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Dear kevinstheRRman, I am amazed that I, a railfan, have done something that a proffessional railroader has not. I have been in the cab of operating Alco's many times (primarily an ex-Southern Pacific S4), and can tell you that it is not particullarly noisy. Admittedly, it is noisier than those new "insulated cab" locomotives are, although I have never been in one of those insulated ones. However, the locomotive is over a half century old, and let's face it: you didn't become a railroader for peace and quiet. And if it keeps the conductor from falling asleep, you should be even happier [:)][:D]! Now as for the polution aspect, we all know that railroads pollute less than other the amount of trucks required to move the same load. And I think that environmental organizitions have many more important things to worry about than a half-century old class of locomotives of which there are only four surviving examples anyway, most of which are in storag (weep, weep). Someone had a signature that said "one person's noise polution is another's train," or something like that. And finally let me point out that how the locomotive is maintained after it is purchased will have a much greater impact on the locomotive's longevity than whether GE or EMD made it. If good qualities of maintenance are in place, then any locomotive can look forward to a long service life. Let me, however, point out the one overarching pillar of railfanning, (and I would hope many railroaders observe this too): steam locomotives were, are, and always will be the greatest. Just think--six 2-10-2s shoving a drag up Cajon Pass, or doubleheaded Big Boys making the ground shake as the pull six miles of freight up Sherman Hill, or a J3a hauling the Twentieth Century Limited at 110 miles per hour. Compared to those, these arguements are insignificant: you may prefer EMD to GE, but I would hope you would prefer an FEF-2 to any diesel. Most respectfully (and steamfully) yours, Daniel
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