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EMD and GE - Why so much anti GE feeling on the list? Light the blue touchpaper and retire

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Posted by dharmon on Friday, January 23, 2004 6:52 PM
Well I probably shouldn't pass the recipe over this medium.......but just about everyone in uniform, other uniforms too it would seem knows how to do it.

Mook...Jim can send you the instructions...

45144 ....it was a Royal Sigs Sgt that originally showed me how to...we were in Mostar, Bosnia which at that time was under French command.......and the sigs fellas invited us to join their mess since there were few of us and proceeded to get us in more trouble than ...well...lots of trouble.....but they did hook us up with a direct feed from their Sat TV which was nice too. He showed me the bomb trick because we didn't have any fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July...or as they put it ..the day they finally got rid of that pesky colony...and because they they delighted in annoying the French any time they could. I still have my Royal Sigs Berry.
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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 23, 2004 7:14 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

Well I probably shouldn't pass the recipe over this medium.......but just about everyone in uniform, other uniforms too it would seem knows how to do it.

Mook...Jim can send you the instructions...

...and because they they delighted in annoying the French any time they could.




I did forward it to da Mook and a few other people who I thought would enjoy it.

I work for a French owned company. When we find one of their screw ups and point it out to them (which if somewhat often) there smug reply is, "No Misure, we make no mistake". They look down their nose at us. . . . and because they they delighted in annoying the French any time they could . . . annoy, yes I would love to annoy. Actually I would love to do more than annoy, but they do provide my paycheck each week. All of the service people I talk to that have been to France, tell me that the French treat them like . . . well you know like what. I can see I better close this now or things might get ugly real fast. [}:)] [;)] [:(]
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Posted by ironhorseman on Friday, January 23, 2004 7:32 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Ironhorseman - I look down on your attempts to get me aggrivcated. Clearly in your post, you tried to get me rilled up, But thats the old Kevin, and after recent battles, I swore not to get involoved in stuff like that. Your post is as if we were in a bar room, and you jsut pushed me and told me to "get mad." No I won't, I have some sort of self control these days. You should be ashamed for even trying to get me angry, because your attempts have done nothing but fail. I will not push back, I will solely walk away.

I pitty you if this is all you spend your time doing.

Maybe in the future, you wouldn't mind being a little less credulant.


It's too bad that your feel that way. I wasn't trying to make you mad I was only provoking you for an explanation and proof of your claims. Just saying GE is junk doesn't make it so.

You accuse me of trying to start a barroom fight. That's not the case at all. YOU are the one acting like the dude that gets made because some one looked at him funny, or accidently bumped into him, or thought he made a pass at his woman, just any made up eccuse to start a fight.

I'm sorry you're pissed off at the world for not being in love with EMD and if you get angry over someone else's favorable opinons of GE then I feel sorry for you. YOU should be the one to be ashamed.

I also didn't accuse you of being drunk or on drugs. On the contrary I credited you on NOT being under the influence.

I'm am also not the one being credulant. I'm not the one who's in love with EMD and has a closed mind on all GEs.

So, fine, walk away. Be ignorant and narrow-minded for all I care. But remember, if your going to make a claim I'm gonna call you on it if I don't understand it or know it's wrong.

yad sdrawkcab s'ti

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Posted by ironhorseman on Friday, January 23, 2004 7:38 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by railpac

Wanna hear a story of why G.E.'s are peices of junk?
Ok, Amtrak train 303, the "Anne Rutlage" from Chicago to St. Louis to Kansas City, MO had G.E. Gennesis P42-9 #65 on the point. Just outside of Chicago their G.E. crapped out on 'em! Their air compressor was malfunctioning, this caused the brakes on the P42-9 to lock up, then the computer system started to freak out, almost shut down the entire locomotive! They kept the computer from shutting the unit down to keep the HEP running for the passengers, then they had to isolate the P42-9. Finally they had to bring in an Ex. Mo-Pac, Union Pacific GP38-2, this unit was on the point almost the entire time from Chicago. The 303 showed up 5 hours late in St. Louis! But, at least it showed up, thanks to an EMD. Once again an EMD comes to the rescue of a G.E. They switched locos at St. Louis, and once again were off to KCMO with an Amtrak unit (another P42) on the point. And that folks, is why G.E.'s are peices of JUNK!![}:)][}:)][;)][banghead][soapbox]


I hope this isn't the only incident you've based your opinion on. I had the same thing happen to me at St. Louis going to KC. I think it was a P-42 or the like that failed before we left, they had to get another unit from across the yard.

But really, who's fault is that? GE, or the people that are supposed to be taking care of the equipment? A poorly maintained machine will evetually fail and cost more to repair than the preventative measures would have cost.

yad sdrawkcab s'ti

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Posted by ironhorseman on Friday, January 23, 2004 7:39 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by bigboy4015

And at another time a GE rescue an EMD powered train............

Fact is: The director of motive power in the head office of UP or BNSF made a decision for a model because of pure facts. Not the look or the sound or the "love" of someone for a GE or EMD are the reasons.

The facts the regulate the decision are:

Price
Life circle costs
Power
Tractive effort
Reliable
Replace existing locomotives (lets say 2 new replace 3 older)


So in one time GE is the winner and in another time EMD!

UP lease the SD70M´s not because of the look or the sound and BNSF do the same with the Dash 9´s! And the opposite side is NS with the huge fleet of the unique 4.000 hp Dash 9´s

GE and EMD, as BLI, build good locomotives and a locomotive that will have no problems ever is the "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE"!


There, finally someone's making sence.

yad sdrawkcab s'ti

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 23, 2004 8:03 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by ironhorseman

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Ironhorseman - I look down on your attempts to get me aggrivcated. Clearly in your post, you tried to get me rilled up, But thats the old Kevin, and after recent battles, I swore not to get involoved in stuff like that. Your post is as if we were in a bar room, and you jsut pushed me and told me to "get mad." No I won't, I have some sort of self control these days. You should be ashamed for even trying to get me angry, because your attempts have done nothing but fail. I will not push back, I will solely walk away.

I pitty you if this is all you spend your time doing.

Maybe in the future, you wouldn't mind being a little less credulant.

I know I am ashamed of myself for doing all of this.. Bad llama.. Bad llama... Bad llama

I've always wanted to post that line man!! THANKS!


It's too bad that your feel that way. I wasn't trying to make you mad I was only provoking you for an explanation and proof of your claims. Just saying GE is junk doesn't make it so.

You accuse me of trying to start a barroom fight. That's not the case at all. YOU are the one acting like the dude that gets made because some one looked at him funny, or accidently bumped into him, or thought he made a pass at his woman, just any made up eccuse to start a fight.

I'm sorry you're pissed off at the world for not being in love with EMD and if you get angry over someone else's favorable opinons of GE then I feel sorry for you. YOU should be the one to be ashamed.

I also didn't accuse you of being drunk or on drugs. On the contrary I credited you on NOT being under the influence.

I'm am also not the one being credulant. I'm not the one who's in love with EMD and has a closed mind on all GEs.

So, fine, walk away. Be ignorant and narrow-minded for all I care. But remember, if your going to make a claim I'm gonna call you on it if I don't understand it or know it's wrong.


Clearly Ironhorse man, you would realize that post above was Clearly a joke, This is where it gets funny,... ok ready? OFCOURSE your not Credulant, neither am I... Credulant.. try looking it up and tell me what you see? Nothing? that word is mine own I made up, it means nothing..

The jokes on you!!

LOL.. yeah.. so don't be so credulant!

Do I really give off the feirce pirate kind of look? Geez, you can talk to my Girlfriend, and i won't kill you!
[:D]

Have a credulant evening.
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Posted by jeaton on Friday, January 23, 2004 8:43 PM
Just looked at this and decided the most important information on the thread is the meaning of the title.

"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 23, 2004 9:38 PM
I make no apology for what I said earlier. You can take it as arrogance if you wish. I have nothing against people from other countries or nationalitie, inded I have traveled the world and made friends with many wonderful people, however, there are bad people in this world of all kinds and I make no apology for myself or my countries efforts to protect its citizens. I doubt the Germans, French, Israelis or others would make any such apology for their actions on behalf of their own national interest either, so please don't patronize me or anyone else here.

LC

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

I am on a roll tonight. Going way back to Mark Hemphill comments, lets try not to annoy to much just because someone is from somewhere else. Remember that while we rail fans are are mostly of good character, a lot of our fellow U.S. countrymen can get a little arrogant in their dealings with folks from other nations, so don't get to bent if a little flame is thrown our way.

