in full throttle

The phrase "in full throttle" means to do something with all your energy and effort. The throttle is a device that controls the amount of fuel going into the engine of a vehicle. The phrase is often used to describe someone who is doing something with as much speed and energy as they can.

Synonym:
firing on all cylinders
To be firing on all cylinders is an idiom that means to be operating as powerfully and effectively as possible. The expression comes from the idea of having all cylinders in an engine functioning. It is often used to describe people or things that are performing at their best or highest level of efficiency, speed, or productivity.

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Last-minute effort to save historic SW-1 diesel throttles to notch eight



NOTCH TERMINOLOGY
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NOTCH TERMINOLOGY
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7 posts
Notch terminology
 #304011  by eurobill
 Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:12 am
I was talking with a locomotive mechanic recently. I was curious about train operation and the conversation came around to "Engine Notch". He said notch 1 was slow, just off "idle-skip fire". Several times he mensioned the terms "idle skip fire" and "DB skip fire". At the time I didn't think to ask what they actually mean. Can someone shed some light?

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Re: Notch terminology
 #304017  by ExEMDLOCOTester
 Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:47 am
eurobill wrote:
I was talking with a locomotive mechanic recently. I was curious about train operation and the conversation came around to "Engine Notch". He said notch 1 was slow, just off "idle-skip fire". Several times he mensioned the terms "idle skip fire" and "DB skip fire". At the time I didn't think to ask what they actually mean. Can someone shed some light?
I am not sure about GE or what "Idle skip fire" means but on EMD units the throttle is incremented from Idle to position (notch) 8. Position 1 (Notch 1) is the lowest powered setting where current is delivered to the traction motors. Position 8 (Notch 8) is maximum engine speed and the position where maximum horse power is available.

The word "notch" is from the early Diesels where the throttle was spring loaded and fit into a slot called a notch. I don't know about Steam Engines but I believe a valve controlled steam flow. This may have been notched but I don't know. The only steam engine I crawled on had a valve for the throttle and it was not notched.

I hope this is helps.

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DB skip fire
 #304051  by amtrakhogger
 Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:53 am
I will take a stab that "DB skip-fire" is for Dynamic Brake.

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 #304810  by Typewriters
 Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:03 am
Most large steam locomotives had notches and a spring loaded mechanism to ensure the throttle stayed in one place -- although there were very many notches. Particularly the case with grapevine throttles.

Early diesels did have (in large part) ratcheting escapements in their throttles, designed to prevent rapid opening. You would pull the throttle lever open a notch, and it would not move any farther. When you let go of it, or released your pull, the escapement would trip or release and you could open it another notch. Operation in the other direction, ie to reduce power, was uninhibited. That's where the term "notch" comes from.

The term "skip fire" is curious; he makes it sound as if perhaps modern units with electronic fuel injection aren't injecting fuel to every cylinder on every power stroke when idling.

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Other Info
 #305750  by eurobill
 Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:59 am
Thanks for the input guys. Some other info- the "Skip Fire" is some sort of fuel conservation mode. The mechanic was working on a GE AC4400. The GE "notch" pattern seems to be the same as the EMD you describe- I bet there are some interchange rules that govern this.

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Re: Other Info
 #305888  by ExEMDLOCOTester
 Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:43 pm
eurobill wrote:
Thanks for the input guys. Some other info- the "Skip Fire" is some sort of fuel conservation mode. The mechanic was working on a GE AC4400. The GE "notch" pattern seems to be the same as the EMD you describe- I bet there are some interchange rules that govern this.
EMD had a low idle setting that was driven by the oil crisis of the early seventies. It was a combination of Governor "A" valve & "D" valve creating an engine speed lower than the normal idle speed of "No Valve". I do not remember the engine speed of low idle or normal idle..... Sorry...

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Skip fire
 #307492  by ATK
 Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:04 am
Typewriters wrote:
The term "skip fire" is curious; he makes it sound as if perhaps modern units with electronic fuel injection aren't injecting fuel to every cylinder on every power stroke when idling.
You basically got it right, it is in fact a fuel conversation feature when the engine is idling. If you figure that under normal conditions, every cylinder is firing for every two rotations of the crankshaft, the skip fire feature is firing the minimum number of cylinders necessary to keep the crankshaft turning. This feature when enabled will also draw the engine idle speed way down. Skip fire is only possible on engines with EFI, not on mechanical governor engines. I seem to remember skip fire only on HDL engines (AC6000's), but apparently that feature was cut in on FDL as well. Skip fire was only enabled when the engine was at idle speed and up to optimum operating temperature. In other words, if an engine was too cold, the engine would run at normal idle speed until it warmed up, and then cut over to skip fire. This was basically so that an engine would be "ready for the road" at all times when idling. As soon as you would move the throttle out of idle to notch 1, the engine would come out of the skip fire sequence and fire on all cylinders.


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Last-minute effort to save historic SW-1 diesel throttles to notch eight


B&M No. 1127 on the Eastern Route main line at Salem, Mass., on June 7, 1958. A last-minute effort to save this historic SW-1 diesel is in the works Robert E. Chaffin photo, Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society Collection
© Provided by Trains.com
PITTSTON, Pa. - In response to a scrapping scheduled on January 22, a GoFundMe campaign was recently launched to save a historic SW-1 diesel switcher, former Boston & Maine Railroad No. 1127. Organized by Connor Maher of the Danbury Railway Museum, $65,000 total must be raised to purchase the first-generation locomotive at $50,000 from current owner Progress Rail, followed by the additional $15,000 to fund storage fees and shipment by rail to the museum in Danbury, Conn.

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"This is a true last minute “ahead of the torch” call asking for a “Hail Mary," Maher stated on the GoFundMe page.

Built in 1954 by EMD, No. 1127 served the B&M's light branch lines in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, notably the railroad's famous White Mountain Branch. The switcher was sold off by successor Pan Am Railways in 1996 and was eventually rostered on the Luzerne & Susquehanna Railway in Pittston as No. 600. It currently resides there and is reported to be stored operable, indoors, and in good cosmetic condition.
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Former B&M No. 1127 resides at the Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway in Pittston, Pa. as No. 600. Marc Glucksman
Former B&M No. 1127 resides at the Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway in Pittston, Pa. as No. 600. Marc Glucksman
© Provided by Trains.com
According to a recent Facebook post by the Danbury Railway Museum, the current plan is to swap the locomotive’s trucks with a roller-bearing set for transport by rail. The museum states delivery of the trucks and preparation for shipment can begin shortly after the $50,000 has been raised for the initial purchase.

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"In a way No. 1127 represents an era in New England railroading when light manufacturing and small industry was still dependent on the railroad," said Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society President Rick Kfoury, whose organization supports the effort.

Donations can be made on the campaign's GoFundMe page.