Unsilenced diesels in Inner Mongolia! (HD)

Another heavy Eastbound coal train is seen here on the stiff grade towards the summit of the "Binzhou line", worked by a HXN5 in front and two DF4B's as rear end helpers! This really is diesel action the way it should be: Unsilenced diesels pulling heavy trains on stiff grades in great landscapes! :-) I'm sure I'll be going back there... ;-) (Near Boketu, Hulunbeier, Inner Mongolia, China, 25/09/2011)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Qiqihaer
• Hulunbeier
• Inner Mongolia
• China
• HXN5
• GEVO
• DF4B
• diesel
• thrash
• sound
• coal
• train
• Binzhou line
• Haerbin
• Manzhouli
• Boketu
• Yakeshi

[webasto]

That's really a nice video! :)

[qj7205]

@webasto Thanks! :-) There's much more of this on my channel... ;-)

[ST799]

Hi qj7205, could you tell us more about the video camera and the microphone? Tq

[qj7205]

@ST799 Yes of course! :-) I use a Canon HG20 camcorder, but with a RØDE Stereo VideoMic as external microphone, on a Manfrotto 345 table top tripod (The mini tripod that RØDE makes for that microphone is no good, it tips over on all but the smoothest surface...) and with an extension cable... :-) (Buy only good quality cables though, take good care of them, and do a sound-check before you start filming! I ruined half of the recordings of a day on two occasions already, due to a failed cable...)

[qj7205]

@ST799 This way you get much better sound than from the built-in microphone of the camcorder. Indoors, that built-in microphone is good enough, but as soon as there is some wind the result is terrible... Sometimes it's better to buy a camcorder that's one step cheaper, but invest the money in a good external microphone... :-) The camcorder itself is very good too, but beware of the fact that HDD camcorders don't function properly any more below -10°C! Apart from that, a great camcorder... :-)

[balddanny72]

I wish we could see those big GE beasts in the U.S. About the closest we had were AC6000s but their horsepower was downgraded.

[qj7205]

@balddanny72 Indeed, and am I wrong to think that the HXN5's are also a lot louder than their North American sisters? :-) It seems there are no silencers whatsoever in these machines? Are there still such noisy (new) diesels in the USA these days? :-) I've never been in the USA yet, but for example the EMD "Class '66" engines used here in Europe are really extremely silent, even at full throttle, compared to these HXN5's... :-0

[ST799]

qj7205, thank you for the info. Your recording brought back my old memories when I was a kid.

[qj7205]

@KCR59 The engines in the back can't work full power everywhere though, as that might cause derailments in switches and sharp curves, at least in extreme situations... (Imagine To solve this problem, you can see that they use locomotives in the middle of the train (For example on the Datong - Qinhuangdao line), but you need to rearrange the whole train then, which would be very unpractical in a situation like here on the Binzhou line, where the helpers are only needed for a short distance... :-)

[qj7205]

@KCR59 Well, actually it's not so difficult... :-) The HXN5 pulls the train, but without assistance it would stall on the climb because the train is too heavy for this grade. Therefore, helper engines push the train, resulting in the first part of the train being pulled by the HXN5 and the second part being pushed by the DF4B's. The exact number of cars that are pulled by the HXN5 and how many there are pushed changes continuously, it simply depends on the power each of the loco's applies... :-)