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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by MichaelSol [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by cementmixr [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by MichaelSol Of course, that underscores the problem of all those E7B's, which were the least flexible motive power of all. Best regards, Michael Sol [/quote] If Sol's criteria for "least flexible" is a unit without a cab, then the Miwaukee boxcab center units would have won that prize, being restricted to electrified mainline track and yards, and being rigidly coupled to their sisters. Talk about limited in usability, unlike a diesel "B" unit, which could travel any track. [/quote] Very little cost associated with the conversion, put all the weight on the drivers. Cost about one-third the maintenance cost of any Diesel A or B unit, and cost about half to operate. Like a UP Centennial, Northern or any other big power, their usefulness to the railroad was in their specialty, not some vague, general purpose pinch-hit capability. They were specifically designed to be part of a powerful mainline locomotive operating in mountain territories. The strong point of the four unit Boxcab Electric after rebuilding was their output of nearly 6,800 horsepower and 162,000 lbs of tractive effort on a continuous basis, 212,000 lbs of tractive effort on an hourly basis (8200 hp), and a whopping 20,000 horsepower for brief periods. Ironically, 40 years after their manufacture, they had again become the most powerful locomotives in the world and one of the cheapest to operate. Can't beat that kind of "flexibility:" it's the kind that makes the railroad money. I spent a goodly number of hours with their designer, L.W. Wylie. Best regards, Michael Sol [/quote] I am delighted you got to meet the designer of the 1915 Boxcab electrics. That would make you very old, wouldn't it? One thing you say (parroting Brown), is that pilot trucks are a waste because they take weight off the drivers that could be used to improve the locomotives tractive effort. That's horsehockey. The pilot trucks aren't weight-bearing. With or without them, the weight on the driving wheels is the same. And I noticed you changed your criteria in evaluating locomotive "flexibility". You originally stated that "B" unit boosters were "inflexible" because they had to be tied to a cab unit. Then, when I pointed out the same situation in electrics, you changed your tune and said the B units there were actually integral parts of a single electric locomotive. It's just more of the usual twisting of facts and definitions.
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