I like the fact that this provides almost instant communications between people every where in the world. For more than half my life, one would never meet people from other parts of the world unless you traveled. Enjoy the shrinking world, and take a friendly jab with good humor. (But don't EVER call me a cheesehead!!!)[:(!]
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Posted by dharmon on Friday, January 23, 2004 9:55 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

I am on a roll tonight. Going way back to Mark Hemphill comments, lets try not to annoy to much just because someone is from somewhere else. Remember that while we rail fans are are mostly of good character, a lot of our fellow U.S. countrymen can get a little arrogant in their dealings with folks from other nations, so don't get to bent if a little flame is thrown our way.

I like the fact that this provides almost instant communications between people every where in the world. For more than half my life, one would never meet people from other parts of the world unless you traveled. Enjoy the shrinking world, and take a friendly jab with good humor. (But don't EVER call me a cheesehead!!!)[:(!]


hey cabeza de queso....

Don't get me wrong..I strive to annoy Kevin BECAUSE he is Candien.........why else would I do it? Because it's fun to trade barbs with him? Nahhh..it's because he's a dude from the great white north (nord).
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Posted by ironhorseman on Friday, January 23, 2004 10:23 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

QUOTE: Originally posted by ironhorseman

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Ironhorseman - I look down on your attempts to get me aggrivcated. Clearly in your post, you tried to get me rilled up, But thats the old Kevin, and after recent battles, I swore not to get involoved in stuff like that. Your post is as if we were in a bar room, and you jsut pushed me and told me to "get mad." No I won't, I have some sort of self control these days. You should be ashamed for even trying to get me angry, because your attempts have done nothing but fail. I will not push back, I will solely walk away.

I pitty you if this is all you spend your time doing.

Maybe in the future, you wouldn't mind being a little less credulant.

I know I am ashamed of myself for doing all of this.. Bad llama.. Bad llama... Bad llama

I've always wanted to post that line man!! THANKS!


It's too bad that your feel that way. I wasn't trying to make you mad I was only provoking you for an explanation and proof of your claims. Just saying GE is junk doesn't make it so.

You accuse me of trying to start a barroom fight. That's not the case at all. YOU are the one acting like the dude that gets made because some one looked at him funny, or accidently bumped into him, or thought he made a pass at his woman, just any made up eccuse to start a fight.

I'm sorry you're pissed off at the world for not being in love with EMD and if you get angry over someone else's favorable opinons of GE then I feel sorry for you. YOU should be the one to be ashamed.

I also didn't accuse you of being drunk or on drugs. On the contrary I credited you on NOT being under the influence.

I'm am also not the one being credulant. I'm not the one who's in love with EMD and has a closed mind on all GEs.

So, fine, walk away. Be ignorant and narrow-minded for all I care. But remember, if your going to make a claim I'm gonna call you on it if I don't understand it or know it's wrong.


Clearly Ironhorse man, you would realize that post above was Clearly a joke, This is where it gets funny,... ok ready? OFCOURSE your not Credulant, neither am I... Credulant.. try looking it up and tell me what you see? Nothing? that word is mine own I made up, it means nothing..

The jokes on you!!

LOL.. yeah.. so don't be so credulant!

Do I really give off the feirce pirate kind of look? Geez, you can talk to my Girlfriend, and i won't kill you!
[:D]

Have a credulant evening.


OK, LOL, whatever you say.

It's so hard to tell. Intent gets lost over plain text on the internet. The impression was you were consumed for one side and, well, y'know, by reading it all.

[:)]This reminds of the part in the Patton movie when Patton tells the Russian general he's an S.O.B. and won't drink with him and the Russian genral tells Patton he thinks HE's an S.O.B. Patton laughs and says he'll drink that!. Whatever.[;)]

BTW: I did look up credulant before I made the post. I'd never used it or been called it before so I looked it up. I took it to be a variant of credulous, and the root word is creed, or another word is credulity, meaninga tendency to believe too readily, esp. with little or no proof; lack of doubt. Or tending to belive to readily; easily convinced. This is just the opposite of me. Suspicious, skeptical, and sometimes sarcastic and cynical, but I let people know when I am sarcastic.

Over on graffiti thread I suggested puting spikes on the railcars to stop. This is a facetious suggestion intending to be so outrageous so as to get people to say: wait a minute, there's a better way than that. But at least I added, "but seriously," after that.

All my attempt was to get you to explain yourself, your reasoning, your rationale, and if it takes a little provocation then so be it.

Some joke.[?]

yad sdrawkcab s'ti

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Posted by wabash1 on Saturday, January 24, 2004 9:39 AM
My 2 cents here.

