Railroad Nostalgia

AC traction is invisible as is a majority of America’s rail network. While our government relies upon the “Strategic Rail Corridor Network” for our nation’s defense, and the “Iron Horse” forged the brazen path from the Atlantic to the Pacific for pioneering settlers in a newly burgeoning America, AC Traction will hold no such place in the hearts of a nostalgic America. Conversely over time it will be discovered this technological “advancement” has been a plague to the world reaping benefits for rail companies only. It always has been understood the rail industry has been “in the pocket” of the federal government, or is it the other way around? With this current administration it is difficult to know. Is Haliburton “in the pocket” of the federal government, or is it the other way around? It is understandable that in times of crisis our national defense must rely upon rail. Looking at the choice of logistics available in the United States, a well-hidden and substantial means of transportation of heavy artillery is a plus. Otherwise the government would have to employ thousands of individual, self-employed, sleep-deprived, No-Doz addicted, interstate-employed “Rebels without a Cause.” We wouldn’t want our military’s finest and most technologically advanced weapons put in the hands of truck drivers like the rest of the nation’s products. Rail has always competed with trucking, but it wasn’t until CSX-T became determined to become a Fortune 500 company that AC traction became a problem on the East Coast of the United States. Their competitor Norfolk/Southern decided for personal reasons not to buy AC traction locomotives. They still use an army of C40-9W’s, the most powerful DC freight locomotive in existence. You will know if one of these is sitting in your back yard, just like you will know if a pair of AC-6000’s is anywhere near. Ft. Bragg, North Carolina employs a pair of these, and upon seeing a picture of them you can understand why they keep them hidden in a bunker. My question has always been, “Why use such powerful freight locomotives for switching applications?” Secondly, “Why did Amtrak, a small bankrupt passenger railroad with trains the average length of three to four coaches, begin using AC traction?” If one has ever embarked a cruise ship in San Diego, California at their downtown port, you will see their choice of motive power. They us the EMD F59 PHI. Unlike its East Coast counterpart the F40PH, the F59 has a separate diesel engine/generator combination at the rear of the locomotive to produce HED or “head end power” for the passengers of the train. The F40 has none, so even when it is standing still at the station the diesel prime mover has to run at a high RPM level (900 revolutions per minute) to provide electrical power for the rest of the train. Appropriately these locomotives were nicknamed “The Screamer.” At various times in the day when one of these Amtrak locomotives is sitting at the station in downtown Fayetteville, you will know it by the vibration created by that diesel engine. Likewise you know when a similarly equipped AC Traction freight locomotive is near. Whether the thrysistor/IGBT is producing the vibrating low frequency waves, or if the infrasound wave produced by the diesel prime mover is being modulated by the frequency of the inverter the sensation one feels on both the body and in the mind is negative. Studies have been done that documented the results of invading radio waves on brain activity. The brain, after a period of trying to resist, eventually “locks onto” the frequency bombarding it. That means any of this activity effects the brain and the emotions with the capacity to change your mood and thought process. People have been complaining about panic, anxiety, attention deficiency, depression, irritability, fatigue, and feelings of violence ever since the implementation of AC Traction in the mainstream of American infrastructure. Neither the EPA, the FDA, nor the Federal Office of Noise Abatement have taken one look at its effect to the American population. Maybe we wouldn’t need so many drugs if we brought back soda fountains, drive in theaters, and sock hops and got rid of AC Traction. Only history will tell.