Section 5. Locomotiveand Railcar Maintenance

Section 5.

LOCOMOTIVE AND RAILCAR MAINTENANCE

General.

Timely maintenance of locomotives and railcars is essential to their effective and safe operation.

When a regular schedule of inspecting, servicing, and preventive maintenance is followed,

problems that can degrade effective and safe operation can be discovered and corrected before

they cause serious maintenance costs or accidents. Locomotive and railcar equipment

maintenance is a team effort involving the railroad supervisor, the rail crews, and maintenance

personnel. Individual activities may make these maintenance requirements more stringent but not

reduce them. Installation Commanders shall have procedures for maintaining a system (tickler

system) which will automatically remind maintenance personnel when a maintenance action

(inspection or service) must be performed. This system shall provide Installation Commanders

with warnings far enough in advance to achieve an effective allocation of maintenance resources.

A computerized tickler system with software that displays 60 day, 30 day, and 10-day warnings

upon computer start-up is preferred.

Daily Locomotive Maintenance Maintenance

Department.

Maintenance personnel shall ensure that all locomotives are checked and serviced prior to daily

operation. Form 5, Appendix B, contains a list of the items which maintenance personnel must

check during this daily inspection. Form 5 shall be maintained for at least 90 days.

Quarterly Locomotive Maintenance - Maintenance

Department.

During quarterly inspections, maintenance personnel shall inspect all items required for the daily

inspection, the manufacturer's recommendations for quarterly inspections and the following:

a. Air Hoses. Inspect for age/signs of damage; renew brake pipe air hoses every eight

years.

b. Battery. Check batteries for dirt and corrosion, and clean; clean battery terminals and

check batteries for proper bracing in battery compartment. Use proper safety equipment when

servicing batteries.

c. Drive Belts. Check all drive belts for cracks, fraying, or abrasions and adjust or

replace as necessary.

d. Engines. Check for loose parts or components; leaks from fuel, lubrication, and

cooling system; low oil pressure, high temperature, overspeed devices, and shutdown systems.

e. Electrical Relays, Contacts and Contactors. Wipe silver-faced contacts using clean,

lint-free cloth; renew worn contact points as necessary; renew weak or broken springs; tighten

loose screws, nuts, and connections; with systems de-energized, operate devices manually to

detect friction or binding. Always use lock-out, tag-out procedures.

5-1