Allison M916 + Mk48 Cab = 6x6 "FEMTT"

[M920]

Winch Explosion.....

So the weekend was a bit crazy and I sure hope the locomotive move on Wednesday will go extra smooth to make up for it.

The first two pics are of a giant birds nest (anybody know what kind of bird builds a nest like this?) that was discovered when I tried to add oil to the engine of the HET!!

The next two show the result of a catastrophic clutch failure on the newly installed 'pony winch'!!
The clutch housing busted and sent a gulp of nasty gear oil all over my friend Ethan that was helping me wind the cable up tight.
We could not determine what caused the issue but after installing a new clutch housing from a parts winch that I luckily had.....It seems to work fine now?!? Hmmmmm......

The last two pics are of the new 24V alternator, with fabricated mounting bracket and tensioner rod, to replace the trouble prone 'Transformer Rectifier' on the back of the original 12V alternator.
After another one went up in smoke (this is number 3) I did not want to try this any longer.....apparently I'm using more 24V power then device can supply....
So now I will have a dual alternator system like on the one on the M1070 HET....Will keep you posted on how that works out....

Soni

 

[Tinwoodsman]

It is amazing... I have followed this thread from the beginning and I cannot remember one post that recommends a solution that is better than the one you developed.

 

[Alexsha]

The FEMTT really needs to be mass produced. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[Castle Bravo]

The first two pics are of a giant birds nest (anybody know what kind of bird builds a nest like this?) that was discovered when I tried to add oil to the engine of the HET!!

The "Greater Rio Grande HET Bird," of course.

 

[M920]

It is amazing... I have followed this thread from the beginning and I cannot remember one post that recommends a solution that is better than the one you developed.

That is a REALLY NICE COMPLIMENT 'Tinwoodsman'.....I'm sure there are a lot of things that I could have done better....but THANK YOU! That is very flattering ...!!!

Soni

 

[M920]

The "Greater Rio Grande HET Bird," of course.

Haha....you are certainly a genuine "Greater Phoenix Area Funny Bird" Matt!!! lol

 

[wreckerman893]

The first two pics are of a giant birds nest (anybody know what kind of bird builds a nest like this?) that was discovered when I tried to add oil to the engine of the HET!!

That is the nest of the rarely sighted "Dookey Bird".

It is easily recognized by it distinctive distress call....."AWWWWWW SH*T". Usually emitted when it lands on the hot exhaust manifold of a military vehicle.

 

[M35A2-AZ]

As always some nice fab work!!! Glad Ethan was not hurt the the gear oil. Have a safe move on Wednesday.

 

[M920]

Locomotive D&RGW #168 Move

Just got home from a three day long Locomotive move that brought former D&RGW 'ten wheeler' number 168 from Colorado Springs, CO to Antonito, CO.

This is the one I had mentioned, that required the FEMTT to be equipped with a "fifth wheel module".
Since it was the FEMTT's first participation in a steam locomotive move, I was a bit nervous about it.

The 500 mile roundtrip (from Chama, NM) included the crossing of two major mountain passes, one of them loaded with the tender of the 168.

The loading in Colorado Springs, the roughly 200 mile loaded trip, and the unloading in Antonito went nice and smooth and proofed my worries to be unjustified. The winch worked awesome and the truck ran great!

On the way there, with just the empty M870 and following the HET at 40 to 45 mph, the FEMTT got almost 7miles to the gallon!!!

We took the M1070 HET with the XM747 for the roughly 32 ton locomotive and the FEMTT with the M870 to haul the engines 16 ton tender.

Here are a few pics....I'm supposed to get some more from a friend. I had my hands full and had no time to take pics....lol

 

[drician]

Is there a reason you used the M1070 instead of the M920? Also, nice pictures!

 

[kubotaman]

Is there a reason you used the M1070 instead of the M920?

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[HanksDeuce]

Soni, can you tell me why these trains need to be moved around? Are they museum pieces moved about for display or restorations that have to be transported to their final resting place?

 

[1954 COE]

Impressive caravan of iron!

 

[marchplumber]

Impressive caravan of iron!

Wonder what the combined total weight of all involved was?

 

[M920]

Is there a reason you used the M1070 instead of the M920? Also, nice pictures!

Well it is mostly a safety issue and at this point the XM747 is pretty much permanently assigned to the M1070 HET. It has low range on the transfer case which really helps when descending steep mountain grades or pulling the trailer out of a soft loading pit. The Allison makes it safer on the grades (Driving the XM920, I have missed a gear or two before....not pretty!!!) and with the planetary axles it really holds the heavy loads back much better on steep descends! The heavier it is loaded the more resistance you get out of those planetaries!



Soni

 

[Landbarger]

Soni, I think my most pressing question for you is: with the amount of attention you draw on the roads in your (inventively improved) fleet of MVs, how do you avoid getting ticketed for "having too much fun"?

 

[kubotaman]

Does your truck still have the CAT 3116? Any pros of the M920 over the M1070?

 

[73m819]

Does your truck still have the CAT 3116? Any pros of the M920 over the M1070?

I would say TWO totally different trucks, designed for two different jobs, each has it's high marks and low marks.

 

[M920]

Soni, can you tell me why these trains need to be moved around? Are they museum pieces moved about for display or restorations that have to be transported to their final resting place?

There are as many different reasons as there are steam locomotives I have moved. Sometimes they have engines that don't belong to a certain railroad and the owners lease them to different roads for railfan specials. Or in this case the engine sat in a park in Colorado Springs for 75 or so years and now a group of people with the C&TSRR want to restore it back to service.
In La Junta, Colorado, Santa Fe engine number 1024 just needed to be moved across town from one park to another.

So I think one reason that I get to move a lot of old steam locomotives is because word got out that I do that kind of stuff. The other reason is, that the small narrow gauge locomotives of Colorado and New Mexico yield themselves more to being moved around because its relatively inexpensive in comparison to their large standard gauge counterparts around the rest of the country.

Soni

 

[M920]

Wonder what the combined total weight of all involved was?

The total combined weight of the two trucks, the trailers and the locomotive and its tender came to 241,000 pounds of "Iron Caravan".....lol


Soni