From Adventures of a Rookie Brakeman in Railroad Stories, this Website.
Wow! Isn't THAT something!
I thought those Baldwin center-cabs were transfer and yard locomotives that never ventured out on the main line. I never knew one made it as far west as Cajon Pass either!
It's a wasted day if you don't learn something new!
Flintlock76I thought those Baldwin center-cabs were transfer and yard locomotives that never ventured out on the main line. I never knew one made it as far west as Cajon Pass either!
It's the contemporary equivalent of an articulated locomotive in helper service instead of a brace of smaller units in MU. For first-generation service where one larger prime mover wouldn't produce the needed constant horsepower, this is a good solution. (By the way, ATSF bought six; it would be interesting to see where and how they were used ... and for how long.)
The Westinghouse electrical gear is robust for low-speed shoving, but also capable of high speed when needed. You may recall that UP tried TR units in similar service, which came to terrible grief when their switcher trucks (just fine slogging uphill) had to endure high speed doing what the unit in the picture is probably doing: sliding downhill to assist the 'next' train.
I don't think any of these nominally-flatland-transfer-optimized units received dynamic brakes. It certainly seems to me that dynamic braking assist could be significant even then, which would allow the unit to 'earn some keep' downhill as well as uphill. I suspect that DB could have been installed on these as it was, say, at McCloud River.
Dave indicated this was in a story that appeared in Classic Trains, but searching on 'adventures of a rookie brakeman' produces neither the story nor the picture. Can anyone provide the actual URL to a story behind this?
Someone who knows more about this than I do can comment whether dynamic braking assist was a significant 'thing' then, and the unit isn't working downgrade in DB on this day because more important immediate work is waiting at the bottom of the pass.
Isn't that scene actually at Summit (not that it looks like that today).
So the loco could be waiting for a train to assist downgrade. It appears to be at the West end of a siding.
Peter
M636CIsn't that scene actually at Summit (not that it looks like that today).
I edited the post. To my knowledge none of these transfer units had DB or were retrofitted with it, and I don't see evidence of the kind of larger grid openings that Baldwins with DB had in that era. I'd doubt that something this large and heavy on only six axles would contribute much in air-braking effort to retarding a train going down the pass, and the additional wheel wear would be on complex diesel geared wheelsets, not simple freight-car-truck sets.
Even stranger, the UP used EMD cow-calf switchers on Cajon as helpers for a short time.
Great story indeed Vince! Thanks for the link!
Wayne
PS: Everyone else, click on "Unexpected Treasure" to bring up the David Lustig article, if you haven't figured it out already. Even better, when you bring up the article click on the photograph, it'll go full-screen. Very dramatic!
BackshopEven stranger, the UP used EMD cow-calf switchers on Cajon as helpers for a short time.
Those were the TRs I mentioned earlier. As you can tell from the TR prefix, those were EMD's approach to the 'one cab, higher horsepower' TRansfer market, and (according to the account in utahrails) an A-B or cow-calf set was just the ticket for pushing uphill. Didn't need expensive road trucks, either, because the uphill speed did not need to be high.
Unfortunately, according to the story, the DOWNhill speed did need to be high, and the switcher trucks quickly produced issues with brake wear as well as the more expected ones with poor suspension compliance. What UP did next was surprising enough to feature in a quiz over on the Classic Trains forum: they went to the trouble of installing dynamic brakes for the light moves down the hill. Not the sort of high-current extra-fan dynamics needed to provide additional braking for downhill trains; just enough to keep air brakes on two light TRs from wearing...
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I wish transfer switcher like Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 was capable of hauling LD passenger trains...... because they looked great.
http://baldwindiesels.railfan.net/guide/dt-6-6-2000na/index.html
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
Here is your photo after Photo Editor treatment:
And any can be toggled to near-full-screen, including the Photo Editor version of the Cajon Pass photo from Buried Treasure.
Apologies for the memory slip of Rookie Brakeman for Buried Treasure
and especially to the authors.
daveklepper Here is your photo after Photo Editor treatment:
Nicely done! Photo editing and touch up of historical black and white photos is fun, I note many photos uploaded to the internet archive of many libraries are clean scanning from the original, even though many of them are overexposed, underexposed or having various problems that need restore and repair.
I don't think any of these nominally-flatland-transfer-optimized units received dynamic brakes.
According to E D Worley, Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail, page 456, units 2600 and 2602 - 2605 were fitted with "a small dynamic brake". That could be the rectangular capped stack next to the cab on the photo of 2600, that doesn't appear on the locomotive diagram.
Overmod (By the way, ATSF bought six; it would be interesting to see where and how they were used ... and for how long.)
(By the way, ATSF bought six; it would be interesting to see where and how they were used ... and for how long.)
Santa Fe had seven of these Baldwin center cabs. The seventh unit was the former Baldwin demonstrator #2000 to Santa Fe #2606. I believe all seven were traded in on U25Bs, will have to check that.
Ed in Kentucky
Here is the photo from Rookie Brakeman, the Appalachia Northern Doodlebug
SSW9389Santa Fe had seven of these Baldwin center cabs.
I did wonder about that numbering, knowing it started with 2600 and ended in 2606, but trusted the 'total' number I saw in online references. Coming to grief not for the first time.
It may be possible that the 'small dynamic brake' Worley mentions is intended for the same purpose that Don Strack said UP tried: less brake air for light moves 'downhill'.