You talk about Ns having so many GE engines i have the roster of engines ( engineers get them here) and the totals are still 2,000 more emd units than GE units. But you say you want proof of why GE is trash. Well the only people who like the GE engines are conductors because of the wide body with a desk. WOW and all they use the desk for is to kick there feet up and go to sleep faster. from a running point train handling is a nightmare with a ge engine they load so slow and by the time you get them to load you lose 10 to 15 mph trying to pull a grade and then the slack finally goes out and you lose another 10 or so mph. then if they stay running they rattle and shack so bad that everything in the cab is lose and noisy. the electronic brakes are not dependable or should i say you can depend on them going out regularlly. you wont tear a train into with a GE as there is not enough power to do it.

Now lets talk quality the ns took delivery of several thousand dash 9 units and with the delivery of these units they also took delivery of rolling rust buckets. the 8900s came with rust around the little port window on both sides of the cab. ( the little window in front of the sliding side windows) Now if we was just comminting on spotty surfuce rust would be one thing im talking flacks ( slabs) of rusted breaking off pieces of metal that give you fresh air straight to the outside ( not good on winter days) and this contiued on to this day with even the 9700s. yea real quality the doors wont close tight and you haft to either readjust them to close or keep getting out of your seat to close them.

Mechanically they are the worst things going down the road. they shut down regularlly if they even think they will slip a wheel they drop their load. a emd just keeps on going while a ge just gives up. they use the cheapest wire they can find that brakes on a regular bases. ( wire the thing that carries electricity) this cause the unit to shut down. ive had several injector fuel pipes brake on ge models that spray fuel every where. gallons at a time. all in all if you get to destination with out a alarm and a GE going down you can figure it was a fair day. The last time i had problems with a EMD was 2 months ago recieved a alarm and sure enough the engine wasnt running. wasnt nothing mechanical wrong or electrical wrong. the shop didnt fuel the engine. and i still made it in working the little sd40 hard. here is another time i had a sd40 in the lead a GE dash 8 trailing pulling a grade the ge went down as usual i was 2700 tons over rating with the end unit . i was pulling hard in notch 8 short time rating was 5 min i was 1mph at 1600amps pegged i held it for 20 min ( i was mad and didnt care) topped the grade and went on. A ge would have went to limited load traction motor protection and stopped. that emd did its job and kept on doing it. if you want speed and reliability get a emd if you want to maybe get there sometime next week get a ge. I know i hear most guys say a ge will get right down and pull. true. Ill give them that. but a emd wont let you get that slow to haft to pull. The only thing i like about a ge is the way they designed the back door. you dont walk down stairs right away like a emd does. this makes it easier to go out back to relieve yourself.
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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, January 24, 2004 2:43 PM
Dear wabash1 and kevinstheRRman,
I am happy that someone finally brought evidence into this arguement, in this case wabash1. However, I feel that I have even more convincing arguements in favor of Alco and GE.


I will begin with Alco. Currently, I see before me the Trains Magazine October 2002 and 2003 editions. In the October 2002 edition, Jack Wheelihan ranks the S1 and S2 locomotives in the 10 Best Locomotives article. Wheelihan, a 36 year veteran of the locomotive industry, says of the S1 and S2 thus:

"Truly a great switcher design. Maintainable by anyone in the shop, they took a beating as long as you kept their lubricants topped off. They had high tractive effort for their size and weight. Any railroad big or small could rely on them for any assignment." He also descrribes them as "bullet-proof." This is in complete contradiction to generalizations of Alcos as unreliable. In the October 2003 edition of Trains, Dorris Campbell, a former Erie Railroad engineer and fireman. said of the RS3s the following:
"We all thought the Geeps were wonderful when they arrived in Chicago, smooth and quiet...until we discovered how slowly they built up amperage for the traction motors when the throttle was opened and the diesel engine revved up. Apparently they were set up this way to ensure they wouldn't pull trains apart when starting, but it made them too slow for switching.
The Alcos, in contrast, practically leaped to attention when we opened their throttles. The reminded me of a hot-rod Ford. And talk about pulling power! Three RS3s would sprint off with almsot anything the Erie chose to couple to them." These statements show that at least some railroaders liked Alcos.


Now as for GEs, Jack Wheelihan says of the GE U25B:
"Thus started the high horsepower race with a customer-driven design backed by GE's first-rate engineering and marketing team."

And of GE's DASH 9-44CW, Wheelihan (himself a former employee of EMD) says:

"Thd DASH 9-44CW is usually significantly less expensive than the equivalent EMD SD70M. It's a solid locomotive that delivers consistently where large blocks of D.C. traction are desired, such as in high-speed intermodal or general freight. There is no reason to spend an aditional $500,000 per unit on A.C. traction just to sit back and enjoy the ride at throttle 5."


