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I agree with the comment that every publication, including TRAINS has blown by the Centipede without much more then a passing glance. It may well be the most ignored large production diesel of all time. Granted it only sold to 4 roads and one of them, UP conceled its order before delivery in favor of trying turbine´s.  I saw a Centipede in action only once. It was on the point of a rather short Seaboard passenger train, detouring over the ACL in the early AM northbound into Jacksonville. Hot still air, ground fog, a distant light and a strange horn, suddenly the ground shook, dust flew, engine noise, smoke, lurching, bounding, like a misguided cannon ball...NOTHING in my railfan experience of 50+ years equaled it. I grew up just a couple miles from the Seaboards Beaver Street shops and yards in Jacksonville and had the honor of going to school with Mr. Hastings (SCL motive power super) son. I never heard ANY bad talk of the Centipedes from the Seaboard men, Hastings himself seemed to wish they were still around...almost as if they were killed by politics more then service.They had a good availability on the Meteor and other passenger trains which is what they were designed for. The whole concept was to take a longer route, roller coaster profile, single track railroad (Seaboard) and give it a locomotive that could whip a passenger train along better then E Units over on a shorter, flat, double track route (ACL). Give it plenty of wheels to spread its weight over possible sub perfect trackage on branchlines and secondary mains. What caused them to falter was a Baldwin curse. Electric panels that shorted out usually due to water finding its way in through the roof vents and fans. This happened to the CNJ babyface fleet and the GM&O beautiful A-1-A units (which went into storage almost new only to be traded and scraped years latter with few miles),.Certainly the bugs were out by the time the giant Transfer Locomotives were delivered.   Had they stretched their legs on Sherman Hill things might have been different. Or had Baldwin gone ahead an brought them up to the planned 6,000 HP. Perhaps. Maybe if they had awaited the safety cab era and introduced them in say, 1995 ? Such are dreams made of, I for one miss them.
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