The Trainmaster The Official Publication of the Pacific Northwest Chapter February 2013 National Railway Historical Society Portland, Oregon A Real PNW Heavy Weight On August 9, 2012 Victor Peters posted on Trainorders.com some pictures of a lead lined locomotive located in southeastern Idaho that prompted an investigation and this article. Part of the extensive Idaho National Laboratory includes the Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-1) Atomic Museum. This facility is located on U.S. Highway 20/26 between Idaho Falls and Arco. The facility, a National Historic Landmark where usable electricity was first generated from nuclear energy in 1951, is open to the public from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend – seven days a week – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission is free. It's the only place in America you can see four nuclear reactors – including two aircraft nuclear propulsion prototypes, a reactor control room, remote A&M. Shielded locomotive (TAN-607), March 2004; used with permission from INL; handling devices for radioactive materials, photo from Library of Congress HAER ID 33-E-76; INEEL negative no. HD-39-10-3 radiation detection equipment and much more. As part of the 1950s Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project to develop a nuclear powered bomber, a lead lined railroad locomotive was built to move the bomber in and out of its hanger. Outside the EBR-1 is this preserved locomotive and the two General Electric nuclear propulsion prototype motors. The locomotive ran on standard rails but the dolly for moving the test nuclear engines ran on four rails. The nuclear powered bomber project could not overcome the weight required to shield the crew from the radiation and was canceled by President John F. Kennedy on March 28, 1961. INFORMATION RE: ANP Project – 215 Ton General Electric Diesel Electric Locomotive, Class A1A-A1A-255/430- 4GE733 SOURCE: Electro-Mechanical Engineering Services Department, General Electric Laboratory, Instructions GEI-44853, ANP Project, Remote Handling Equipment: Shielded Locomotive. Vol. X Schenectady, New York: General Electric Company, c. 1954. “The Shielded Locomotive was designed and fabricated for the ANP [Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion] Project to transport men and material into and out of a radiation zone. The locomotive is capable of carrying 12 men plus the operator inside its shielded compartment. With only this load, it is capable of speeds up to 10 mph. The locomotive is also capable of moving a loaded dolly with a February 2013 Pacific Northwest Chapter National Railway Historical Society The Trainmaster Page 1 total weight of about 320 tons. This load can be moved by the locomotive at speeds up to about 5 mph. The locomotive is provided with a “reversible blade” type snow plow to aid in clearing the trackage of snow for winter operation. This snow plow is easily installed or removed as the need arises.” (Electro-Mechanical Engineering Services Department, General Electric Laboratory c.1954,1) “In order to facilitate a locomotive type vehicle quickly and easily, it was necessary to utilize as many components of standard locomotive design as possible. Consequently, the Shielded Locomotive is designed around the standard GE 44 ton locomotive. Many of the components, such as the diesel engine, traction motor, generator and auxiliaries are the same as those used on the standard locomotive. The physical arrangement and control for these components have been altered to meet specific needs. The total weight of the Shielded Locomotive is about two hundred fifteen tons. Since it was necessary to keep the weight to a minimum, the locomotive is carried on 6 highly loaded axles instead of 8 as would normally be used for the equivalent weight. The speed requirements for this locomotive are low and this factor favored many alterations in design over standard locomotives. As prime mover, the Shielded Locomotive will be capable of pulling or pushing the loaded power plant dolly at a speed of up to 5 miles per hour on a 1% grade. Without the power plant dolly, the locomotive will be capable of a speed of about 10 miles per hour. The power for the locomotive will be supplied by two 200 HP, 8-cylinder V-type Caterpillar diesels, type D17000. These diesels will supply power to 2 DC generators. The 2 DC generators drive 4 traction motors mounted 2 on the front truck and 2 on the rear truck. Auxiliary power will be furnished by 2 auxiliary generators mounted one on each main generator. Air will be supplied by two air compressors mounted in conjunction with the two main generators. The trucks which will carry the locomotive are 3 axle trucks. Each truck will have two motored axles and one idle axle. The wheels on all axles are 33” in diameter. The front truck will carry approximately 29 tons on each