Just for you @Duke Andrew of Dank a basic idea of the Turbo Series GTELs I mentioned in the Test Thread. 🙂
Kickass. I can see why the US railroads didn't go through with buying them though given their length.Just for you @Duke Andrew of Dank a basic idea of the Turbo Series GTELs I mentioned in the Test Thread. 🙂
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True, but the unit has the power of four SD40-2s, so its not like the power isn't there. It's meant for fast freight services in any case (it's turbine is more efficient at those speeds and the carbody design improves aerodynamics at speed). For those who need the speed and power, its the locomotive of choice. The reason for the double cabs is this as well - they can run at full speed in either direction, so no need for wyes or turntables for these.Kickass. I can see why the US railroads didn't go through with buying them though given their length.
Still, I can imagine railroads like the Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and especially Burlington Northern would actually have quite a bit of use for that design.True, but the unit has the power of four SD40-2s, so its not like the power isn't there. It's meant for fast freight services in any case (it's turbine is more efficient at those speeds and the carbody design improves aerodynamics at speed). For those who need the speed and power, its the locomotive of choice. The reason for the double cabs is this as well - they can run at full speed in either direction, so no need for wyes or turntables for these.
I also forgot to mention that this is a reason why during the War, when the B&O needed new mixed-traffic locomotives, it opted to order clones of the Union Pacific FEF-3 locomotives which were built by ALCO and at the B&O's own Mount Clare Shops. These locomotives were classified by the B&O as the W-2 locomotives.Although they could be seen on merchandise trains as well, this was comparatively rare, so B&O fast freight in general remained the domain of the T3 Mountains.
Do you mean "dump" and not "jump"?Baldwin to jump the DR and DT series (including the Centipede) as fast as possible
Nope. The idea is that Baldwin will figure out very quickly the flaws with those units and quickly replace them with newer, better designs that are cheaper to make and easier to maintain.Do you mean "dump" and not "jump"?
Ah understood.Nope. The idea is that Baldwin will figure out very quickly the flaws with those units and quickly replace them with newer, better designs that are cheaper to make and easier to maintain.
Since this post, John Deere has come out with engines of up to 914 hp. What would be needed for a TL where such an engine is used on a locomotive by John Deere in the early 1990s?Looking it up, the most powerful John Deere engine produces 510 hp, which might be enough for a switcher engine, but for a mainline engine not a chance.
Given how the Santa Fe and Union Pacific in my universe would still be diesel-dominant, I could actually see these locomotives being successful for those two in a 1970s oil crisis.Just for you @Duke Andrew of Dank a basic idea of the Turbo Series GTELs I mentioned in the Test Thread. 🙂
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Easy answer, have a couple of big John Deere customers (maybe agricultural firms who handle a lot of traffic by rail?) ask about adapting tractors to use as railcar movers for their yards. It's a perfectly valid use case, and with the right timing they could become a significant player in that market. With success there, they can grow into the light switcher space.Since this post, John Deere has come out with engines of up to 914 hp. What would be needed for a TL where such an engine is used on a locomotive by John Deere in the early 1990s?
Indeed I had already thought of just that idea.Easy answer, have a couple of big John Deere customers (maybe agricultural firms who handle a lot of traffic by rail?) ask about adapting tractors to use as railcar movers for their yards. It's a perfectly valid use case, and with the right timing they could become a significant player in that market. With success there, they can grow into the light switcher space.
I thought there was a J-8 Class Pacific.Heavy Pacifics (4-6-2)
- 46 Class K-4 (#5500-#5545)
- 84 Class K-5-a/K-5-b (#5550-#5633)
That line from Scranton to Pittsburgh via State College, right?EL built a "super railroad" across Pennsylvania
The biggest thing there is to walk before you run, so to speak. Both the UP's GE-built steam turbines and the Baldwin-built ones the C&O built were too advanced for their own good (especially the former), and all three had a common problem in that coal dust (which is flammable and damaging to electrical components even when it doesn't burn) and water got everywhere on all of the steam turbines, which was in itself the largest mechanical issue all three had.
