Worst and Best looking Locomotives of all time

[gabe]

Just curious as to what you guys (and gals) think is the worst and best looking locomotives of all time:

My top six worst locomotives from most ugly to least (not to be confused with venerable):

1) BL-2
2) The Atlantic and Hudson version of Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha (I know I don't know how to spell)
3) GP-30
4) Any Baldwin Diesel
5) The box that Amtrak's current diesels come in that they apparently forgot to take off.
6) NYC Mohawk version of its Hudson (Its regular Hudsons were beautiful though)

My top seven best looking locomotives of all time from most attractive to least:

1) PRR's T-1
2) N&W J Class
3) NYC Niagara
4) SD-9 (I know I am unusual on this one)
5) RS-3
6) F-3
7) Any Berkshire

Anyone else what to join me in this sophomoric exercise and give me your list?

Gabe

[Anonymous]

Best:
Royal Hudson 4-6-4 in Canadian Pacific Colours

Worst:
SD70ACe in any color.

[rrnut282]

Until I can think of anything else, I will concur with your selection of the BL2 in diesels. For steam it's hard to find anything uglier than the camel-backs (steam version of a center-cab locomotive). As far as best looking, it's hard to narrow it down.

[n2mopac]

Personally I think the best looking diesel's were the GP7/GP9 and the Alco RS11. These locomotives just looked like workhorses from day one.

My personal least favorite are the current Amtrak Genesis P42's. They are just plain ugly, and they run through my town 4 times a day.

Ron

[adrianspeeder]

Well this will be an obvious opinion thread because every one is different.

I like the GP-30 low nose. The GP-30 high nose however, that just looks odd.

Adrianspeeder

[dharmon]

The BL2 is pretty homely......but there are some others ....

the Ingalls 4-S
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_gmo1900.jpg

this thing...
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/rl_up20.jpg

and of course the KM diesel-hydraulics
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/sp9002.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_sp9016.jpg

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Best Looking: Diesel - GP9 with d/b
Electric - CSS&SB Little Joe
Steam - MILW Class A 4-4-2 (original Hiawatha power)

Worst Looking: Diesel - GE Genesis locomotives
Electric - MILW Bi-Polar
Steam - D&H 1403 (the triple-expansion 4-8-0)

[Anonymous]

Best RS3

Worst LWT-12

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CSSHEGEWISCH

Best Looking: Diesel - GP9 with d/b
Electric - CSS&SB Little Joe
Steam - MILW Class A 4-4-2 (original Hiawatha power)

Worst Looking: Diesel - GE Genesis locomotives
Electric - MILW Bi-Polar
Steam - D&H 1403 (the triple-expansion 4-8-0)

MILW Bi-polars...

Didn't Milwaukee Road name these locomotives..

E1 Trainfinder22
E2 Kissmycaboose
E3 Detective_cinderdick

etc.....

[Anonymous]

I like classic old locomotives, and my choice of best looking locomotive is Maria #6
at the MCRR at Mt Pleasant, Iowa . Maria is an awesome machine under steam!
http://www.mcrr.org/new_page_1.htm or my own picture at:
http://k0bkl.org/midwest.htm

[mustanggt]

best- GE P42
worst: Metra's last order of F40PHs, with the slanted windshield

[gabe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

The BL2 is pretty homely......but there are some others ....

the Ingalls 4-S
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_gmo1900.jpg

this thing...
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/rl_up20.jpg

and of course the KM diesel-hydraulics
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/sp9002.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_sp9016.jpg

Ladies and gentlemen, I was hoping this would be a close contest. But the undisputed heavyweight champion of worst looking locomotives has just unequivocally been posted (the first listing).

If I am ever important enough to have a funeral train, I hope they pull me in that thing. Death would not be enough to overcome my urge to get out and walk.

Gabe

[jkeaton]

Best looking steamer - a toss-up between Canadian Pacific's Jubilees and Nigel Gresley's Mallard class in Britain.

Worst looking steam - the poor maligned 0-6-0 that Irish State Railways tried to convert to burn peat. (Sorry I don't have a link to hand for this poor beast. - imagine a fairly standard British outline 0-6-0 festooned in large diameter pipes to blow peat into its firebox.)

Best looking diesel - Tie between MLW's FPA4 and the Alco PA, though the original Zephyr/Minuteman is definitely in the running.

Worst looking diesel - nearly any of Plymouth's industrial 'critters' - but especially the early ones. So homely, they make the BL2 and the Ingalls S-4 look like streamliners.

[railroad65]

Don't forget the BQ23-7 of the Family System Lines as one of the worst looking. By the way were any of them saved or all scrapped???

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by railroad65

Don't forget the BQ23-7 of the Family System Lines as one of the worst looking. By the way were any of them saved or all scrapped???

oooooh ..I forgot about those......coyote ugly........CSX was using them as B units for awhile with the glass plated over.

Rumor has it crews were only allowed to look at those with mirrors, lest they be turned to stone......

