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The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

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Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#2
Ah, the Mack Super pumper. Shame Mack started to struggle in the 60s until the 80s and got out of the fire truck business. They had some very interesting designs in terms of cab design and components. I always loved the F model cab-over which were produced until the early 80s which is what the CF fire truck was built on.

Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#5
I have a question for folks who handle pumps regularly. Almost all pumps are made for water, or sewage. How do you identify if a pump is rated to handle liquid metal or hot fluids (heated chemicals, or contents under extreme pressure)

I have never heard of a standard class of pumps for this....other than basically finding a manufacturer who specialized in these sort of pumps.

Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#6
post #4

How do you extinguish an oil-well fire? Enter the "Big Wind" with two jet engines on a tank chassis. "The water is moving at a maximum rate of 220 gallons of water a second," https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15138374/stilling-the...

You could also nuke it; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtabulak_gas_field

Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#7
post #3

That "deltic" engine just for the water pumping is incredible, I'd never seen that cylinder layout before. > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Deltic

The type 55 "deltic" locomotives, named after army regiments used to do the east coast Edinburgh-London train run, there were 22 of them in service and one in the science museum London. They had the first 100mph rating for diesel passenger service.

The engine had a unique characteristic whine or whistle. As an avid train spotter at Waverley station in edinburgh I loved hearing it, saw every one and was in the cab of two thanks to long suffering kind engine drivers.

There was a mini deltic too. I'm not sure it went beyond a testbed loco.

Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#8
post #4

How do you extinguish an oil-well fire? Enter the "Big Wind" with two jet engines on a tank chassis. "The water is moving at a maximum rate of 220 gallons of water a second," https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15138374/stilling-the...

Tangentially related and recommended. Werner Herzog's film that also features longer sections on the fire fighting efforts on the oil fields.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lessons_of_Darkness

Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#9
post #7
post #3

That "deltic" engine just for the water pumping is incredible, I'd never seen that cylinder layout before. > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Deltic

The type 55 "deltic" locomotives, named after army regiments used to do the east coast Edinburgh-London train run, there were 22 of them in service and one in the science museum London. They had the first 100mph rating for diesel passenger service. The engine had a unique characteristic whine or whistle. As an avid train spotter at Waverley station in edinburgh I loved hearing it, saw every one and was in the cab of…

Those are amazing engines. It's a pity that in the future we'll just be using magnets and coils, there something about these designs that moves me in a way that nothing electrical ever will. And I'm a great fan of renewable energy, and realize that the pollution that has been created (and is still being created) is absolutely unsustainable.

Re: The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

#10
post #3

That "deltic" engine just for the water pumping is incredible, I'd never seen that cylinder layout before. > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Deltic

> The Napier Deltic engine is a British opposed-piston valveless, supercharged uniflow scavenged, two-stroke diesel engine

Any tech that includes the word “scavenged” must be cool and efficient

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