that's certainly respectable. i'm not trying to do the dumb american "we're better" thing, it's just we have some rougher turf to cross. a 5 mile coal train is a literally unforgettable sight.
is that ge "evo" strictly a freight hauler?
Sounds reminiscent of electric motors over here. The GG1 was so superlative that nothing else came close. Unfortunately, they aged and nothing was really ready to step up to the task. Amtrak thought they had a winner with the GE E60 but there were tracking problems with them and they are rapidly disappearing. In fact, I don't know if any are still in passenger service.
The saviour was the little Swedish Rc4 which is built here under license. They're still perking along even though some of them are pushing past 30 years now. I have no idea what's under development to replace them, if anything.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
Wow! Baldwin center cabs! Thanks for the links.
Baldwin, built in Eddystone, Pa. (South of Philadelphia)
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
Fairbanks-Morse had an engine of similar design except theirs was a simple opposed set-up. They had some success with their own locos in the 1950s but one of the problems that made them less than popular with the maintenance crews was when the bottom pistons needed changing out.
I still regret having sold all of my HO Trainmasters.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
None of those, but look here for old electric
I think these have the 'greybeard' award for old gear still in normal revenue service
** mike **
I think I just saved the published drawings for that little beastie. I was saving stuff out of my 40 years of Model Railroader and there were a couple small electrics over the years that they published plans for.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
Someone asked:
Nope, unless you're thinking of the E60s in use on the Black Mesa & Lake Powell. Those are single cab units where the E60CP is a double-ender. BM&LP is a closed-loop coal line in Arizona and the units are 'captive'.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
An interesting loco the GG1, looks unusual and quite big
I know - your locos are a lot bigger in size than ours - despite same gauge.
I am surprised you never tried Garretts - the Malletts are huge but I thought a Garrett would ride better.
Compare say a Big Boy to a 9F the Big Boy would pull probably 3-4 times as much but how much does it weigh?
That said the 9F 2-10-0 (our last steam loco and best steam freight design) can shift 2000 tons, but on passenger use has managed 90mph.
I think that the class 8 passenger designs such as the Stanier Pacifics and the A4s are the machines which most impressed USA, they are smaller than the nearest equivalents, but no less performance.
For Diesels we have 4 large locos which can be classed as good enough to be world standard.
The smallest is the Class 43 also known as the HST power car or InterCity
125. 2250bhp, always found in pairs, running regularly around 125mph after 20 or so years.Next up is the 50 - English Electric with a 2700bhp V16, capable of some excellent performances, but was very good over the South Devon banks with heavy trains
Then the Brush class 60, 3100 bhp, 50% Thermal efficiency, built to exceed the performance of a built for the UK version of the SD40. It did succeed but is a little unreliable.
Finally the Deltics, definately one of the greatest locos of all time.
The 4 greatest british Diesels regardless of performance are Deltic, HST, 08 shunter and class 37
100mph - just took longer
Noise I think, also got to give them time for a sleep.
Yes and it is what the 50s should have been (and were after refurbishment)
A simple single bank opposed piston design.
Martin wrote
I think that the Class 37s have got to be the most cost-effective diesel engines ever built for British Railways.
i was thinking of the one discovery channel had a show on. it was supposed to be a breakthrough enfine with all sorts of new features.
i may be mixing up with the challenger, but i believe it's a bit ove 700,000 lbs.
no one knows how fast the challenger can go. history channel says one reached 110mph but i would need a better source. i have a short video called the last of the giants i need to find. it has lots of stats.
no surprise to me. brit equipment has often been world class.
the places where we need high speed passenger are thos with the worst track for it. the northeast corridor has too many curves and too much frieght to allow super fast passenger. there are planes for that. if the government doesn't screw it up.
all new to me. i'm mostly a steam fan. with diesels and gas burners, when you hit the throttle, you get all it has at one shot. with steam you have to coax and finese the engine to perform. but they aren't terribly efficent. a big boy can burn enough coal in an hour to heat 2 homes for an entire winter. it's ok if coal is cheap.
how many gallons to the mile?
do you use the mono weld system for track noise? that's the way to make it virtually one rail with no weld seams.
history channel has a cycle of three good steam train show and one good train accident show.
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