreightMaster's mechanical sleeper, has a 26-foot instrument room engineering group is based at Fort and other testing features. Power ed Worth, the engineers work closely with by an under- car engine-alternator set, Halliburton's Mechanical Research the car is fitted with FreightMaster and Development department at the hydraulic cush ioning units. Duncan general offices. In Waurika, Oklahoma, Freight Master engineers and technicians from WP Test Car on Display Fort Worth and Duncan collaborate Th e Western Pacific freight car tested by FreightMaster, de scribed in the precedin-g story, Th e Western Pacific car, le ft, and the hammer will be on display at the "New Concepts Show" ca r, both wired for th e exte nsive tests, are coupled. Th e expe rime ntal FreightMaster cush being held in Chicago, October 9-12. ion ing un it is housed in the rectangular cylinder. A Halliburton technician ch ecks to make sure the concrete blocks anchored in one end of test A. Boxcar gets a Physical . car haven't been ja rred loose by impact tests. Th e other end of the car i.s a ls o fill ed with heavy All three cars weigh 220,000 pounds blocks to g ive th e Fre ightMaster cushioning unit on the rails. The test car is in a free the most severe tests possible. to-roll condition, with the brakes off. The back - up car, with the brakes addition, engineers are utilizing an applied, "catches" the test car after impact recorder which the railroads impact. use extensively in test programs. Tested variables include (1) impact BJECT of the tests is to achieve speed; (2) coupler force; (3) accelera O the lowest amount of force on the tion of the test car and the hammer FreightMaster cushioning unit-which car; (4) hydraulic pressure in the test in turn results in lower acceleration, unit; (5) porting travel of the Freight lower coupler stress, etc. Master unit; and (6) travel of the Testing of the new lighter, shorter friction gear on the hammer car. In (C ontinued on Pa ge 7) 6 MILEPOSTS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1967 7 $1 MILLION CASH AND 1,000 MUSTANGS HERE was plenty of action on West showing of the commercial during this T ern Pacific's San Jose branch in Fall's games, American Oil Company July, both on the ground and in the is announcing a Super Pro Game in air. The center of attraction was a which participants can win up to $1 Brinks' armored truck on a single flat million in cash prizes and 1,000 1968 car, a solid trainload of Ford Mustangs Ford Mustangs. on tri-decker auto rack cars, some The captive Brinks' armored truck mighty diesel power, and a caboose. on the flat car was to back the idea of The action in the air took place in $1 million in cash prizes. WP's train a hovering helicopter where one of a load of Ford Mustangs was to drama camera crew from Hollywood's E.U.E. tize the phenomenal number of cars to Screen Gems was shooting action on be given away. the ground from every conceivable Western P acific football fans in the A Castlewood Country Club golfer takes his eye angle as the train pulled out of Mil east and m idwest watching the football off the ball to watch filmi.ng as helicopter passes Rus s Young, D'Arcy Advertising Agency, Chi· pitas. action will learn more about American over train heading east ne ar Pl easanton. Oil's give- away program. At the same cago, talks by walkie-talkie from caboose to Purpose of the busy event was to cameramen film ing the commercial, assisted by time they can watch the action which Barney Pedersen, W P director advertising, P.R. film scenes for an American Oil Com took place on the W P in July. Due to pany TV commercial to be used dur the sponsor's TV ad commitments the ing National Football League games commercial may, or may not appear Action began as the TV Speci al left Milpitas.