The N&W 2300 (the Jawn Henry) IMO had the best chance of working from a design standpoint, but even that has an issue in that by the time it was built the economics of diesels from a maintenance perspective had been proven. EMD diesels were famous for being phenomenally reliable even then and because they were all built exactly the same maintaining something even as complex as a diesel locomotive was fairly straightforward. Alco figured this out but Baldwin never really did, so if you want the idea it work you need them to be a part of GE or EMD early enough that their better electrical components and standardization could be employed on the Jawn Henry. Once you have that (and have kicked the problems of those electrical components bring damaged by coal dust and water, which is doable IMO) figured out, you need to figure out a MU system so it can work with diesels if you're gonna make these in any number.
That done and the concept proven, then you make a smaller series of these meant to integrate with a railroad. Easier access to components that might need to be replaced in regular service, as well as improving the power of the design. Sticking with the Jawn Henry, job one is integrating the water tender into the unit, preferably with powered trucks to take advantage of the weight of the water tender when it's filled - you will need that tender here - for tractive effort. Sort out the at-times-troublesome boiler controls and make sure the unit's MU system works perfectly, then go put them to them. As Babcock and Wilcox makes improvements for their boilers get them and use them to increase their power. A 2300 with boiler improvements to the degree of making 6000 hp (or more) and with a continuous tractive effort of 200,000 lb that is durable and reliable is gonna get the attention of a lot of railroads, particularly heavy coal haulers that don't have to worry too much about supplies of good boiler water. The latter problem means I don't see a lot of Western roads being fans of the idea, but the N&W, C&O, Pennsy and L&N would all be very likely buyers.
Them just existing would do that, owing to their size and design. But for them to exist you need to give them a reason to.If the M-1s of the C&O were built in say... 1935 what could be done to try and make them at least decent enough to have a preseved example?
EMD was aiming from the start to put Baldwin out of business (like the other steam locomotive builders) and Baldwin at the time, owing to the problems its early diesels had, was absolute in its belief that steam power would be dominant for decades after WWII and completely and utterly missed every advantage a diesel can provide from an operating cost perspective. It's every bit a Hatfields vs. McCoys type of situation, but one side has massive financial advantages and an idea that in 1935 wasn't proven but by 1945 was the future of railroading.I already had some ideas for how Baldwin could work with EMD before becoming a part of it in the late 1930s, which includes them building the Centipede and partneting with GM to try and iron out its design flaws.
The Centipede even in the early 1930s was totally obsolete - it should have never been built as it was - and its reliability issues souring Baldwin on diesels will not only screw them over with SAL and NdeM, but also send both straight into the arms of EMD and Alco-GE. As Westinghouse was a major supplier of electrical components to Baldwin the idea of EMD components is pretty close to ASB, and I've already mentioned the issues with the M-1.My idea would be that in the early 1930s, Centipedes are build for the Seaboard Air Line and Mexican National Railways (since in my universe Mexico would still nationalize its domestically-owned railways, then work with US-owned ones). However, their initial headaches do lead to Baldwin deciding to stick with steam since that's the motive power they know best. Then, the C&O approaches BLW with the idea of a steam turbine, and BLW teams up with EMD since they helped BLW correct the mistakes made on the Centipedes.
I highly doubt that. The turbines' issues combined with the financial advantages and bombproof reliability to most early EMD products (Alco's RS series did well here too, as did the GE Tonners) basically kills this idea for most railroads. Heavy coal haulers like the C&O and N&W that have the finances to give it a try could work on the idea, but that's about it. Nobody in desert climates is going to want something so water intensive, Southern and Seaboard Air Line committed early abs heavily to diesel power, NYC might be an option under Young but once he's Perlman is in charge forget it. Finances are an issue for the PRR and ACL. CB&Q is a possibility but you'll need to do it before they have the Zephyr fleet.I could see a BLW steam turbine design, being sold to several railroads or railroads designing their own with Baldwin's help. Preferably the standardized design though.
See above. Keeping water (either liquid or in the form of steam) and coal dust out of the electrical equipment is the key task there.Question now is how in the case of the M-1 and Jawn Henry, the coal and water issues could be corrected.