Since most trains require 2 engines when running long distance these days, why is't anyone coming up with a modern day B-unit? Instead of running an extra engine which could be utilized somewhere else pulling another train. Freight or Passenger.
"B" units, while good in theory, turned out to be less so in practice, especially when the GP and SD series of diesels came along. Actually, buying GP's alone turned out to be cheaper than buying F or E units with accompanying "B" units to go wtih the "A"s.
Some 'roads have rebuilt GP's into cabless "B" units, but those are for special applications and are more the exception than the rule.
If the F and E units are what killed steam, the GP's and their counterparts killed the earlier cab units.
There's still savings there in not having a cab on hood units and such locomotives have been built new at several points over the past 60 years.
But the lower initial cost (Which often isn't much since they're a specialty item for the builders) and lowered maintenance cost doesn't justify the decrease in flexibility inherent in a cabless design that can't lead. So as American railroads have progressed away from units purchased for specific jobs to what are essentially universal locomotives for road assignments that can be split up and mixed and tailored for whatever job they're on each particular day, this concept has largely died out.
Here, speculation has equal weight on the balance scale with knowledge and facts, here goes:
With bridge, thru truss construction, hood-unit B's weren't that much cheaper. platform constructed also may have been closely priced.
Suppose, an engine comes into your engine terminal with an A and two B's and that engine needs to go on, but the A has trouble, hard to, or can't be fixed....2 B's.....great, saved money went they were bought, train can't go.....cost, Big time, now!
Working hosteling jobs, moving B-units often required using other engines or firing them up to move B units....small cost... but a cost!
Grade crossing collision, brake pipe broken, no other A unit.....
Think, though, if all locomotives had electronic control of all systems, with train defect, engine fault correction, awareness of weather problems, in a system which me or you could control a train from a place in our homes.....turning the -----into a 'game?
Most if not all B units had hostler controls onboard.
Recently BNSF has rebuilt at least one of it's unique GP60B (the last B unit model built new by a manufacturer, IINM) with a cab.
This is because the units are more frequently being used in local freight and even switching assignments and in those situations B units are largely useless.
ATSF ordered the GP60B's in the 90's and Burlington Northern ordered a decent size fleet of cabless B30-7aBs before that.
ATSF solicited GE for a quote on a cabless variation of the Dash 8-40B and were told that they could be ordered, but the price would be the same as the standard cab version, so Santa Fe instead ordered more B40-Ws..
Ultimately it seems that the railroad industry has concluded that the savings offered by B units in not having to maintain the cab was not worth it when considering the flexibility in assembling a locomotive consist with all cabbed units.
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
If you needed 3 units to get the tractive effort you needed to pull a train, you could use a B unit in the middle of the consist. That would be a good use of B units.
From a practical operating perspective - any locomotive that can't be a leader is a problem to be worked around when building a engine consist.
Locomotives do fail, and if it is the lead locmotive, whatever replaces it must also be able to lead. Having a locomotive that is incapable of being a leader is just another problem to be solved.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
caldreamer If you needed 3 units to get the tractive effort you needed to pull a train, you could use a B unit in the middle of the consist. That would be a good use of B units.
And that was largely how B units were employed, but as has been pointed out, in Modern practice having all locomotives equipped with cabs offers better operational flexibility..
B units are beloved by some railfans but railroaders tend to see them as potential headaches..
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.