what's a "torpedo tube" do?

Air tanks. If the locomotive was equipped for passenger service with a train heat boiler and water tanks there wasn't room on the underframe for the air tanks.

CTucker NY

No, at that time it would have been ALCo, Baldwin, etc.

Brian

Christian,

Well, you got the "air tanks" part right. :-)

The air tanks' placement was usually a result of being displaced from their normal underframe location when the ordering railroad specified a large(r) fuel tank and water tank, for those engines equipped with a steam generator.

However, railroads could also specify how they wanted their engines, so it was entirely possible for a given locomotive to have a steam generator, but have the air tanks located in their "normal" locations beneath the frame.

Dieter Zakas

These were built in Romania??

-- crazyro

Bill wrote: Thanks, Paul! That made my day! So that's why GE locomotives were called U-Boats.

Jens replied: We here over in Germany have U-Boats too. They were built in Romania during Eastern Block times, a few are still running. Here the naming was induced be the row of bullseye windows on them. See

--------------------------------------------------- Thanks, Jens!

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

That's very true. Southern Pacific had eleven passenger GP9's working the San Francisco peninsula commute operation. They were 3000-3003 (NO torpedo tubes, but WITH dynamic brakes), 3004-3007 (WITH tubes, no d/b), and 3008-3010 (no tubes, with d/b).

Yes, the web page (click "Series 119" -> "Steckbrief" -> "119 001 - 119 100"

-> "119 001 - 119 010" -> "119 001") gives as data for the first one: Built in 1976, accepted on January 21, 1977 and built at "23. August" in Bukarest (German name of the capital of Romania).

The Eastern Block had a strict separation which of its members had to provide which products. So for rail vehicles there were separate producers for trams, electric locos, shunting diesels, light diesels, heavy diesels, passenger cars, box cars, refrigeration cars, tank cars, ... you name it.

Generally, they were not really behind in engineering for such basic things. More complicated parts were either license built from western stuff (here: the engine licensed from MTU) or unlicesed ("industrial espionage"). The biggest problem was the general unavailability of parts for maintenance, because you couldn't plan all defects some years in advance.

Greetings, Jens

Very interesting. I was born just two weeks before they were accepted (!) and even though my father has worked for the railways all his life, I had no idea these things even existed, even more that they were built in Romania! Thank you for sharing this information with me. I will ask my father and see if he knows anything about these boats. Thanks again.

-- crazyro

No, it was because of the "U" in the model designation, i.e.: U25C (Universal, 2500hp, C-C). But then you knew that.

Brian

True. The New Haven had 30 GP9's with dynamics and steam gen., and the air tanks were mounted under the frame as normal. However, within 6 months of delivery, the NH added walkway water tanks right behind the cab to add steam gen. capacity.

Before:

The Boston & Maine GP-7's had steam generators, no D/B , water tanks and air tanks under the frameand many had square hong hood ends to contain passenger train lighting gear.

Dave Decker

T> Some gp7 and gp9 prototypes had torpedo tubes and some didn't. What were

Paul, thanks for sharing that....I never realized that the NH's 30 units were delivered as somewhat "normal" looking GP9's and modified. I thought they came with that extended walkway as did LIRR's (and others') RS-3's.

Jersey central had a bunch this way too.