dknelsonAHM also had a BL2 in its HO catalog, and the "attractiveness" of the engine was not enhanced by AHM's use of Fairbanks Morse C-Liner trucks.
I have two of these, one powered, one dummy. Trucks aren't the only thing Tempo got wrong, the curves on the front, top and front, both too flat, windshield frames too small. I didn't buy either, they came in a box of junk, and that's the proper term, that someone brought into the hobby shop and the shop owner decided wasn't worth looking at. As the power truck on the powered unit is bad, I have two dummies and no use for either.
Rich.
AHM also had a BL2 in its HO catalog, and the "attractiveness" of the engine was not enhanced by AHM's use of Fairbanks Morse C-Liner trucks. The BL2 looks like a person with a distractingly big nose; AHM made it look like a person with a big nose, wearing clown shoes.
Dave Nelson
CannoliI've always loved the BL2, it's such a unique loco. I model a fictional B&M branchline so I have a Proto2K B&M BL2 as part of my loco roster although it doesn't really fit in with my mid 70's time frame. It always attracts peoples attention when I run it though because it's so different looking. Unlike everyone who has responded to this thread, I have been intimately involved with the Boston & Maine BL2 1551. At 12 years of age, I moved to Plymouth, NH, then a real railroad town. 3 passenger trains each way each day plus a 4th in the summer. Daily freight Concord to Lincoln with GP7 1560. And every other day Plymouth-Wells River-White Rover Junction with BL2 1551. I got adopted by the full crew of that little freight, road in the cab and the buggy, helped put the engine to bed in the local roundhouse. While people can say what they like, the visibilty down the sloped-in cab body was WAY better than on an FT or F3 or for that matter any of the Fs or Es that EMD produced. There was a steam generator under the front hood forpassenger service but no MU capability. It had footboards fore and aft. The rear facing horn was disliked by the crew for sounding like a "fish horn". Sister BL2s were used as rescue engines when 1140 or 1141, the "Sacred Cows" used on the "School Train" (timed to bring the high school students from Warren, Wentworth and Rumney to and from Plymouth) and in a lone plow train sent south from Woodsville to clear the Warren Cut. At one point the freight from Concord stopped in Plymouth and 1551 upon arrival from the north picked up the cars for Lincoln and headed up the branch. That gave me the splendid opportunity to ride on the cab up to Beebe River where I could get off and catch a ride home with my father. I even got an occasional ride to Lincoln and memorable ride when the old snowplow was put out front to flange out the Lincoln branch. I never heard any complaints from the crew about the BL2. It has always been a favorite with me.
I hate Rust
Hey Cudaken,
Don't buy up all the Monon engines now, you hear! :)
I myself have one of those P2K BL2's and love it. Had to replace the all to common cracked gear problem, but she's a runner now.
HD
You almost have to wonder if the design studio at GM was having a slow day, since they had not come up with "bowtie" tail lights and fins yet. Could Harvey Earl have yearned for the Raymond Lowey industrial design mantel?
Thankfully the form follows function axiom lead from the Alco RS to the GM "geeps", but lead to latest slap some boxes on the frame, who cares what it looks like design school. BL-2s might have been "Ugly Ducklings" but they still have some charm in retrospect.
Will
Wdlgln005 wrote: The BL2 was an attempt to adapt the cab carbody into a switching/ branchline world. Some BL2's had a s/g for a passenger train. You may find pictures of a short Monon train pulled by a BL2/F3 combo. The C&O in Michigan had some BL2 passenger runs. The fatal flaw is the weaker carbody. BL2's can't be used as trailing units, the forces pull them apart. The Monon model may be the same # as the unit at the Kentucky RR museum. Worth a visit to find out! The LL models are very nice. The Nscale ones started LL on the split frame design- good pullers & performance similar to Atlas or Kato.
The BL2 was an attempt to adapt the cab carbody into a switching/ branchline world. Some BL2's had a s/g for a passenger train. You may find pictures of a short Monon train pulled by a BL2/F3 combo. The C&O in Michigan had some BL2 passenger runs.
The fatal flaw is the weaker carbody. BL2's can't be used as trailing units, the forces pull them apart. The Monon model may be the same # as the unit at the Kentucky RR museum. Worth a visit to find out!
The LL models are very nice. The Nscale ones started LL on the split frame design- good pullers & performance similar to Atlas or Kato.
Say what? The Bangor and Aroostook used them as trailing units quite frequently. Here's a couple of units squeezed between a pair of F-3's.
Andre
Another place to see a 1:1 BL-2 is at the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor, ME. The museum is open May 1 to Nov 11, and is mostly cars and trucks.
http://www.colemuseum.org/
This is Bangor & Aroostook RR BL-2 #557 that was built in 1949 and retired in 1980. BAR (called B&A in northern and central Maine) kept these old diesels running in maineline service long after most railroads scrapped or traded theirs. The railfans loved them!