For those who have a further interest in those Union Pacific TR5s:
http://utahrails.net/up/up-loco-features.php
http://utahrails.net/articles/up-sw-early.php#tr5
Note the reasons given for withdrawal of the helpers by the late Fifties. Union Pacific was famous later for some amazingly long consists of first-generation units, perhaps in part to give the advantages 'uphill and down' of all those available dynamic-brakable axles.
EJ&E DT-6-6-2000 (or DT-6-6-1000/2) 100 was the only Baldwin transfer unit fitted out with 608NA engines with no turbocharger. The longer 8 cylinder engine ate up the end platforms. All of the others except for the Pennsy RT624's (which had 606A's) had 606SC engines. When EMD re-engined the EJ&E units it used SW hoods which were wider than the original Baldwin hoods, so they flared in at the bottom (and up at the cab end, since the Baldwin hoods were higher.)
DSS&A used theirs in road service. They got bumped to secondary duty after DSS&A equipped their road switchers with cab-end MU. Lasted long enough for Soo Line to repaint one in red and white, then got traded in.
Santa Fe DT6-6-2000 Liner Notes
These seven Baldwin center cabs have an interesting, but short history on Santa Fe. None stayed for the full fifteen year depreciation cycle, with the first one staying on the roster the longest at 14 years 8 months.
#2600 was built and purchased in June 1948. It evidentily had a dynamic brake, but how long did that DB remain on the locomotive? It was tried out originally in California and Arizona in helper service. It was renumber to 2602 in 1962 and traded for U25B #1608 in February 1963.
#2601 was built and purchased in August 1949. It had hump control and spent long years at Argentine. It was traded for U25B #1607 on May 17, 1962.
#2602 was built and purchased in July 1949. It had hump control and spent long years at Argentine. It was renumbered #2600. It was traded for U25B #1606 on May 17, 1962.
#2603 was built and purchased in November 1949. It had a dynamic brake and worked both east and west out of Ash Fork, Arizona in helper service until the Crookton Cutoff was completed. It was then sent to Argentine. It was traded for U25B #1609 in February 1963.
#2604 was built and purchased in November 1949. It had a dynamic brake and worked both east and west out of Ash Fork, Arizona in helper service until the Crookton Cutoff was completed. It was then sent to Argentine. It was traded for U25B #1610 in February 1963.
#2605 was built and purchased in November 1949. It had a dynamic brake and worked both east and west out of Ash Fork, Arizona in helper service until the Crookton Cutoff was completed. It was then sent to Argentine. It was traded for U25B #1611 in February 1963.
#2606 was built as Baldwin Demonstrator #2000 in December 1949. It was purchased in March 1950 and was the last Baldwin purchased by Santa Fe. It was used at Argentine. It was traded for U25B #1612 in February 1963.
The DT6-6-2000s used a pair of the 606SC engines with Westinghouse 480 generators and Westinghouse 370 traction motors. The Baldwin DS4-4-1000s the railroad had used the same engine and generator, but the Westinghouse 362 traction motor. The last DS4-4-1000s were retired in 1973.
Data compiled from Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail and The Santa Fe Diesel Volume 1.
http://ctr.trains.com/photo-of-the-day/2019/02/steam-and-diesel-on-the-union-pacific
Another comparatively rare unit, the FM H20-44 was used on Cajon by the Union Pacific, here in a past "Picture of the day"...
SSW9389 wrote:
> Santa Fe DT6-6-2000 Liner Notes
>#2600 was built and purchased in June 1948. It evidentily had a dynamic brake, > but how long did that DB remain on the locomotive?
Santa Fe's locomotive assignment sheets from 1956 show it still equipped with a dynamic brake at that point.
> It was tried out originally in California and Arizona in helper service.
It spent its first 8 years in California. After an initial trial in Cajon Pass helper service, it settled into hauling drags on the Harbor District out of Los Angeles. In 1956 it was transferred to Argentine (Kansas City, KS) with the rest of the DT-6-6-2000's for more drag-freight duty.
> #2601 was built and purchased in August 1949. It had hump control and spent > long years at Argentine.
The 2601 only spent about a year on the Argentine hump, until the first of the TR4 cow-calf sets showed up from EMD in 1950. It then went to California and worked drag transfer runs westbound out of San Bernardino until 1956. It then went back to Argentine for drag freight service - tranfer runs around town or locals up to Topeka mostly.
> #2602 was built and purchased in July 1949. It had hump control and spent
> long years at Argentine.
Like the 2601, the 2602 spent only about a year of its early life at Argentine, and I've never seen a photo of either unit working there in 1949-50. When the TR4's arrived, the 2602 went west to Los Angeles and worked the same harbor drags as 2600 until 1956, when it moved back to Argentine.
>#2603 was built and purchased in November 1949. It had a dynamic brake and
> worked both east and west out of Ash Fork, Arizona in helper service until the
> Crookton Cutoff was completed.
The 2603-2605 moved east to Argentine in 1956, four years before the opening of the Crookton Cutoff.
> #2606 was built as Baldwin Demonstrator #2000 in December 1949. It was
>purchased in March 1950 and was the last Baldwin purchased by Santa Fe.
> It was used at Argentine.
Argentine was 2606's last assignment. Prior to 1956, it was on the Illinois Division where it routinely worked the local on the Pekin District.
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