Hi, this is my first post on Trains forum and I hope I will find here others who also enjoy the international aspect of railroading.
To test the forum features here are a few pictures of one of the big American technology based diesels that are found in the Nordic countries. The first for preview is the Nohab built (actually EMD technology) Tmy diesel. These contraptions started their life on the fleet of the Danish state operator DSB, which sold them years ago to Sweden and Norway to second hand locomotive users. Now many have ended up to their third or even fourth owner / user. Many also have their main engine and electronics refurbished or replaced.
Some facts on Swedish class Tmy / Danish class My:
Builder: Nohab in Sweden, Years: 1954 - 1965, Main engine: EMD 567 or 645Numbers: 59, numerous surviving in "semiactive" usePower: 1300/1450 kw (1700/1950 hp)Effort: unknown
And then to pictures, the first set is of mostly Tåg AB (Train corporation for the direct translation) Tmys.
You can find the bigger versions of all pictures, plus many more pics, at 4rail.net: http://www.4rail.net/reference_sweden_gallery2_diesellocos.php
A reengined Tmym of Svenskt Tågkraft at Hagalund yard in Stockholm, Sweden.
A Tåg AB Tmy #105 disguised as Great Northern F unit with Co'Co' bogies under it. Kristinehamn, Sweden. Below a better view to the Grean Northern Mountain goat sign on this loco.
Looks like the Tmym got left out, so here it comes...
Intresting post! I first found out about those Nohab double-enders from, of all places, a Mikes Train House catalog. Ol' Mike was building "O" scale models of them a few years ago, even the "Great Northern" example.
What amazed me was I'd thought the Jersey Central was the only 'road that went in for double-ended diesels, certainly no other American 'road bothered with them.
And your post mirrored what the MTH catalog had to say about them. VERY successful design, some on their second and third, sometimes fourth owners by now.
I wonder who was the Swedish fan of American railroads who picked out the "Great Northern" paint scheme to copy? That's probably a tale in itself.
I believe the GN paint was for a movie, "Dancer in the Dark" (never seen it), and the railroad decided to leave it and spend the paint money somewhere else...
Yes, this is a story for itself Discussing with the locoworks personnel the movie is not worth buying for the GN perspective: the two diesels show up there just for a brief 30 seconds!
The story goes so that the movie director was scared of flying and did not wish to take an ocean liner from Europe to U.S. So painting one Tmy and one T43 (looks distantly like early American road switcher and was engined by EMD, I will handle this in another post later) of the Tåg AB (Train corp) fleet, one of the numerous private companies in Sweden, was the solution. Cost was said to be around 1 million Swedish crowns, or around 150'000 USD. Well, who understands movie business...what ever our fears make us do...
Anyways the other loco Tågkraft Tmym is reengined with Cummins, sounding nothing like the original EMD 16-567. I remember this had just happened when we visited the depot and the personnel was quite annoyed about loosing the true locomotive sounds...
More Tmy will follow later here and on 4rail.net Swedish diesel locos gallery: http://4rail.net/reference_sweden_gallery2_diesellocos.php#tagab_tmy Looks like this is one of the three most successful Euro-American designs in Europe, judged from the remaining fleet size.
The windshield on the GN painted engine makes it look somewhat like a Alco Babyface.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
What's that coating on the windshields? Resistive heating to limit condensation?
Very good question! It looks to me like all of these units have this feature added / built in.
Something to ask next time there it looks like, unless one of you know what the film on the winshields is?
Overmod What's that coating on the windshields? Resistive heating to limit condensation?
Here is one of the original colored units of the DSB (Danish state railways). The same films on windows show here too. The locomotive owner is unknown, but most likely it is part of the lease fleet of several operators stationed in Kristinehamn.
On their first owner DSB these Nohabs were classified as My. The Swedes normally start big diesel typification with T, hence the Tmy.
It was done for a movie? Now that IS interesting! I must say they did an excellent job.
You are absolutely right, it is REAL paint, made to last, despite of slight flaking after years of REAL use of the loco now.
Firelock76 It was done for a movie? Now that IS interesting! I must say they did an excellent job.
Unfortunately,. I'm afraid the loco might look soner of later like this one in standard Tåg AB livery
Which is not to say this livery would be bad at all, just that it is not Great Northern...
And here is a close up of the bogie. What do you think, are any parts here that would have come from 1950s E units of EMD?
Not all the ex. DSB Mys have been so fortunate, as to become used for many lifetimes, many were used for spare parts. Here is an example, opposite to the one above, minus bogies...
most of the pictures you posted are not showing up.
Mike
no problem with pictures, the trucks however are not Co-Co but A1A-A1A, the Nohabs are basically F7's , 4 motor with center axle a Idler like on E series of EMD.
