seppburgh2 My vote goes to the U33-CH as run on the Lackawanna. It had a nice chug chug when it loaded up leaving a station or driving upgrade going West at Convent Station. An honorary Alco in sound and smoke.
My vote goes to the U33-CH as run on the Lackawanna. It had a nice chug chug when it loaded up leaving a station or driving upgrade going West at Convent Station. An honorary Alco in sound and smoke.
I can only wish that I could have ever seen those in operation. Unfortunately, they were retired around the time I was born...
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I sympathize with you. By the time I was old enough to know what a train was mainline steam had vanished. But I did get to see those good old Alco rs1's and EMD's E units.
Don't remember the model numbers, but remember the late 60's (Southern, Pegram shop, Atl), when they had ALL GE reps' looking at the pistons, engine parts laying out on the ramp .. loco's wasn't worth a ***! - SLOW on throtle response, etc. - had an engineer tell me he'd rather have EMD in lead, cause if a GE, he would FEEL the nudging of the faster loading EMD on trailing unit.
JP Machinist on the Southern
The original thread did not specify diesel, although some may insist that the term "locomotive" does not include electrics since they are just "motors". At any rate since someone else listed electrics without raising objections, I vote as my favorite, the New Haven's EP-5.
http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?june05/06-26-05/NYNH+H378in10_58MacOwenColl.jpg
Alco PA
Railroad to Freedom
F45 B30-7A
from bikinilover gas turbine fan
Being a railfan and not a locomotive engineer my favorite for both visual appeal and the sound they make is the ES44AC (C45ACCTe).
Scott EspinRailfan - Reno NV
In response to the vote for the EP-5, I would vote for the EF-3, New England's most powerful locomotive, and the only electric to really improve on a GG-1.
I'll second that! The AC4400 is junk too. I just got done with engineer recertification class. The instructor was talking about taking a notch at a time. The older GEs load soooooooooo slow that you have to take it all. I get the slack out, then nail it. The load increases still slower than a normal unit does, notching one at a time.
Have you ever noticed how everything rattles in the -9 and AC4400? It is a joke how guys stick flag sticks between the desk and the wall, so everything doesn't rattle.
The engines that get the biggest complaints from our crews seem to be EMDs. Mostly the SD9043 and SD70ACe models. Some of the newest SD70ACe seem to be a bit better, so maybe quality control got off their cabooses and made some changes. Don't have the door behind the engineer popping open as much anymore.
On the AC models, both EMD and GE, I don't notice so much difference in time it takes for an engine to load. Except for the SD9043. They are the absolute worst. It takes them forever to respond to the throttle when starting. On a coal train in notch 8 under full load they produce about 10K less tractive effort than an AC4400. I can't wait for the last SD9043 to be gone.
On a coal or grain train, I'd rather have an AC4400. On a manifest, especially ones that do set outs and pick ups, I like the SD70m engines. I guess I'd have to say they are my favorite engines to run. Unfortunately they aren't equipped for DP operation and they like to run 2 mile long DP trains.
When it comes right down to it, both builders have cheapened up their products. The latches on panels are jokes. Plastic is everywhere. It's not surprising that they don't age well. Then there is the way these seem to be maintained sometimes, but that's beyond the control of the builder.
Jeff
I like the 44 tonners and also the U36B`s with the M.A.T.E.S. the slugs that SAL/SCL had.
Dennis Blank Jr.
CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad
SD70Ms aren't equipped for DPU? Are you sure? I guess that might be true, because I can't remember ever seeing one in DPU in Roseville, but they certainly are in consist all the time.
2010Challenger After having some of it burn up in my house, I would say aluminum wire doesn't belong anywhere. It was used to wire my A/C from the fusebox to the outside fuses, and on a 100 degree day, and after about 15 years, one of the 3 aluminum wires had oxidized and it set the insulation on fire. It didn't really burn much, but it really stunk and of course, no A/C that Sunday. At least the rest of the house had copper. On Monday, the aluminum wire was yanked and copper put in. I liked the center cabs too.
After having some of it burn up in my house, I would say aluminum wire doesn't belong anywhere. It was used to wire my A/C from the fusebox to the outside fuses, and on a 100 degree day, and after about 15 years, one of the 3 aluminum wires had oxidized and it set the insulation on fire. It didn't really burn much, but it really stunk and of course, no A/C that Sunday. At least the rest of the house had copper. On Monday, the aluminum wire was yanked and copper put in.
I liked the center cabs too.
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The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.
-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.
Well, my personal GE faves are the U25 and U28 series. Really liked the looks of the NP and CB&Q C series on those Trimount trucks.
