Posted on 11/09/2012 6:51:48 PM PST by zeestephen
If a new engine "commutator" has to be built by General Electric, the Walla Walla could be out of service for up to two years. An electrical surge caused huge chunks of steel and copper to melt, as well as holes to be blasted through the six foot diameter engine part.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
We also when we lived in Bremerton and rode to work in Seattle on it a few times.
Looks like Todd Shipyard is going to be breaking out their check book.
Well, at least the ferry is on the same side of the state as the liberals who voted that abomination in. On my side of the state, conservative side, in my county I think the vote was 6 to 1 against the depravity.
I am using this place to ask the Wa. Freepers if they know of a condo for rent or sale in the Lynnwood or Edmonds area. We moved here from Denver in April and cant get settled. We are at Taluswood apts. Too small. All our immediate neighbors have moved because they raised the rent. We are seniors. To get into a senior apt you have to be rich or below $$ limit to get gov. assistance. We are in between.
I havent ridden the walla walla yet but we are sure enjoying this great state. Thanks
You’re pretty ignorant of our ferry system for a Washingtonian. Go on the ferry website and check the ages of the vessels. Three were built in the late 50’s. four in the 60’s and all the rest are newer, right up to last year. Of course, you probably don’t use them much, rather, depending on the rest of us to pay for your floating bridges across the lake.
Yeah, I’m pissed. I’m pissed at everybody this week!
Buddy of mine bought a new truck with some of the overtime he got.
I too had a friend who worked on small hydro stations. He told me about being inside the mechanical housing of a 2MW axial-flow machine when the generator went out of sync due to a problem with the PLC programming for the inlet guide vane actuator. He said the vibrations were severe.
I confess.
I’m a book worm, not a grease monkey.
I actually do know the difference between a motor and an engine.
Never heard of a commutator before, so I thought maybe others were in the same boat, uh, ferry.
I was thinking “engine room” would help people locate the story in their mind’s eye.
Bad decision.
Cool story, though.
I’m excited to see so many people are interested.
Ferries, man, ferries! Not fairies! They’re very different.
I think the initiative lost by 2-1.
I guess people figured the massive fare subsidies would end.
Off the top of my head, I recall that every person who rides the Sounder Train is subsidized $29.
Good luck privatizing that, too.
“Go on the ferry website and check the ages of the vessels. Three were built in the late 50’s. four in the 60’s”
When I said that they were 70 years old I was using ironic exaggeration.
If our state had rational leaders instead of idiot Demo-slimes the system would have been privatized long ago.
Yeah, I'll say.
Is there no such thing as a brushless (i.e. electronically commutated) motor at this scale? This is basically diesel-electric we're talking about? I Imagine the electronic controller would cost huge $$$ but would be far more efficient in the long run.
I’ve ridden both the Walla Walla and the Sounder Train (on rare trips to Puget Sound) and certainly enjoyed them as a tourist. And I do thank the good citizens of Western Washington for subsidizing my trips!
Where did you find pictures? I was hoping for photos, but the linked article had none...
Sounds like a product defect.
Right. But (a) these vessels are government-owned and -operated, so there's no competitive pressure, and (b) they need a lot of reliability on these engines.
One of the YouTube videos of the MV Walla Walla shows that they use the forward-facing engines for breaking in the last few seconds before the vessel docks. They need those motors to spin up or reverse direction in just a few seconds, and it's a life-and-death thing. Maybe they feel that sticking with technology that's ancient but foolproof is a better way to go.
It sounds like these motors are like the motors that are used in elevator drives, only scaled way up. Motors of that type have to be able to deliver very stable operation down to fractions of an RPM, deliver high torque at low RPM, and be very very reliable. I've noticed that elevator motors have large commutators (large compared with the rotor diameter) like the motors on the MV Walla Walla.
Sheesh...nothing a little WD40 and a chisel can’t fix.
Saw your screen tag...
“If the Constitution can be a living document, I guess a corporation can be a person.”
Montana just voted a state Amendment that says a corporation is not a person, therefore it has no Constitutional rights.
I believe their intention is to challenge campaign finance laws in the Supreme Court.
It seems like that creates some alarming issues.
For instance, if a corporation has no rights, why can't the state of Montana seize a Walmart store and distribute all the merchandise to the poor?
“ask the Wa. Freepers if they know of a condo for rent or sale”
Check out Kirkland. It is a great little city to retire. You can walk to everything.
Maybe pricy, so check out Juanita on the lake. Beautify and also walkable.
Down town Bellevue has a lot of new condo and apartment buildings going on. Also, walkable.
Now if you want to get away from liberals, I suggest moving to Wenatchee. This is a retirement haven. Everything is close and the prices are lower. People are really nice and it is conservative. My mom moved there and she loves it. Everything is so close and she has everything that she needs.
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