That is interesting information. Might have something to do with the internet connection since the pictures are from the original sources? What if you give them a little more time to download or try to refresh the page, are the results still the same?
I always try to maximize the picture quality (internet connection in the Nordic countries is most of the time no problem any more than in U.S.), so the pictures are 99% JPEGs, which migfht make them slightly heavier to download.
And thanks for feedback!
rrlineman most of the pictures you posted are not showing up. Mike
Ok, and you are right about the powered axles, the middle axle being there just to distribute the weight. I'm still wondering why the bogie / truck construction is so different from U.S. Any ideas?
Dutchrailnut no problem with pictures, the trucks however are not Co-Co but A1A-A1A, the Nohabs are basically F7's , 4 motor with center axle a Idler like on E series of EMD.
McKey Ok, and you are right about the powered axles, the middle axle being there just to distribute the weight. I'm still wondering why the bogie / truck construction is so different from U.S. Any ideas?
I'm guessing that EMD licensed the prime mover, and let NOHAB build the bogies and bodies? That would also explain why the EMD bulldog nose wasn't used, like it was on Australian Clyde built locomotives, and instead a close approximation was used?
The MY trucks are the EMD Flexicoil design, slightly shorter in wheelbase but basically similar to those on SD7 and SD9 locomotives. NOHAB offered the AA16 (MY, Di 3, M61) with either six D19 motors or four D37 motors (or equivalents) and used the same truck design, which was suitable for six motors.
The DSB wanted to reduce the imported content and had the trucks fabricated in Denmark by Frichs (at least on the later MZ class which I've checked). The design was the same as the cast USA version but was a welded fabrication since castings of that size may not have been available in Denmark at the time.
The appearance of the trucks is almost the same as the Atchison LFM castings used on the earliest Australian locomotives and Australian castings used on most of the later Australian cab units.
So I think we can say it was an EMD design fabricated in Denmark (or Sweden for other buyers). the wear plates on the axle guides seem to be the same as those on the USA cast (export) trucks.
M636C
This was interesting and thorough information, thank you M636C!
Yes, I think too, that they could only cast the parts by the Mz was out of production lines. The welded truck has interestingly different appearance fromt he cast one.
M636C The MY trucks are the EMD ...
The MY trucks are the EMD ...
In Norway, the national railroad NSB had 32 Di3a - Co-Co and 3 Di3b - A1A-A1A. The "a"-s had ASEA traction motors while the "b"-s had EMD D47 tm's. Only a handful are left in Norway, luckily two of them at the national railroad museum, one being the very first one delivered to NSB.
Jan Arne Rodland, Oslo, Norway
On another train discussion forum I got an answer that the "class My" of Nohab was also sold to Hungary and thus they can be found for example in Germany now. And these German versions are painted quite interestingly.
They actually even have a Warbonnet Santa Fe colored My running freight in Germany! Now, that would be quite a find to take a picture and post here...
wow! I feal like I just went back in time 70 years to the dawn of the covered wagon. bitchin kool
McKeyThey actually even have a Warbonnet Santa Fe colored My running freight in Germany! Now, that would be quite a find to take a picture and post here...
Pleased to oblige...
watch?v=HIeXG0MqCPk
Thanks! I did not realize it did not say Santa Fe with big red letters on this unit...
Overmod McKeyThey actually even have a Warbonnet Santa Fe colored My running freight in Germany! Now, that would be quite a find to take a picture and post here... Pleased to oblige... watch?v=HIeXG0MqCPk
AMAZING!!!!
daveklepperAMAZING!!!!
+1
They use a cab unit for shunting and they didn't even bother to add rear-view mirrors to it? I mean Germany is not like the Sahara, dry and sunny every day - the engineer had to stick their head out the window in all kinds of weather good or bad, and crane their neck to see where they're going when reversing?
(I had a similar discussion years again on a different forum about shunting with British Rail units like the Class 31 and 47s, and the answer was a) yeah, they didn't have rear-view mirrors b) yeah, they didn't switch between cabs during shunting moves c) yeah, the engineers stuck their heads out to see rearwards and d) yeah, it kinda sucked)
In Germany you have to use the leading cab if the move is not attended by a switchman.
On road engiones you have to set the reverser to neutral, enter the machine room right to the other end, enter the other cab, set the recerser there to forward ... and move on.
On one such occasion, the driver forgat to set the independent brake ... so when walking through the machin room he realized some rolling noise ... this quickened his steps -he never changed cabs so fast tahn on this day!
You don't see this every day, even in Australia....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE6577pkUsQ
Only one of these units (GM 10) is an A1A-A1A.....
The grade is 1 in 40 (2.5%)
There is some serious track maintenance going on with those machines.
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