DCA Red Cars questions

[TFN5459]

Any CM can run a darn trolley, but only a select few like Dog can properly run a steam locomotive.

I beg to differ, sir. Drive your happy rear over to S.F. and visit the Cable Car museum and round house and then tell those guys that anyone can do their job and see the response you get. I also have a great respect for the folks that operate the horse drawn trolleys on Main Street in all 3 Parks I have visited. Controling a live horse in crowds is an incredible feat. Getting a horse to actually do it's job in a crowd is a miracle.

The DRR and WDWRR crews are in a class by themselves. Hats off to these folks for sure. too bad the top hat emo guy is gone.

On a side note, in WDW Hollywood Studios there is a sign advertising the Red Cars on a billboard as you enter the gates. It is perched high on the first shop just after guest services on the left side of the street looking towards the Scorcer's hat.

I was specificly refering toward the DCA Red Cars. Obviously, the SF Cable Cars required great motormen to operate, but Disney's Red Car, I don't think so.

[IDMT129]

Enough, of the misnomers!

Points at the tea kettle!

[S. Towler]

The people who run the Red Cars are going to fall into the same department as the people who run the monorails, the horse-drawn street cars, (use to) Jolly Trolly, and Casey Jr.-- Attractions. If there's no steam involved, the steam department isn't going to touch it.

[jazzfan4]

There are lots of things called trolley's that are not powered. Harry Potter has bought lots of items off the trolley. No telling with the Kings English.

[Roy]

...Obviously, the SF Cable Cars required great motormen to operate...

That's gripmen.

[TFN5459]

Is the Steam Department involved in Mark Twain Sternwheeler affairs? After all it is STEAM powered.

[IDMT129]

To my understanding, yes. I have spoken to the actual engineers assigned to the Mark Twain. I have heard that some of the CM's dislike the fact that the ship is used in Fantasmic. She is made to go faster than normal operating conditions. There is a setting marked "Fantasmic only" because the boilder runs under higher pressure than normal operations. I was told the psi in the boiler is similar to the trains under normal operation. Fantasmic runs the Mark Twain at 145+psi to move the ship faster for show purposes.

[Bruce R Pier]

I thought that they installed one of those electric "pods" on her keel to give her a boost. Now, do they still use a turbogenerator to light her at night, or have they slipped a diesel genset in? If they are using just the turbo, I could see them having to boost the output to compensate for the added draw of the pod.

[Steve DeGaetano]

The steam turbogenerator hasn't been used in years, if not decades.

Yes, steam CMs from the roundhouse opeate the boat.

[BruceBergman]

Let's see what facts (gasp!) I can throw out here.

Red Car Trolleys:
There is a Car House built for the two Red Cars back behind the CarsLand construction area, and they are building the two trolleys inside. They are a shortened and somewhat downscaled unit based on the streamline Hollywood Car with the center load and unload doors. And they run on deep-cycle batteries, with inductive charging loops (like Jolley Trolley) at the various stop & load points - the catenary and pickup arms are there for looks only. (Pity...)

And they will be run by Motormen (and possibly have Conductors to handle loading).

Mark Twain:
Talked to an OE on duty, and contrary to the information I had before (bad bearings) the steam turbogenerator on the Twain does indeed work - but when they run it they use more fuel and a lot more boiler water, so they have to add another fuel and water stop during the day - Which is why they stick with the Cummins Onan 6.5 KW Diesel Gen-set hidden away in the stern, and go all day. Not "period", but a lot more efficient.

They installed the electric thruster pod on the Twain to get more speed for Fantasmic! because the paddlewheel is sitting too low in the water, and taking too big of a bite. (And I posted in MiceChat "So why don't they make some wedges and raise the paddlewheel? Duhhhh...")

Then I talked extensively with an expert that knows the situation intimately, who had already told Disney they need to make some big steel wedges and raise the paddlewheel to get the speed back, or build a smaller diameter paddlewheel to get back to optimum...

So what did they do? They replaced the old paddlewheel with a new one, but a LARGER diameter one - they made the problem worse. And they still use the thruster, they have to.

IDMT129:
Pretty sure that's an older picture of the Twain boiler controls stack, a "First Generation redo" with the grey Intermatic T101 Timer box repurposed for controls and pilot lights - I pull that trick all the time since the used boxes are essentially free but I KNOW they have the budget to do it right...

That was a redo from the 1955 one-speed burner to the first modulating burner they installed, and they've redone it again since. It's all digital and all integrated in the burner control box now, and they went to a fancy-schmancy modulating variable-speed burner that auto-lights and sets off alarms if anything goes wrong.

--<< Bruce >>--