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Dear McDeo: There is indeed a lot of information in this thread. But none of it directly pertains to the SD70ACe, or it merely reiterates the article. Moreover, all of the technical info I've put in this thread has been previously published at least a dozen times in Trains, the Diesel Spotters Guides, or other sources. (I didn't have to go far to look it up.) So none of this info made it into the article because it (1) isn't about the SD70ACe at all, and (2) it would have been a disservice to the thousands of readers who have already paid for it. I would have loved to have had more technical information about the SD70ACe in the article. It was not possible as EMD refused for competitive reasons to go on the record with any more than what is there--as I said in the article. Just to get as close to the locomotive as I got, I had to agree to not disclose technical details I saw in passing, take no close-up photos, or copy their technical sales information. They also did not directly answer many of my questions. Our other choice would have been to have no article at all. And, literally hundreds of readers have written us asking about the specific questions the article sought to answer (the market share questions), and, as you surmise, some readers don't want all the technical info. But I would have still put it in had it been available. I think the technical information is important and meaningful. I expect that once the locomotive is in production (it's still prototype), that the technical info you seek will become available. I don't think we can fault EMD for not making this public at this time. EMD is not unique in this. GE has been less forthcoming lately. The two builders are locked into a bitter struggle, and neither see competitive advantage in telling the other about what they do. I was very pleased and surprised to get as much as we did from EMD, because for over 20 years now, the two builders (and now most of the railroads, and most of the suppliers) have determined they will no longer talk to the media about anything substantive. This is a huge problem for those of us in the technical and business media. We ascribe it to the fundamental shift in America from "business to advance the public good" to "business to advance the bottom line." If you are in business to make America a better place, you absolutely want to give people like me complete access to your operations, because my article will help prove your point. If you are in business to make money, you do not want to give people like me access to your operations, because my article might give your secrets away to your competitor. Regardless, I would always rather hear from a reader who says he wants more info than a reader who says we gave them too much, because it gives us the opportunity to do something new in the next issue. With very rare exception (we do overlook some things), the reason something important is not in an article is (1) whoever possesses that information has decided not to make it available to us (2) we've already published that information many times (3) we don't have the financial resources to go get it (4) most readers don't want it. We do nothing haphazard, and articles of this nature are thought out among the entire staff, along with the experts who advise us, long before we begin typing.
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