Now I am not entirely anti-EMD. I like many of their locomotives as well, particullarly their E-1 and E-8, and the SD-9. But I also like GE, and of course, Alco. I think it is time that we give everybody their due.


Respectfully yours,
Daniel
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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, January 24, 2004 3:31 PM
Well if I may...

Ge's are less expensive... Granted, So is the quality... Its like buying stuff at the sears or at JC penney, or buying somehting at Dollar Tree. Sure the Ties look the same, and are made of 100% polyester, but then after a few wears the dollar tree tie starts to come unraveled, and that flap in the back falls off, then one time you come to wear it and it's in chambles. and theres your JC penney tie, even though you paid 19 more dollars for it, you will have that much more use out of it.. Thats the difference between GE and EMD. Ge will break, fall apart NOT after its first use, but as time goes on, while EMD builds them stronger and more people/weather/anyhting resistant

Thats your difference.

Now as for ALCO, whoever is head of Stop polution or whatever the earth Green group is would have a screming ab-dab fit when they saw the locomotive was bilowing out enough smoke to make smokey the bear angry. Plus the noise pollution those locomtives give of, Makes the dead turn in their grave! Those things are so noisy, they make a Ge sound like a mime.

those are my problems with them Daniel, Althoguth i can honestly say i've never been in an ALCO, i jsut shutter to think of the noise inside the cab.
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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, January 24, 2004 4:32 PM
Dear kevinstheRRman,
I am amazed that I, a railfan, have done something that a proffessional railroader has not. I have been in the cab of operating Alco's many times (primarily an ex-Southern Pacific S4), and can tell you that it is not particullarly noisy. Admittedly, it is noisier than those new "insulated cab" locomotives are, although I have never been in one of those insulated ones. However, the locomotive is over a half century old, and let's face it: you didn't become a railroader for peace and quiet. And if it keeps the conductor from falling asleep, you should be even happier [:)][:D]!

Now as for the polution aspect, we all know that railroads pollute less than other the amount of trucks required to move the same load. And I think that environmental organizitions have many more important things to worry about than a half-century old class of locomotives of which there are only four surviving examples anyway, most of which are in storag (weep, weep). Someone had a signature that said "one person's noise polution is another's train," or something like that.

And finally let me point out that how the locomotive is maintained after it is purchased will have a much greater impact on the locomotive's longevity than whether GE or EMD made it. If good qualities of maintenance are in place, then any locomotive can look forward to a long service life.

Let me, however, point out the one overarching pillar of railfanning, (and I would hope many railroaders observe this too): steam locomotives were, are, and always will be the greatest. Just think--six 2-10-2s shoving a drag up Cajon Pass, or doubleheaded Big Boys making the ground shake as the pull six miles of freight up Sherman Hill, or a J3a hauling the Twentieth Century Limited at 110 miles per hour. Compared to those, these arguements are insignificant: you may prefer EMD to GE, but I would hope you would prefer an FEF-2 to any diesel.

Most respectfully (and steamfully) yours,
Daniel
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Posted by espeefoamer on Saturday, January 24, 2004 4:45 PM
Years ago,I worked at a warehouse served by ATSF. At the time they used either an S2 or S4. One day they had a CF7.I asked the crew which they preferred, and they said the Alco.They said the CF7 loaded too slow, and it was too hard to see a man on the ground.So, in switching service, Alco is better.[:)]
Ride Amtrak. Cats Rule, Dogs Drool.
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Posted by jrw249 on Saturday, January 24, 2004 4:55 PM
I run ALCOS all summer. They are not noisy.
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Posted by engineer on Saturday, January 24, 2004 6:15 PM
I guess I am a little biased.

The only trucks, and SUVs I'll buy are Chevrolets. Have four of them. For me Chevys have been nothing but reliable. Chevy=GM, EMD=GM

Also, I grew up a stone throw from the BN's tracks, and BN was predominately an EMD road. Probably the reason that the green, and cream SD70MACs are my favorite locomotives of all time. (sorry steam guys). SD40-2s a close second.

Same reason that some guys vote Republican, and some vote Democrat. It's just what you grow up believing in.

As far as the bean counters are concerned, the same correlation could be made in the trucking industry. Every trucker wants a extended hood Peterbilt. But most fleets weigh driver comfort, fuel mileage, resale (somewhat), purchase price, etc,etc. This is why the big guys buy Century Freightliners, and leave the Kenworths, and Peterbilts to the owner/operators.

