Re: Pass Locos

[dbromage@metz.une.edu.au (David Bromage)]

David Johnson (trainman@ozemail.com.au) wrote:
>Incidentally, most of the QR 1720 class, which is the same as a 49 class, have a
>switch for shunting which allows for fast loading/unloading of the main
>generator.  In normal mode, taking one notch will pull about 50 Amps, whereas in
>shunting mode, it will pull about 300 Amps.

When I travelled to Forsayth in December 1992, loco 1720 headed the train.
I was lucky enough to be (unofficially) allowed to drive the train west of
Almaden. The "shunting mode" feature was used only once at a roadside
shunt where the entire train had to be moved, but the take off didn't
appear to be appreciably faster. In each case the train didn't start to
move until about notch 4.

Cheers
David