Locomotives, Part One; the Diesel-Electrics.
I love ‘em! Any kind. All kinds. Loco for Locomotives. Woohoo.
Don’t these engines look brand new? Neither is—No. 1600 dates to 1964. No. 2691 is a rebuilt EMD GP39–3, built initially as ATSF 1398 (GP35) in 1965. When I photographed them last week blocks from home, I thought they were brand new because (1) they appear just washed, and (2) their orange/black + yellow livery is immaculate as if freshly painted.
EDIT: Markr Huett wrote this response:
Nice article!…The first picture of the locomotive (1600) is actually an SD40–2 built in 1979 as Santa Fe 5060. The BNSF roster shows 2 locomotives with number 1600. The other 1600 is a GP9. I don’t know why they would have 2 locomotives the same number. The SD40–2 has six axles(in the photo) where as the GP9 has 4 axles.
I did my due diligence and Markr is right! And it’s weird that BNSF would give the same road number to two engines, both built by EMD but years apart, and both still apparently still out there hauling. Nice catch, Markr! Thanks! 👍👍
Locomotives pushing sixty years are common on all U.S. railways because diesel-electrics last far longer than steamers ever did. They just run. To find out how old an engine is, you Google its railroad and road number; most of the time, it will come right up, and only rarely will it be younger than ten years. When a railroad owns ~8,000 working engines, you maintain and rebuild, not scrap.
Union Pacific livery is commonly yellow/gray + red accents. At a distance, it may be hard to tell if a “yellow” engine is UP or BNSF. Occasionally I see both double-heading a train. The freight doesn’t care who’s pulling the cart.
The DDA40X is a 6,600 horsepower (4.92 megawatts) D-D diesel-electric built by the General Motors EMD division of La Grange, Illinois for the Union Pacific Railroad. Nicknamed “Centennial” and “Big Jack”, the DDA40X uses two diesel engine prime movers, each rated at 3,300 horsepower (2.46 megawatts). The DDA40X is the most powerful single-unit diesel-electric locomotive ever built, although more recent designs such as the GE AC6000CW and EMD SD90MAC have come close. It is the second most powerful locomotive ever built, exceeded only by the Union Pacific GTEL gas turbine units. It is also the longest single-unit diesel locomotive ever built. There were 47 built, of which 13 survive. One, no. 6936, remains in service with Union Pacific Heritage Fleet. — Excerpted from Wikipedia. [Empasis added cgh]
Magnificent brand new Pennsylvania (Norfolk Southern) № 8102, General Electric ES44AC, build date February 2012, 4,400 horsepower. This engine is actually on the Norfolk Southern roster, but they had her gussied up and painted in the heritage Pennsy livery for this event. (I love the kids getting their picture on it.)
— “Old Hundredth."
- BNSF EMD GP39–3 no. 2661, rebuilt and upgraded, originally built as ATSF 1444 (GP35), October 1965. Four axles, developing 2,300 horsepower. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (B.N.S.F) is often referred to by rail people (fondly, we hope) as the “Bin-Sniff.”
- Norfolk Southern EMD F9A №4270; built in 1952, 1,700 horsepower, constructed originally by GM for freight service. I waited to make this picture until I got the awesome little tableaux between Dad and Son in the foreground.
- Illinois Central no. 100 EMD E9A (1949), nicknamed “Old Hundredth” after the Doxology. EMD E9A was built in 1949, according to one source (it may have been made as late as 1953). I think this engine may well have pulled the legendary City of New Orleans as immortalized in the song.
1. Santa Fe Southern Railway, 410 S. Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, NM. Train-loving toddlers will especially enjoy riding the rails from downtown Santa Fe to Lamy, a four-hour round trip. This original stretch of tracks through the pretty high-desert scenery is 120 years old, and the vintage 1920s rail cars are authentic. Cost for coach class: $32, adult; $18 ages 3 to 18; free for ages 2 and under.
2. Original Burlington Zephyr (1934)
Art Deco streamlining at its Zenith: the original Burlington Zephyr, on display in its own hall underground, alongside the new parking garage. The Pioneer Zephyr was a diesel-electric-powered train formed of railroad cars permanently articulated together with Jacobs bogies, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington. The train featured extensive use of stainless steel, was originally named the Zephyr, and was meant as a promotional tool to advertise passenger rail service in the United States. The construction included innovations such as shotwelding (a specialized type of spot welding) to join the stainless steel, and articulation to reduce its weight. — Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
Western Pacific № 913 EMD F7 (1950)
Western Pacific 913 — Operational, an EMD F7 built in 1950, hauled the Feather River Route, the WP's line from 1906 to 1909.
My late bride was on the last run of this train through the Feather River Canyon about 1969, before all the railroads abandoned passenger service and the lovely, elegant streamliners disappeared. It was serendipitous that she was wearing Western Pacific colors that day! She loved to tell the story of that run, how the passenger train kept getting bumped by WP freights so that the scenic part of the ride ended up being at night when nothing could be seen (she was so mad). Still, she enjoyed sitting in the observation car teaching other passengers the game of Botticelli to pass the time since no one could see anything.
Pennsylvania RR Electric GG1 №4935 “Blackjack” (1943)
I put her here because she is in a class by herself. Isn’t she just gorgeous? The mighty, and mighty pretty GG1 in its original Brunswick Green (not black) livery with five gold racing stripes.
“The PRR GG1 was a class of electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad for use in the northeastern United States. 139 GG1s were constructed by General Electric and PRR’s Altoona Works from 1934 to 1943. Entering service in 1935, the GG1 also operated on successor railroads Penn Central, Conrail and Amtrak. The last GG1 was retired by New Jersey Transit in 1983; most were scrapped, but several remain in museums. The GG1 was 79 feet 6 inches (24.23 m) long and weighed 475,000 pounds (215,000 kg). The frame of the locomotive was in two halves joined with a ball and socket joint, allowing the locomotive to negotiate sharper curves. The body rested on the frame and was clad in welded steel plates. The control cabs were near the center of the locomotive on each side of the main oil-cooled transformer and oil-fired train-heating boiler. This arrangement, first used on the Modified P5 class, provided for greater crew safety in a collision and for bi-directional operation of the locomotive.” — Wikipedia
I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading. Next, I plan to feature steamers.