Class 1s have a multitude of factors to weigh, none of which are related to railfan eye candy.
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Posted by wabash1 on Saturday, January 24, 2004 8:28 PM
And i see you bring a magazine into this. if i was to quate things from a book or magazine that i read. then maybe i would think it is gospil also. but i bring school of hard knocks tried and true real world to the table. and i once read a article that said jesse james was a saint. and al capone was a preacher. ( catholic if i remeber correctly) ok so lets break this down into something a railfan might be able to understand.

ok some guy says that a s1 and s2 was the best switcher there ever was. his qoute. did he run the things . you didnt say this and from what he says with out any facts to back it up is his opinion. ( just as kevin and myself have given ) and if these engines are so great where are they today. just like the ge engines where are they today. I see where a gp 38 is used in switching and road service duel perpose and still working today is that cost efficient you bet. then you say that ge or alco ( you keep jumping back and forth) loaded slow to keep from pulling a train apart. but the emd loaded right up. never pulled one apart., and if you handle a train properly you wont. 36 year vet of what railroad pr. he didnt work on these or run them. and its no secrete that trains mag is pro ge. every couple of months you see mark on here bragging about ge engines. and he is allowed his opinion.

then you jump ages ahead to dash 9s what about all those good emd engines still running today. that will pull anything you throw or couple them to. the last dash 7 ge i saw was 7 years ago thank god. and those sd 50s are still going. but back to the dash 9s they are a solid locomotive. ( where) they cost less. ( thats the truth and it shows) after they get off the plant the warrenty says if it breaks you get both pieces. so back to the school of reality 1 sd 70 will out do 2 ge dash 9s. if i couple a sd 70 to 4000 tons i will get there just as fast as 2 ge dash 9s. add rain to the rails and ill get there faster with 1 emd. the only way you will put a ge in notch 5 and enjoy the ride is if there is a emd unit pushing it from behind. yes i have had this situation also the dash 9 only loading 200 amps in notch 6 cause the big emd unit behind was doing all the work. every senerio i have said is based on what ive seen or did. real world, not simulated out in the field. i would like to take this guy you speak of and put him on a train and let him see his beloved ge at work. then maybe he would go build a reliable and decent locomotive. not railroad from a desk or a magazine.

when you mr train junky get your facts together then we will toss them around. in your statement you said ( from the magazine) that the dash 9 is 500,000 less than the comparable sd70m where large blocks of dc traction effort . no need to spend the extra money. ( not word for word) to me you are saying that the sd70m is a "ac" traction motor unit. and the ones ive seen ( according to the blue cab card in the unit required by the fra) these sd70 m are dc motors. the macs are ac. big differance.

In closing i was not in any way trying to trash anyone ( mark) or intimidate. i stated real world realistic happenings i could go on and on about mechanical forces and how they hate the dash 9s and the word has got to the top at ns. how much cheaper the dash 9s are when they are always making repairs on them. this is why they are buying emds again.but what i state is from working with the ge junk, how bad they ride, how slow they are how they rattle shut down . the only thing i can say i like about a ge is the dynamic brakes as long as you are not on wet rail they are great. other wise they are like the rest of their junk.
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 2:46 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by wabash1

the last dash 7 ge i saw was 7 years ago...those sd 50s are still going


I'm new, but I've been fascinated by this thread. You really can't argue with people like wabash1, who deal with the things everyday. No matter how many magazines you read (biased or not), it can't really compete with first hand experience. I mean, these things (the GEs) wouldn't have gotten a bad rap (deserved, or not) if the people that operated them on a daily basis didn't have rough times with them to begin with!

To wabash1 or anyone else with first hand experience: I am curious about how SD50s, SD60s and SD70s compare. (Do they pull about the same...etc)

Joe
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 11:05 AM
Dear wabash1,
Forgive me. I was writing under the assumption that you had read the Trains Magazine Motive Power Issue. Jack Wheelihan (a former EMD employee, no less) is a rebuilder of locomotive components and a steam engineer.

Dee Brown, an engineer who has driven many Alcos, said of the Alco RS1 and S4 the following:
"Excellent. They didn't have enough power to spin their wheels. They'd drag anything you put behind them."
And of the RS3, he said:
"For suburban service, the hands-down winner. It came as close to steam-engine acceleration as a diesel can get."
All three classes are on his top ten list of diesels.

