Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Why so few SD.80 MACS?
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
I don't know if turning wrenches is easier than being an editor, but it's certainly greasier than being an editor. Locomotive dirt never comes off. And you might as well count on a big gash, crunch, or gouge anytime you take a wrench in hand. I recall one really frustrating day in Idaho laying in puddles of ice-cold water on the floor of an F-unit with an electrician, fishing around in the dirt in the bottom of the electrical cabinet trying to isolate a ground in the Tow-Motor switch (the big air-operated switch that changes the traction motors from power to dynamic braking). I sat up to get a tool and creamed my head on one of the open electrical-cabinet doors above me -- 16 ga. sheet metal right on the corner. That made me decide to lay back down again for awhile because it hurt like hell. <br /> <br />That night in the motel I took a long shower and wondered why the hair on the right side of my head was stuck together -- grease? I got out and looked in the mirror and the whole side was matted in dried blood. I never realized it because I was wearing a wool cap. It was about that time that I seriously began thinking that this wasn't very much fun. <br /> <br />My favorite units: <br /> <br />For a short line, from a maintenance and operation point of view, I thought Santa Fe's CF7s couldn't be beat. After one look in their electrical cabinet, you thought you'd died and gone to heaven. But they still had BC engines, which weren't as desirable as C engines because you had more internal water leaks. The first ones to come off Santa Fe were very very good, but the tail-end Charlies were picked over. There aren't many CF7s still running now because they've finally worn out, and you're cheaper buying a good GP38 than putting a lot of effort into a CF7. Their frames were suspect at best, and some of them I saw had cracked and begun to sag. <br /> <br />For a powerful, reliable, rugged, work-all-day switcher, the SW1200. You almost never see these going cheaply. If they have MU on them, they are exceptionally desirable. These will probably still be running long after I'm dead. They're that good. I know a lot of people who respect the Alco switchers too, from HHs to S6s, but parts are a problem. <br /> <br />For pure running satisfaction, assuming you don't have to switch anything, the F unit. Comfortable, warm, sound fabulous, good view. My first really good train ride was on a three-unit set climbing over the Kenai Range between Anchorage and Seward on a fall morning, and moaning back down the 3% in dynamics that night. They sounded good with the cab window open, and because the fireman was back nursing the steam generators all night long, I got the left side to myself. F units are no fun to work on, the first time you have something heavy to change out, like a radiator core or a power assembly. You practically want to start all projects by pulling the roof hatch off, and for that you need a crane. You wonder why anyone bought a single one of them the moment they could buy a GP7 instead. <br /> <br />For maintenance misery, anything with an old, crispy electrical cabinet. You're afraid to touch anything lest some more insulation fall off. I did not like GP7s at all from an electrical point of view; the cabinet is difficult to access. GP9s were laid out better. If you had a real shop with high-level platforms, power-assembly changeout was duck soup. Doing it on a spur outside is almost as bad as trying to do it inside an F unit. <br /> <br />For train-riding (if you can't have an F unit), any SD40, 45, or Dash-2 version is a fine, fine choice, assuming it's not a hot, humid day. They've got a great view, excellent riding qualities even on poor track, and good ventilation. They'll just swim through a rough spot that you think you're about to overturn on in a AC4400CW. The 45s have a much deeper, louder sound than the 40s and are more fun to listen to. The non Dash 2s are all-relay: listening to the relay cascades when the unit sets-up in power or dynamic, or makes transition, is one of those distinctive sounds of railroading that you remember forever. <br /> <br />For a nasty hot Louisiana summer day: anything with an air conditioner. Period. Accept no substitute. Otherwise, around 6 a.m., all the flies that live in the toilet room wake up to keep you company, and the stench is awful. Crews on KCS, when I worked there, went through contortions to make sure that if they had one of our 2000s available (AC4400CWs), to get it on the lead, and I even saw a crew choose to run one of them long-hood-forward for over a hundred miles rather than put the trailing GP40 in the lead. <br /> <br />There's not much difference between a SD70MAC and an AC4400CW from the left-hand side of the cab, except the EMD vibrates a lot less and the third seat has a little more leg room. Engineers tell me they like the AC4400CWs dynamics better, but the SD70MAC loads faster. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. <br /> <br />For a poor ride: GP40s, GP50s, and DASH 8-40Bs. Bouncy and rough. I never rode an LMX B39-8, but I always heard they were the all-time worst riding locomotive ever, because of their huge nose overhang. The ride of a Genesis unit is not as good as an F unit, and it's like looking out of the viewblocks in a tank. In short, a lousy view. <br /> <br />
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy