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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by trainjunky29 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 [/quote] Yep, Professioanl Railroader.. debateable, The professional makes me sound better thne I am. I can honestly say I have never been in a ALCO, And the way you describe it, amazes me at how Quiet these locomotives are. We have one amtrak locomotive running the passenger trains, an OLD GE, the cab noise is so loud.. A) we can legally strike if we decide that it is affecting our ears and B) Those railroaders who decide to brave the noise could end up with the hearin problem known as Tetinus, or Tintinus.. somehting like that.. what that is, is a constant Rining in the ear, that is life long and will never ever go away. That is why the union has put in Rules saying we are not to work in Locomotives with loud amount of noises. The locomotives we have are a fleat of, and you can correct me, is itan EMD F59 PHI? - with the whisper cab. You could hear a pin drop in the cab while this thing is running. I know whenever we have the amtrak locomotive (get this, they didn't want it, and we montreal suckers bought it.) I won't even step foot in it. Ill be the conductor for that day, If at all possible, and i'll stay in the cars. If there is no option, I will get it from A to B, but then i'll file a grievence. We also have an old GP that still wors fine, and we have EMD F series, the last one standing, and it works like a charm. Although he spends most his days moving cars around in the yard. We call him John F, and I may have already said that. In all honestly, your very lucky, I would love to sit in the cab of an ALCO and see how it really is. I really would. Lucky, Lucky fellow.
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