See where our equipment is located on a typical passenger car
On the surface, HVAC controls on railroad passenger cars seem simple enough: keep the passengers comfortable by running the air conditioning when it is too hot and run the heat when it is too cold. However, simply throwing a mercury-bulb thermostat in a passenger coach will not do the job. Vibration of the passenger car, for one example, would make the mercury slosh around and make the system unreliable. If the car were stopped on a section of track with super-elevation or sunken sections, the temperature control would also be unreliable. Air conditioning equipment for building use tends to use high fin density with very thin fins, so that when used on railroad equipment reliability and capacity is reduced due to damage from rocks and other moving-vehicle related debris. Therefore, producing reliable HVAC systems and temperature control for railroad passenger cars is not quite a simple as it might first appear to be.
Northwest Rail Electric has an assortment of HVAC parts and control systems operating in passenger cars in all areas of North America. We have experience in what makes passenger car systems operate well, yet be simple and rugged enough to withstand the railroad environment.
At right is a custom under-car air conditioning condenser designed to be a replacement and upgrade for a traditional 32 volt D.C. under-car unit, or replace an existing 480 volt or 240 volt under-car condenser that has been damaged or otherwise requires replacement.
The products listed above are only a small selection of what we have been able to do. Many customers have required custom units for a number of applications, and we have been able to develop systems that satisfy these demands.
Under-Car Diesel Generators and Generator Controls HEP Parts Standard Car Control Package List of Products and Services E-mail