[miniwyo]

Best Looking
UP Big Boy
UP Challenger
BNSF Dash 9 Warbonnet

Worst Looking
U36 (might be U32 that i am thinking of but its one of the 2)

[eastside]

My favorites (in no particular order):

Non-streamlined:
NYC Niagara
C&O Greenbrier
B&M R-1-D
L&N M-1

Streamlined:
Pennsy S-1 (Raymond Loewy) Just too revolutionary for many
NYC J-3 (Henry Dreyfuss)
CM&StP Atlantics and Hudsons (Otto Kuhler)

Diesel:
EMD E-9
Alco PA

[oltmannd]

Best:

NYC '41 Empire State Limited Hudson (noses out '38 20th Century Hudson)
PRR BP20 (passenger shark) in pinstripes
D&H PA
NYC E8 in lightning stripes
Amtrak HHP8

Worst:

UP rebuilt SWs with that hump
WM chop nose GP9s with number boards in the short hood
NW low short hood SD40-2 with F on long hood end - that's just plain wrong!
LV "hammerhead" RS3
PRSL GP38 - black with 3 red logos - never washed...ever.

[Anonymous]

Well...I don't know if the BL-2 was ugly or silly. But it gets my vote for the worst as well. I'm not big on Gp 30s either. Alco DL 109s are a mixed bag. From some angles they're good, and others they're bad. I can't think of an ugly steam locomotive, or electric one for that matter.

Some of my favorites:

GG1
New Haven EP3.
South Shore Line 800s (Milwaukee Road Little Joes.)

E-8s or 9s in an A-B-A lashup. Especially IC or Santa Fe
Torpedo GP 7s and 9s
SDP 35s
High Hood SD-40s (long hood first)

Streamlined PRR K4s
NYC Steamlined Hudsons
PRR T-1

Merry Christmas everyone!
Mitch

[Anonymous]

Best: J's, Pacific's, Decapods ( I just like em), GP-9's and any Berkshire ------ Worst: mohawks, Sharkes, and Amtrack Diesels

[daveklepper]

Best electric: New Haven EP4 and EF3 beat the little Joe but the GG1 is a classic
So is the Electroliner
Best diesel: Burlington E-5, D&H Sharknose and AT&SF PA
Best non-streamlined steam: C&O-NKP-PN-W&LE 2-8-4, Lackawanna Hudson, PRR E-6. Yellowstone and D&RGW 4-6-64 best articulateds
Best streamlined steam: SP Daylight, NH I-5, Jubelee and Royal Hudson, Empire State J3a, N&W J
Worst diesel: Santa Fe switcher rebuilds, CF-8?
Worst electric: One of the New Haven switchers, but forget which model
Worst steam: D&RGW Mudhen (narrow gauge 2-8-2) but love it anyway

PS: Some camelbacks were not bad looking, the CNJ 4-6-0 camelback looked pretty good.

Daintiest or prettiest: Pennsy D-16 4-4-0

[espeefoamer]

Best:
Steam,SP GS 2-6,PRR T1,NYC streamlined 20th Cen.Ltd. hudson,SP AC9,N&W J,PRR non streamlined K4.SP MT class engines(streamlined).
Electric:
GG1,Little Joe,EP5,GN W1.
Diesel:
Early slant nose E units,Later Es,Any F unit,FP45,GP7/9,SD45, SD50/60.Rock Island TA .ALCo PA.
Worst:
Steam:
PRR streamlined K4,D&RGW 2-8-2 mudhens
Diesel:
BL2,High nose GP30,Chihuahua Pacifico's chop nose H16 44s,Conrail's Dewitt geeps, BQ23-7,SD90MAC,Any GE Dash 8 or Dash 9.DL109

[dharmon]

Okay best looking ...


GG1s, Little Joes and GE steeple cabs

FEF3's, J1's, GS4's and the Flying Scotsman

E units, D&H or ATSF PA's and SDP40Fs

[lonewoof]

Best steam: Southern Ps4, N&W J3, C&O Allegheny, SP GS4
Best Diesel: High-hood SD7/9, ALCO PA, E8/9
Best Electric: GG1

Worst steam: (Probably n o such thing), maybe Mother Hubbard
Worst Diesel: ALCo DL109, any of the Westinghouse boxes
Worst electric: ?

[mloik]

I'll go along with all those who voted GP7/9 as best looking of all time. Especially the ones in Western Pacific's CZ paint scheme...

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

I think the PRR 4-4-0 as used by the Strasburg RR (now at rest in the PRR mueseum across the street) is the prettiest. I used to watch that thing as a child work the train.

The BL-2 is the worst looking.

There are others can think of for best to worst that are too many to list here.

[M636C]

On the "worst" side, the New York Central K5 (?) with its offset smokebox door and the even more horiffic streamlined version for the "Mercury" must be way up there in the ugly lists.

I don't think there is anything in the diesel world than can challenge the two unit Argentine Sulzer powered twin unit (each D-D wheel arrangement) built during the Peron era, (but the original Talgo power car built on a discarded Ganz railcar power truck must be in there with a chance).

Dan, are you saying that Milwaukee numbered the sections of their Bipolars separately? I hadn't noticed that!

Peter

[dharmon]

On one end it would say Evilengineer and on the other Evilconductor........Bi-polar

[dldance]

Best looking steam - Central Pacific's 4-4-0 Jupiter (at the Golden Spike). They just don't gold leaf them like they used to.

There is no worst looking engine - if it is running - it looks good to me!

dd