motored axle and 57 tons on the idle axle. The rear truck will carry approximately 27.8 tons on each motored axle and 45 tons on the idle axle. The front truck has a type E coupler mounted directly, while the rear coupler will be mounted on the frame of the chassis. Each truck is equipped with electro-pneumatic air brakes. The main frame consists of two 36” CB sections beams braced with 16” CB section beams. For the most part the frame is a welded fabrication. The personnel compartment of the locomotive is capable of seating twelve people in addition to the locomotive operator. It is constructed is such a manner as to protect these people from radiation… In order to provide adequate shielding for the personnel against radiation, the compartment is lined with lead and surrounded by a jacket of water. This water must be provided with an anti-freeze for cold weather operation. The lead lining on the locomotive is a homogeneous mass of lead bonded to steel plates. The water jacket completely surrounds the lead and steel liner. The outer shell of the water jacket is a 1/4” steel plate welded and braced with 2” and 3” steel angles in order to support the weight and forces of inertia involved in movement. The angle braces from the inner lining to the outer shell are offset in order to eliminate any straight through paths for radiation to follow. The water jacket is supplied with expansion tanks of such capacity as to accommodate thermal expansion through a range of temperatures of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The main expansion tank is provided with a sight glass to enable an observer to determine if water is to be added or drained off. Each separate water compartment has an expansion tank, a fill cap, and a drain plug. The personnel passage-way, which is the normal means of entering and leaving the locomotive, is in the bottom of the compartment. This device has the same general construction as the personnel compartment. This device is essentially a shielded tube which protects personnel while passing from the locomotive into a tunnel located between the center pair of rails and designed to fit this shielded tube. In order for the locomotive operator to view the trackage, turntable, and power plant dolly, a window is provided in both front and rear ends of the compartment. These windows are of the liquid filled, leaded glass type construction. The front window allows the operator to view the front coupler directly and also the top of Page 2 February 2013 Pacific Northwest Chapter National Railway Historical Society The Trainmaster the dolly when coupled to the locomotive. The windows are designed with a stepped construction to eliminate any straight through paths for radiation. The windows contain enough high density leaded glass to be the equivalent of the thickness of lead on both the front and rear of the compartment. A clear non-freezing fluid should be used in the compartments of the windows. Since the leaded glass is soluble in water, some other fluid must be used. The fluid compartments of the windows are made up of layers of non-browning cerium glass. Expansion tanks are provided for the fluid compartments of both windows. Window wipers are provided for reach window for inclement weather. A system consisting of a fan, ducting, filters, and electric strip heaters are provided to filter and warm the air for the interior of the compartment, the fan is capable of completely changing the air in the compartment once every 97 seconds. The filters in the system will remove all particles of 1 micron in diameter and 99 percent of particles 3/10 micron in diameter. Air will be exhausted through part of the same tube that carries the control wiring in to the compartment. Twin seal beam lights are provided on the outside of the locomotive to aid in viewing forward and aft during darkness. Two horns are mounted on top of the compartment. These horns sound forward and to the rear simultaneously. For winter operation, a snow plow can be installed on the locomotive to aid in removing snow from the trackage. The snow plow is a one-way, reversible-blade type which mounts in the front of the locomotive. It is capable of clearing a 9' path with each pass. All locomotive controls and instruments are located either at the forward or rear operation stations or at both. Controls are of the remote type; either electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical or combinations of these. There are indicating lights to show operating limitations or control positions of most components. Dial type instruments are provided for some components. The forward-reverse control is a standard locomotive component for controlling the direction of travel. The speed control is a standard locomotive component with a modification for remote control Snaptran-2 experiment mounted on dolly being hauled by shielded locomotive engine shut down.