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Yes PA Belt if I don't like the body it is yours. If you have another shell that would fit or another engine you would like to trade let me know.Post PIC on this posting if you have anything to trade. I am weak on engine ID's at this point. Only reason I bought it was the cost and my lack of 8 wheels drive engines. Used is fine as long as it works well, this one is NIB.
Here are a few links on E-Stupid for BL 2's.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&item=220028991888&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&item=330030033951&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
I hope to have the BL this Saturday and will post some PIC if folks would like to see them.
Cuda Ken
I've seen that Monon BL2 at the Kentucky Railroad Museum before. It looks just like the BL2 in one of PA Belt's pictures (it might even be the same one, can't quite remember the number). This particular BL2 is sometimes used to haul the Museum's tourist train. (Only when the L&N steamer or the ONLY CF7 in Santa Fe Yellowbonnet freight paint aren't pulling it. The Kentucky RR museum has all sorts of goodies, don't they?) That museum is worth a visit, trust me.
-Brandon
Krasny Strela, if you where the other bidder I sort of sorry I beat you out. Not that I don't want it that is. Seller had listed another one NIB for buy it now $30.00. Have no idea if it is still there or not.
Should have it by Saturday.
Modeling the fictional B&M Dowe, NH branch in the early 50's.
Hey
I had bid on that one (kinda liked the unique looks even it none ever made it up here). Glad to see its gone to a good home.
Texas Zepher wrote: BRAKIE wrote:Why EMD design this unit remains a mystery to this day since the road switcher conception wasn't anything new to railroading..After all ALCO had 3 types of Road switchers on the market in 1948 the RS1 and RS2/RSC2. The source I quoted above also indicates that a second design goal was that their appearance would be "attractive on suburban and local passenger trains". Streamlining was still a big deal back then, although definitely not the craze that it had in the 1930s.
BRAKIE wrote:Why EMD design this unit remains a mystery to this day since the road switcher conception wasn't anything new to railroading..After all ALCO had 3 types of Road switchers on the market in 1948 the RS1 and RS2/RSC2.
The earlier reference to David P. Morgan's description, "A cross between a cab unit and a Borden milk car," fits my sentiments exactly.
Believe it or not, there was another locomotive with a very similar appearance! Some time in the '30's, the South Manchuria Railway had a 4-6-4T, streamstyled by Raymond Loewy, that bore more than a passing resemblance. (Loewy designed the carbody of the GG-1. He should have quit while he was ahead!)
Chuck
R. T. POTEET wrote: Curiously, however, this past weeks episode of Trains and Locomotives on RFDTV had a featured segment on Cass Scenic and there was some film of a C&O lettered BL2 hauling a photo-op freight on the Greenbrier line shot before the 1985 wipe-out by floodwaters. That was, to the best of my knowledge, the first time I have ever seen the BL2 in actual moving operation.
Curiously, however, this past weeks episode of Trains and Locomotives on RFDTV had a featured segment on Cass Scenic and there was some film of a C&O lettered BL2 hauling a photo-op freight on the Greenbrier line shot before the 1985 wipe-out by floodwaters. That was, to the best of my knowledge, the first time I have ever seen the BL2 in actual moving operation.
Just wanted to mildly correct you on this. It was painted for Western Maryland.
The BL2, nicknamed "Bluto" (for it's overweight and bulky appearence, like Bluto on Popeye the Sailor cartoons, and because of: BL, and BLuto) on my layout has to be my favorite diesel of all time.
I recently have done a research project on the diesels of the Cass Scenic Railroad. To me, they are more interiesting than the Shay's, Heisler, and Climax.
The BL2 was used as WM #82. Later, it was renumbered 7182. Late in it's life, it was paired with slug 138-T, and was used in the Hagerstown, MD yard.
After the Chessie System take over, it was renumbered 7172. It was donated by Chessie to Cass in 1983. In 1983-1985, it was used as power for the Greenbrier River excursions, with 'Big Shay" 6, and other Shays.
It was known for all of it's rust.
After the flood ceased the use of the line, it was put into storage. After a ex-South Branch Valley Railroad MRS-1 proved to be too hard on track, the BL2 was used as a shop goat starting around 1989.
In 1992, it broke down, and was sent to the South Branch Valley railroad. In 1995, it was sold to them.
It was returned to operating condition in 95', as yard power.
It was then sold to the West Virginia Central Railrad for possible use. The engine was completly restored, and was placed into service in 2000. It operates today.
Phil
The source I quoted above also indicates that a second design goal was that their appearance would be "attractive on suburban and local passenger trains". Streamlining was still a big deal back then, although definitely not the craze that it had in the 1930s.
