Worst and Best looking Locomotives of all time

[Randy Stahl]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gabe

QUOTE: Originally posted by Randy Stahl

I wish locomotive looks played a part in how locomotives are priced, I'd take a fleet of good reliable UGLY locomotives any day !
Randy

Randy,

Every rail fan knows more attractive engines pull harder and are more reliable. For instance, take my most attractive locomotive: the PRR T-1. Oh wait a minute . . .

Gabe

Oh sure, pick something that takes up alot of space! At the very least an engine that doesn't work shouldn't take up that much space in the deadline.
Randy

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by macguy

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

Worst:
SD70ACe in any color.

[#ditto] 100%.....AGREE!

[gabe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Randy Stahl

I wish locomotive looks played a part in how locomotives are priced, I'd take a fleet of good reliable UGLY locomotives any day !
Randy

Randy,

Every rail fan knows more attractive engines pull harder and are more reliable. For instance, take my most attractive locomotive: the PRR T-1. Oh wait a minute . . .

Gabe

[passengerfan]

Best looking Steam CPR 2-10-4 Selkirks
Best Looking Diesles A-B-A Alco PA-BB-PA AT&SF Warbonnet
Worst looking Steam CNJ Camelbacks
Worst looking diesel s EMD BL-2

[Randy Stahl]

I wish locomotive looks played a part in how locomotives are priced, I'd take a fleet of good reliable UGLY locomotives any day !
Randy

[bbrant]

Here's my votes

Favorites
SD40/SD40-2 or SD7/9 (but only with dynamic brakes)

Least Favorite
GG-1 (or any electric locos for that matter)

[daveklepper]

For HighIron2003star (hope I got it right), yes that PRR 4-4-0 at Strassberg is if I am correct a D-16. So you and I agree. These were used until well after WWII is the cross Penninsular passenger and mixed train service on the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia penninsular south of Wilmington. I am also partial to E-6's. Rode behind an E-6 between Silver Spring, just south of Redbank, to Princeton Junction via what became the Monmouth secondary track. The E-6 and a bag and coach (P-54) substituted for the expected doodlebug. I love the K4's too, but that is not an objective evaluation of its being a handsome locomotive, the Lackawanna Hudson is truly handsome, bett even than a J3a.

[jabrown1971]

Genesis Units-UGLY
C & IM RS 1325?-weird
BL-2 Ugly

BQ23-7-Not to bad

Best Gotta go with an SD 40-2

[Rustyrex]

Best: SD60 Standard Cab, they just scream power

Worst: Them awful Crandall Cabs on the C&NW, I actually have to turn my head when ever I see one of these disgraces. http://www.drgw.net/cnw/retired/E8/504a.jpg

[cpbloom]

Best looking:
GP60M (warbonnet paint)
B40-8W (warbonnet paint)
GG1
Class J
SD40-2F "Red Barns" (YEAH I SAID IT, RED BARNS!)
Hiawatha (And I'm talking about the A class 4-4-2s, NOT the F7 4-6-4 version; I almost put those on the worst list [xx(])


Worst:
BQ23-7
BL2
U50C

[Paul Milenkovic]

For the absolute worst-looking steam locomotives of all times, check out

http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/USAhp/USAhp.htm

for a compendium of high-pressure water-tube boilered misfits. It is hard to find an ugly steam locomotive (although some of the streamlined art-deco steamers look a bit dated), but whoo boy, check out those photos! They remind me of some of the oversized Miocene mammals from this article in National Geographic -- giant sloths, shovel-toothed elephant, other creatures with names I can't pronounced -- no wonder they became extinct.

For worst looking Diesel, my vote goes to those M-K jobs on New Jersey Transit which had narrow-cab fronts and wide cab backs -- kind of the wrong way around.

I don't find the Genesis that bad -- I actually think the styling is rather creative, and as an HO-scale modeler, the faceted nose is actually pretty easy to fabricate or come up with one's own design based on the same principle -- if a fellow modeler asks what it is, I can say "oh, haven't you seen the new MPI-36-AC/DM-3's that GO Transit just bought?" No one can keep up with all of those weird new designs.

I think the all-around best looking are the E's and F's -- streamlined looking yet with a rugged look of power.

[ericsp]

Best:
1) SD40T-2
2) SD45T-2
3) GP9
4) GP60
5) GP40-2
6) GP38-2
7) 8-39B/8-40B and corresponding C-models (Wide nose excluded, I don't like big noses)
8) F7A/F7B (and other F & E units that look similar)
9) SW1500/MP15
10) SD9

Worst
1) BL2 (What else?)
2) GP30
3) Baldwin Sharks
4) Early E/F units (those with cabs only)
5) U50
6) MK5000C
7) MK1500/MK2000/GP20D (not to be confused with the GP20)
8) AC6000CW
9) SD70M-2/SD70ACE
10) SD80M/SD90MAC

[cefinkjr]

My votes for worst looking are the BL2 and the GP30.

I've always wanted to build a model of an SD30 and let some 'expert' tell me that I've got the wrong number of hinges on the access doors on the left side of the hood or that the XYZ RR used a different paint scheme on their SD30s.[:-,][(-D][:-,]

Best looking: Southern's PS-4 Pacifics would be hard to beat.

[Anonymous]

CB&Q 5600's
BN sd70mac's (cream and green)
santa fe sd75m's (warbonnet)
santa fe gp60's (blue and yellow)

ugliest...
sd70ace
anything amtrak
FP45
U30(or 33 can't remember) CGB
CF7...i see Illinois RailNet's almost everyday...can't get used to it

[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

[dharmon]

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

[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

[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.

[Anonymous]

[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...

[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: ?

[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

[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

[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

[Anonymous]

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

[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

[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.

[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

[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)