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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by rob_l Mark said: "One place where the philosophy of Kenefick stands out is motive power: Rather than the peculiar infatuation with big, inflexible, high-tonnage machines of the 1960s, namely the double-diesels and turbines, the Kenefick era zeroed in on two standardized locomotives, the SD40-2 for all types of main-line service (and its GE equivalent, the C30-7), and the GP38-2 for branch line and secondary service. Standardization is the hallmark of a railroad manager who seeks efficiency of the total operation, not just pieces of it that catch his fancy or speak to his background." The standardization of UP motive power is really the doing of Frank Accord, who Kenefick brought over from NYC to succeed D S Neuhart as UP Chief Mechanical Officer. Accord had complete autonomy to decide what to do about motive power. I think his decisions had little or nothing to do with the total operation, they really had to do with cutting motive power maintenance costs. The last straw was the U50C disaster (VPO Bill Fox called it "the biggest goof we ever made"), after that there was this gigantic swing in the opposite direction to make UP motive power as dull and as conservative as possible. And in this Accord succeeded very well. Accord did have to give in from pressures in the Traffic and Transportation Depts. for high-speed service, and so he was forced to re-gear a block of SD40-2s with passenger gearing (the so-called Fast Forties). But by and large he left his mark by making the UP motive power roster about as unimaginative and uninspired as anyone could conceive. Although it's possible, I doubt Kenefick provided significant direction about striving for motive power cost savings by turning the UP into an SD40-2 railroad. To the contrary, I think he was quite enamored with being able to run a lot faster than the competition using the Centennials, with the PR prestige from having bigger, faster power than anybody else and with running a better carload railroad service than anybody else. This was the UP legacy he strived to uphold. He really was an Old School guy in that respect, perhaps even besting Al Perlman as the best of the old-era, quality-service managers. So I think it is very appropriate that they are planning a Kenefick Park on top of the hill in Omaha overlooking the MIssouri with a Centennial and a Big Boy stuffed and mounted therein. That's the kind of railroading where his heart was. Best regards, Rob L. [/quote]I look forward to hearing more from you sir.
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