As for GE's, if the railroads don't like them, how come BNSF is making DASH-9's their super fleet? And let me say, I think we are all a bit biased. I, to use Kevin's metaphor, attend the church of Alco (and think of that wonderful place called Schenectady) for their steamers for the most part, and so support their diesels. But everyone hear has a favorite brand, and yours is EMD. And once you have a favorite, it's easy to idolize your favorite and demonize its enemies...I know: I do it with UP and BNSF.

But remember: steam was, is, and always will be king!

Respectfully yours,
Daniel
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 12:05 PM
Daniel-

As was stated above. BNSF, NS and others are buying GEs indroves because:

1. They look good on paper (H.P. etc)

2.THEY ARE CHEAP compared to EMDs

It has nothing to do with the actual operation and the nightmares the GEs are.

LC
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 4:17 PM
I don't really think it makes sense, though, to compare ALCo to "present" EMD or even GE. You can't compare an S2 or S4 or whatever with an SD70 or a Dash 8 or 9, can you?
That's kind of goofy.
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 4:19 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by trainjunky29

Dear kevinstheRRman,
I am amazed that I, a railfan, have done something that a proffessional railroader has not. I have been in the cab of operating Alco's many times (primarily an ex-Southern Pacific S4), and can tell you that it is not particullarly noisy. Admittedly, it is noisier than those new "insulated cab" locomotives are, although I have never been in one of those insulated ones. However, the locomotive is over a half century old, and let's face it: you didn't become a railroader for peace and quiet. And if it keeps the conductor from falling asleep, you should be even happier [:)][:D]!

Now as for the polution aspect, we all know that railroads pollute less than other the amount of trucks required to move the same load. And I think that environmental organizitions have many more important things to worry about than a half-century old class of locomotives of which there are only four surviving examples anyway, most of which are in storag (weep, weep). Someone had a signature that said "one person's noise polution is another's train," or something like that.

And finally let me point out that how the locomotive is maintained after it is purchased will have a much greater impact on the locomotive's longevity than whether GE or EMD made it. If good qualities of maintenance are in place, then any locomotive can look forward to a long service life.

Let me, however, point out the one overarching pillar of railfanning, (and I would hope many railroaders observe this too): steam locomotives were, are, and always will be the greatest. Just think--six 2-10-2s shoving a drag up Cajon Pass, or doubleheaded Big Boys making the ground shake as the pull six miles of freight up Sherman Hill, or a J3a hauling the Twentieth Century Limited at 110 miles per hour. Compared to those, these arguements are insignificant: you may prefer EMD to GE, but I would hope you would prefer an FEF-2 to any diesel.

Most respectfully (and steamfully) yours,
Daniel


Yep, Professioanl Railroader.. debateable, The professional makes me sound better thne I am. I can honestly say I have never been in a ALCO, And the way you describe it, amazes me at how Quiet these locomotives are. We have one amtrak locomotive running the passenger trains, an OLD GE, the cab noise is so loud..

A) we can legally strike if we decide that it is affecting our ears and

B) Those railroaders who decide to brave the noise could end up with the hearin problem known as Tetinus, or Tintinus.. somehting like that.. what that is, is a constant Rining in the ear, that is life long and will never ever go away.

That is why the union has put in Rules saying we are not to work in Locomotives with loud amount of noises. The locomotives we have are a fleat of, and you can correct me, is itan EMD F59 PHI? - with the whisper cab. You could hear a pin drop in the cab while this thing is running. I know whenever we have the amtrak locomotive (get this, they didn't want it, and we montreal suckers bought it.) I won't even step foot in it. Ill be the conductor for that day, If at all possible, and i'll stay in the cars. If there is no option, I will get it from A to B, but then i'll file a grievence.

We also have an old GP that still wors fine, and we have EMD F series, the last one standing, and it works like a charm.
Although he spends most his days moving cars around in the yard. We call him John F, and I may have already said that. In all honestly, your very lucky, I would love to sit in the cab of an ALCO and see how it really is. I really would.

Lucky, Lucky fellow.
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 6:27 PM
I am the same way I dont care who made the locomotive I just care if it works well
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 6:28 PM
I Dont really care who made the locomotive. I just care how good the locomotive works.
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 7:20 PM
Dear everyone,

1.) I have heard anti-P42 statements, and let me say that I am not the greatest fan of these locomotives, primarily because they look quite bad (that's the railfan-photography side of me talking). In actuality, and you EMD fans will like this, the most recent non-EMD passenger locomotive that I am fond of is the Alco PA (although you all hate it). Really, I like the F-59PHI. By the way, is the last digit in that an "I" (with the same sound as "eye") or a "1" (with the same sound as "won"). They are the best looking diesels in a long time, since they resemble the old E-, F-, and PA- units, instead of the cowl units. But more importantly to most of you, I hear they are quiet and smooth running, so the crews like them. And of course, since they are made by EMD, most of you probably think they are exempt from any kind of problem whatsoever.

