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GE Schenectady or GE Erie?

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  • Member since
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GE Schenectady or GE Erie?
Posted by ChrisBIGDoer on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 11:36 AM

The GE locomotive seen here is located at the Coleman Collieries plant in Southern Alberta Canada. Bought by the company used in 1954, the locomotive still sits at the site even though the operation closed in the early 1980s. Later this plant had a couple ex CPR CLC centre cabs (long gone), but that's another story.

The site is closed to the public but we had permission to quickly photograph the unit.

Anyway....

The builder's plate lists Schenectady on it, which strikes me as odd since my understanding is all GE locomotives were manufactured at Erie. Were locomotives made at Schenectady? Perhaps as an overflow plant? Or?

Chris “BIGDoer”

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Posted by Dakguy201 on Thursday, October 25, 2012 2:55 AM

GE's corporate headquarters was at Schenectady for most of its corporate existence.  Their Nott Street  Schenectady factory was a former ALCO locomotive plant, and in  particular given the war time production date of this locomotive it is possible it came from there; but I think it more likely that Erie products were labeled as GE Schenectady.

I checked my photo files but was unable to locate another GE builder plate from that era.  I did find a 1997 plate (really a sticker) that reads "Erie, Pennsylvania U.S.A."   

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Posted by carnej1 on Thursday, October 25, 2012 11:27 AM

I'm sure there are members of the forum that know more but I seem to rember reading that there was some manufacture of small industrial locomotives at GE's Schenectady plant early on..

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, October 25, 2012 4:22 PM

ChrisBIGDoer

The GE locomotive seen here is located at the Coleman Collieries plant in Southern Alberta Canada. Bought by the company used in 1954, the locomotive still sits at the site even though the operation closed in the early 1980s. Later this plant had a couple ex CPR CLC centre cabs (long gone), but that's another story.

The site is closed to the public but we had permission to quickly photograph the unit.

Anyway....

The builder's plate lists Schenectady on it, which strikes me as odd since my understanding is all GE locomotives were manufactured at Erie. Were locomotives made at Schenectady? Perhaps as an overflow plant? Or?

Chris “BIGDoer”

We invite your comments either here or on our website.

Chris and Connie: Off the beaten path.

Hiking - Adventure - History - Exploration

www.bigdoer.com

 

Site appears to be port-a-potted to the max....

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Posted by baberuth73 on Saturday, October 27, 2012 12:19 PM

Surely in all that time some company or group would have wanted to buy this unit. The owner could have at least gotten scrap value for it.

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