What I quoted came from Max Ephraim in Classic Trains"GM Geep in Action" video.
Mr.Ephraim was a GM locomotive designer and added first hand knowledge to the video about the BL2 and the geeps according to him nobody liked the BL2 including the design engineers and the sales department and he didn't know why they bothered with it.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
EMD's diesel program was well underway in the late 1940's and early 1950's, thanks to the success of the company's FT demonstrations across the country. While the F units in production were great for moving trains over the railroad, their full-width carbody made it difficult for locomotive crews to see to the rear of the locomotive. The F-units also lacked anywhere for a brakeman or switchman to stand and ride short distances while performing switching duties. The F-units did have grab irons and stirrup steps, but these features didn't do any good in tight clearances.
Since the engine inside the locomotive's hood didn't take up the full carbody width, it seemed only logical that the hood could be "cut away" a bit to allow the crew to see and ride safely. This wasn't an entirely new idea either, as the PRR's GG1 fleet, which featured large cutout sections in its hoods, had been in service since 1934.
Another problem facing EMD was that ALCo was making inroads into a market that EMD would have liked to keep to themselves; ALCO's RS series switchers were starting to take over many of the tasks that EMD wanted to fulfill with their own locomotives.
EMD's designers and engineers set to work and came up with the carbody reminiscent of the GG1 with mechanics that contained the technical knowledge they had learned with the company's F-unit series. Starting from an F3, the product of their efforts became the BL1 demonstrator. The BL in the locomotive's model name officially stood for "Branch Line", indicating that EMD felt the locomotive was best suited for light traffic and frequent switching chores.
The BL1 and BL2 differed only in mechanical details, and only one BL1 was built. 58 more BL2s were built and sold to a few railroads, primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States.
This model of locomotive was sold for both freight and passenger service and the locomotive's intended purpose could be easily identified by the presence or absence of an exhaust stack between the two windshield panes. This exhaust stack was for the steam generator on passenger service units.
Limiting the locomotives success were several mechanical and ergonomic features. The mechanical components within the engine compartment were difficult to access and maintain, reducing its appeal among railroad shop crews. The locomotive's carbody lacked the full-length walkways of subsequent GP diesels, making it difficult for the brakeman or switchman to move from one point on the locomotive to another during switching operations. Finally, although the industrial designers at EMD tried to build a carbody that evoked high-class passenger trains while retaining the utilitarianism of railroad work, the visual design never quite caught on. However, even though the BL2 didn't succeed very well, EMD's engineers learned quite a bit from the endeavor and incorporated all of the good ideas from it into the company's widely successful GP series of locomotives.
The initial purchasers of the BL2 were these railroads (in serial number order):
Chesapeake and Ohio
(Taken from Wikipedia)
Hey thanks for all the answers folks. I will post some PIC when I get it. Main reason I went for it besides the prices all I have in the way of 4 wheel truck engines (not count the side line LL engines) is a pair of F-7's A and B units both powered.
Like I said, not sure if it is ugly, but sure is driffent looking.
PA Belt, you have any other OIC you could post? If I part it out would you like the body?
R. T. POTEET wrote:Like the H2 Hummer and this little box from Toyota/Scion they were just ugly enough to be "cute",
The BL design was one that even its mother (EMD) didn't love very much, considering how quickly it was transmogrified into the GP7 and the relative popularity and longevity of the two designs. About the only thing the BL had going for it was the impossibility of snow buildup on the walkways it didn't have.
The BL1/BL2 was EMD's first halting excursion into the world of road switchers. I have seen many photos of them - being rare they have tended to attract an inordinate amount of attention over the years - but have never encountered one in the real world. Like the H2 Hummer and this little box from Toyota/Scion they were just ugly enough to be "cute", a word which should never be used in model railroading.Curiously, however, this past weeks episode of Trains and Locomotives on RFDTV had a featured segment on Cass Scenic and there was some film of a C&O lettered BL2 hauling a photo-op freight on the Greenbrier line shot before the 1985 wipe-out by floodwaters. That was, to the best of my knowledge, the first time I have ever seen the BL2 in actual moving operation.According to what I remember being published on this issue, the unit was a failure for two reasons: 1) the offset characteristics of the truss-supported body made it very expensive to construct, and 2) the design of the body did not give much better rearward visibility than the F3 which provided the operational mechanism for the beast and which was its contemporary on the assembly line. Wdlgln005 addresses a third issue, that of structural weakness. I have never seen that issue addressed and I fail to comprehend its import because the unit was, in essence, an F3 with a weird appearance carbody.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Hey cudaken,
If you wnat great deals not from e-stupid try here. www.modeltrainstuff.com They have proto 2000 SD45's for 39.99.
-dekruif