2.) By the way, did you know that many early (and later) EMD diesels (some so old they were made by "EMC") had their electronics suplied by GE???? So don't go putting all EMD's on a throne while the GE's are in the dungeon, since they were both involved in the construction of the same locomotives, such as the legendary SW-1.

3.) I admit: the Alco PA was not the greatest achievement in reliability, but they did not become some of the most beloved diesels for nothing. As jhhtrainsplanes said, the Alco Century was wonderfully reliable, if not asthetically, and the RS3 was a wonderful balance of both.

4.) And you want to talk about misplaced affection and production numbers? Take the EMD DD40-AX, commonly known as the Centenial, for Union Pacific. They were greated with great cerremony when produced, but their production numbers were significantly less than even the PA, which you so often refer to. And talk about huge cerremony: the M-10000 for UP as well. I admit, this was the beginning of the end for steam (you all know it really was the first diesel, so just forget about the formalities which give Burlington fans that claim), but there was only one built, ever.

5.) Maybe if you would open your minds, GE's would not be so bad.

Most respectfully yours,
Daniel
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Posted by dharmon on Sunday, January 25, 2004 8:31 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by trainjunky29



Really, I like the F-59PHI. By the way, is the last digit in that an "I" (with the same sound as "eye") or a "1" (with the same sound as "won").


The last digit is an I as in "Eye". If I remember correctly it is F59 (P)assenger (H)ead end power (I)solated cab. There are F59s used by Metrolink in SoCal that are F59PHs and look entirely different...more like a cowl body version of a GP60M..not streamlines like it's I version sibling.
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Posted by edblysard on Sunday, January 25, 2004 10:45 PM
Wow,
Have read this thread over a few times...
and I noticed something.
For the most part, they guys who railroad for a living perfer EMD products, and the railfans seem to be about equally divided between Alco, GE and EMD.

Now this is not a knock towards the fans, but we work on and with these things.
To us, its not a LOCOMOTIVE.
nor is it a work of art, its a tool.

In fact, most of the fans have more technical information and knowledge than the railroaders, because we really dont care about block castings, manifold pressure, or the sound it makes.
What we do care about is, does it work, when we need it to.
If a railroad can afford, or will provide the up keep on the GEs, so that the availablity is high and failure rate is low, well, its not like we have a choice as to what we work with, and if they give us a Dash 9, ok, thats what we use.

So heres the deal.

I read where a few a few of the fans "hate" GEs.
And one or two of you are ALCO fanatics.
With, of course, the EMD junkies mixed in.

If a GE locomotive stopped next to you at a crossing,
and the crew offered you a ride for the day,
how many of you would say,
"nah, I hate GEs, and refuse to ride in one"?

Or your were train watching from your favorite spot,
and a SD40-2 pulled up, and the crew ask,
"ya wanna go help pull the empties out of the grain elevator?"

Who amoung you would refuse to go pull the elevator,
because you were a Alco fan,
and would refuse to ride in the inferior,
tame sounding non smoke belching EMD?

If a S2 came squealing and clanking up to you at a sideing,
and the crew wanted to know if you would like to go switching with them,
when the smoke cleared, which of you would tell them "no thanks, I am a EMD fan?"

Really, how many of you would?
Honestly, lets have a show of hands.
How many of you could say no to a cab ride in any motor, no matter who made it?

I can tell you what the pros would say and do.

If it runs, and aint on fire, and I'm getting paid, someone fill up the water cooler, and lets get after it!

Even Kevin, with his Gephobia would do his job, because, as much as he gripes about GEs, he loves his job, like most of us do.

But we really have no choice.

You fans do, you could say no, I am just curious how many could say no to a cab ride not only on a motor they "hate", but any motor offered?

Stay Frosty,
Ed[:D]

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 25, 2004 11:10 PM
LOL! Ya got'em now Ed.

LC
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Posted by edblysard on Monday, January 26, 2004 2:44 PM
Hummm,
16 hours later and no takers.
So, whatcha thinking, LC?
They got a lotta show, but no go?
Stay Frosty,
Ed

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