Engineering:Control Car Remote Control Locomotive

Union Pacific CCRCL Y162

UPY 163, showing fuel tank is gone

A Control Car Remote Control Locomotive (CCRCL) is a stripped diesel locomotive body with remote control equipment installed. The units are a creation of the Union Pacific Railroad, which (As of 2005) is widely adopting remote control of locomotives in switching service. They are sometimes improperly called slugs, and differ from normal remote control locomotives as they cannot move on their own.

Use

CCRCL units are coupled to a locomotive (or a consist of locomotives) which lack remote control equipment and set to be the lead locomotives in command of the others, controlling them through their multiple unit control connections.

Until all locomotives in switching service are equipped with remote control apparatus, the CCRCLs provide an easy way of ensuring that remote control capability is available. Their use does not require taking active locomotives out of service to equip them with the remote control equipment; instead, this capability can be added when a locomotive is next scheduled for a normal overhaul.

The CCRCL units use was short-lived, however, when Chicago Service Unit United Transportation Union - appointed Peer Trainers reported to the Federal Railroad Administration's Chicago Office that the units lacked the capability of activating the locomotive bell on the working unit it was coupled to and operating...a requirement of crossing and remote control rules promulgated by the FRA when the Union Pacific tried to cut every corner in the application of the new technology.

Rather that attempt to fix the problem, the fleet of CCRCLs was retired within four months of this report to the FRA. Some still see occasional use, but are now usually positioned between two locomotives.

Conversion

When a locomotive is converted to a CCRCL the traction motors and fuel tank are removed. The windows are plated over, the locomotive is painted gray with red lettering, and remote control equipment is installed. The locomotives used are old GE-built locomotives, models B23-7 and B30-7, which have a low value on the used locomotive market.

Sources

• Graham-White, Sean. UP CCRCLs. Retrieved on January 28, 2005.