General Motors - Diesel Hydraulic GMDH-1

As the pictures on the referenced web-site show, the K-M locos appeared in two body styles, neither of which remotely resembled the GMD-H1. I rather liked the looks of the hood engine in SP grey/white/red livery. The high long hood, which was as tall as the cab, gave them the look of a beast hunkering down and hauling hard. Pity the machine couldn't live up to its looks.

The London, Ontario, built GMD-H1 looked like nothing else on Earth. It looks to me as if some under-employed automobile stylist was seconded to the GMD plant and told to add some "style" to the locos. His efforts were crowned with success of a sort: IMO, the GMD-H1 is one of the ugliest locomotives ever built.

To me, it looks like something Indiana Jones would commandeer for the great locomotive chase.

Well, I guess I am the odd one. I think it looks neat. If anyone produces it in HO, I will probably buy at least one. I happen to like the odd looking industrial engines. They fit my operating scheme nicely.

Oh, I don't mean I don't like the GMD-H1. Just because I think it's ugly doesn't mean I don't like it. A lot of industrial engines look ugly, ungainly, awkward, misshapen, etc.

The GMD-H3 was half of a GMD-H1. Cab at one end only. 'Nother cute-ugly critter. ;-)

BTW, if you bought two, you would have the whole production run in miniature.

That's fine by me, unless they cost the same as my Ford 1000! Then I will buy only one.

How nice for you...

Frank / Wolf -

Thanks. Very interesting posts an nice references.

I've always had a tendency to go for the more unusual locomotives. The most normal engines I have are a few consolidations and a Russian decapod.

Hi Frank,

You misread my comment - I was refering to the design/style of the GM Diesel Hydraulic.

The German Railways Diesel Hydraulics only ran _relatively_ short distances at high power and did that very well and reliably. The German designs were copied/built under licence for British Rail and suffered from overheating gearboxes - it was a case of a design which was highly successful in one type of service not being suited to another country and a different set of circumstances. The advantage of the KM type Diesel was a high power/weight ratio, something wasted on the USA.

Greg.P.

On 11/10/2007 10:05 PM Greg Procter spake thus:

This doesn't jibe AT ALL with what I've read on the subject. First of all, it implies that the SP (the customer for the Krauss-Maffei hydraulic diesels) were incredibly stupid and neglected to tell K-M what the intended application of the locos were, or that K-M was equally moronic and didn't ask.

In any case, the story is invariably told that the reason for the hydraulic's poor performance in the western United States was lack of a rigorous maintenance program (which was, apparently, SP's fault). Nothing inherently "wrong" about the design for the lines it ran over here; the SP was used to Fords and Chevys, and couldn't handle a Maserati.

OTOH the Krauss Maffei hydraulic drives couldn't handle SP (or BR) operating conditions. :-)

German operating conditions limited train lengths to (I think) 100 axles and the operating procedure to what amounts to drag races from signal to signal. The aim being to move a relatively light (in US terms) train as quickly as possible over any given route. It's a tough operating requirement for any mechanisim which demands rigourous maintenance. IMHO the German engineers failed to understand the different requirements.

Greg Procter skriver:

Say what ? Hov could the pellet trains (Langer Heinrich?) then be running with 4000 Tonnes and a maximum axle load of 20 tonnes ?

That is 200 axles

Javel - ja.

Klaus

Those are particular and specific operating circumstances - such trains don't run everywhere on the DB system but are limited to specific loads and routes.

Greg Procter skriver:

Hmmm, but you just said 100 axles ?

I can give you a lot of trains with more than 100 axles - especially freight trains.

Actually the reason why SP tested diesel hydaulic was because allmost

3/4 of the breakdowns they expeirenced on the diesel electric locos was on the electrical system - not the mechanic.

Klaus

My understanding was that the DB (circa the period when Diesel Hydraulics were developed and intensively operated) had a limit expressed in wagon axles for it's general freight trains.

Interesting - I didn't know that.

Greg.P.

Klaus, for the axle count that you provided, is that from the years that KM was using this style of loco, or is this a current figure?

"Frank A. Rosenbaum" skriver:

The "Langen Heinrich" ran between 1960's to the 1980's. It userd 2 locos often the type 42, 43 and 44 steam, butt allso the type 216 deisel (hydraulic).

Regarding the diesel hydraulic in germany, the first "big ones" were the class V200 from 1953 (2x1100HP/4 axle) and the 6 axle ML2200 for juguslavian railways. From those the V300 came in 1957 with its 2x1450HP and 6 axles. Theis loco ran untill 1978. During the test period it ran at the Semmeringbahn, Schwrazwaldbahn and was later tested in both Austria and Hungary.

So Krauss Maffei was used to build powerfull locos used for heavy traction.

Klaus