Railway Passenger Car:

• Heating / Air Conditioning Equipment and Controls
• Electrical Locker Packages (left)
• Complete Air Conditioning Systems including our NW-2 and NW-4 systems.
• Air Conditioning Evaporators and Condensers (top right)
• Head-End Power Parts including Connectors (right) and Various HEP Hardware
• DC Control Panels for circuit control and battery charging
• PLC Based Systems for Control, Data Recording, and various other functions
• Yard Power Units ("Wayside Power Panels" or "Shore Power Systems")
• Solid Element Heaters (below right)
• Under-Car Generators
• Generator Controls
• Parts Required to convert a passenger car to HEP
• Rubber Tube style Diaphragms for Passenger Car end doors

  We have:
  

• A few Product Brochures in PDF Format
• A List of a Few of the Products that we offer to the railroad passenger car industry.
• Examples of some Custom Equipment we have built

Links to Our Most Popular Parts and Products:

This list is similar to that at the top of this page, only intended for those that are less familiar with our product offerings and require a more detailed description of the various links, rather than the quick list at the top of the page:

• A List of Our Services and Product Types

• Electrical Locker Packages and Controls

  Over the years, Northwest Rail Electric has been involved with providing a wide assortment of systems for railroad passenger cars. This has included small and simple control systems to large and complex systems.

  
  • NW-25100 typical passenger car electrical package used on typical railway passenger car electrical system rebuild or update
  • NW-603-INT Replacement HVAC Control Package for Amtrak "heritage fleet" cars
  • NW-25200 Dual-Zone Control Package for dome cars, dining cars and other car types where a two zone HVAC control system is best used.
  • Examples of Custom Electrical Systems shows only a few of the various systems that have been either custom versions of our standard products, or completely custom systems to fit particular situations.

  • Generator Controls

    In many cases generator controls are provided as part of a complete electrical locker package, but in other cases the generator controls are provided as their own separate panel or system. We have two basic control schemes: the NW-GC130 series provides "power car" type control where power is fed is the HEP trainline. The NW-GC500 series of generator controls provides power to the systems on the car on which it is installed. Automatic start and feeding of power systems on the car is provided as standard equipment, and one of the many available options with this system is the ability to feed the HEP trainline.

    • NW-GC130 Power Car Generator Control
    • NW-GC500 Passenger Car Power Selection and Automation System with HEP Feed Option

  • DC Control Systems provide battery charging, circuit breakers, emergency lighting control and a number of other features.

• HVAC Equipment

  There are two basic types of systems produced: split and package. A split system has two separate units: the condenser and the evaporator. The evaporator generally goes in the area with the ductwork above the ceiling, while the condenser goes under the floor. For those updating older cars that previously had split systems, replacing them in kind with a new system allows for updating without major structural changes to the car. Package systems contain everything required for the HVAC system in a single unit, and may or may not include parts or complete pieces of the control system as well. Most older passenger cars require extensive modifications to adapt them for use with package units, but such projects have been done from time to time. Usually, our package units have wound up on new passenger cars.

  • The NW-2 is a package unit that is designed to fit under the car floor, and has been installed in both new cars and cars with heavily rebuilt duct work to accomodate an under-floor unit.
  • The NW-4 system is a package unit designed for roof-top mounting. It has also been installed on both new cars and heavily rebuilt older cars where the duct system was changed to allow the use of a roof top HVAC system.
  • Our Standard Evaporator Units are designed to fit the duct work and mounting system in the overhead duct area of the surviving older passenger cars in North America. Options allow for maintenance access from the top (for cars with rooftop maintenance access hatches) or from the bottom (for more traditional above-hallway access).
  • Our Condensers are designed from the start to meet the demanding needs of an under-car railroad air conditioning condenser, and that includes a frame shape intended to provide the required under-car equipment profile.
  • Electric Heaters have been produced for a number of situations where a replacement to an old steam coil system is required, but all of the other systems are adequate to the needs of the car.
  • Some Examples of Custom HVAC Equipment we have produced to fit unique passenger car projects.

• Recent Custom Projects

  

• NW-YPHP Yard Power Packages, also known as "Wayside power panels" or "shore power systems", these provide utility power to the head-end power system.

• HEP Parts and Products

  Head-End Power is the power transmission system used on modern passenger equipment, and is used by operators ranging from small tourist railroads to intercity passenger operators. Many of our customers need to be compatible with Amtrak equipment and standards, and all of our HEP parts meet the required standards.

  • HEP Connectors are the standard connectors used in North America for connecting the power distribution system from one car to the next. Also included in this category are multiple unit (MU) and communications (Comm) connectors that transmit the lower voltage signals from one car to the next for a variety of applications. For those rebuilding a passenger car to be compatible with Amtrak standards, Amtrak has different requirements for MU and Comm on various routes: some areas do not require the car have MU connectors, while other routes require both MU and Comm.
  • Mounting Plates and Boxes for attaching the various connectors to the end of the car.
  • Our Various HEP Hardware includes splice boots, wire lugs, wire cleats, cleat clamp plates, and varous other hardware required to adapt a passenger car to be 100% compatible with Amtrak's system and able to run in Amtrak consists where privately owned passenger cars are allowed. For smaller tourist railroads and railroad museums that do not require full Amtrak compatibility, various product offerings allow for a more economical HEP system specifically designed for these lower power applications.
  • Railroad Grade Electrical Wire In North America, the general requirement is for electrical wire used in railroad passenger cars to have cross-linked polyolefin insulation. This material provides the best resistance to wear and tear, as well as providing the required non-toxic smoke and flame-extinguising characteristics. Only a few places manufacture this wire, and we stock many common sizes.

    Information About HEP:

  • What parts are used to give a car Amtrak style HEP power
  • HEP Configurations in use in North America and some typical electrical loads for types of passenger cars

• Stadco Generators are specifically designed for use in railroad passenger cars. We are a distributor, and all of our generator controls are specifically approved by Stadco for use with their Railgen series of generators without voiding the Stadco warranty.

• A few Product Brochures in PDF Format

This web site only features some of our diverse offerings, many of which have been custom projects to fit particular railroad passenger car rebuild needs. If you don't see exactly what you need on our web site, please contact us, as there is a very good possibility that we have built a system that is similar to one that you need for your specific passenger car project, and can modify a previous custom design to fit your specific needs.