ALWAYS AN EMD FAN. EACH ONE BETTER THAN THE LAST 567 A-B-C &D THEN 645 & NOW THE 710
A GREAT SERIES OF ENGINES THEIR 4 CYCLE WAS A BIG DISAPOINTMENT. ESPECIALLY THE CAST BLOCK. POWER PACKS ARE THE WAY TO GO.
BUT I SURE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE VO 250. SOME GOOD IDEAS. BUT DO THEY STAND UP. I WISH THE GOVT WOULD STOP MEDELING IN
HERBYGD@AOL.COM
Old GE centercab units and U25/U33's
What I meant to say.
I like the looks and the sounds of the GE DASH 8 or 40C-8 diesels the most.
Andrew
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
Espins1 Being a railfan and not a locomotive engineer my favorite for both visual appeal and the sound they make is the ES44AC (C45ACCTe).
+1 for the ES44AC
Happy memories of watching a matched set of six UP C45ACCTe (3 on the head + 3 DPU) climbing Tehachapi slowly with a very long manifest freight....definitely the sound of irresistible diesel force overcoming gravity
Tony
I am a railfan and was a Locomotive Engineer on the old Boston and Albany Railroad out of Springfield, Mass in 1974. The 6th train I ran as an Engineer was a trap rock extra west from west Springfield, Mass.
Had to double over three tracks to make up our train and head west. Power was Lead engine a GP38-2and the trailing unit a very slow loading U-28B. Picture this having to pull the first cut of cars west against a slight westbound grade 0.3 % to double over to the next cut to engines 34 loads (100 ton hoppers of trap-rock IE Ballast)after the air was cut in and released pull throttle out to the third notch and wait...the GP loads up and is sitting near 1000-1100 amps and wait for the U boat to rev up and take it's share of the load...........three minutes later my conductor reported the U boat being online and still accelerating to notch three!!!! Four minutes later it finally reached the throttle notch 3 speed and started loading then and only then did the cut move. The U28B did work out fine but it was the slowest loading engine GE ever produced due to a slower loading setup from GE straight from the factory to reduce black smoke Conrail later corrected the slow load problem and they smoked like any U-25 series engine.
But once it loaded up I couldn't help but lean out the window and enjoy the show and sound. Left the yard with 102 loads while cursing the GE with the rest of my crew but we eventually got the job done.
Once the U-28 loaded it was fine but getting there was painful.
My favorite GE is the U-23-7 had throttle response control very similar to an EMD dash 2 and was preferred for local and switching.
Jim
U36C
KILLER!
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
HI JIM. THANKS FOR THE INFO. SOUNDS LIKE A PROBLM WITH THE ENGINE PROGRAMING. BUT WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IS SOME ONE WHO IS WORKING ON THE ENGINES NOT WITH THE ENGINES. SO FAR NOT ENOUGH LUCK.. WORKED ON THE EMDs. BUT LIKE THE NEW GE 250 BUT I DONT KNOW HOW THEY A TO WORK ON. THANKS AGAIN. ALWAYS GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU
Pop Psy claims all our tastes are set by a certain age. That's why you can tell the target demographic for an ad by its' music (who was 23 when THAT was playing?). The thing is I climbed all over a U25B, U25C, and U50 as a kid and none of those are my favorite. The styling that came in with the dash 8-CWs just seems right. Throw in the fact that most like GEs cause they chug at low speeds and the ES44 pops out. The GEVO just has more chug than the FDL.
ES44
I'm more of an EMD/ALCO/MLW fan though out of GE's, I would say the 70 tonner or 95 tonner.
Lone Geep
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I rather liked the old B23-7s on the Santa Fe, when I lived in Flagstaff in the early 80s.
the newer power my all time favorite ge locomotive has to be the evolution series the es4400cw
As a locomotive engineer for 15 years and an Alco safarist for 35 years I must say that the GE gevos are awesome great locomotives, reliable pullers for climbing hills in adverse conditions. That said the ac drive versions are true dogs on a fast mainline which will lose 40 mph in a mile but will lock in at 25 mph and slow no more as they climb the hill where dc motors will just keep falling down to the minimum of 14mph for most engines. Of course the dc version won't lose 40 mph in a mile of grade and are more likely to maintain trackspeed on the former NYC StLouis line and Monon where I run. Todays EMDs are such pathetic junk that I cringe when I come to work and have my usual UPRR SD70s. They are noisy droning slipomatics that will let you down and make you work for every hill just to get home. The low horse U23b and B23-7 were ok once you got going but were a nightmare to switch with, by the time they got going it was time to stop. Which is exactly what the SD9043macs are like! The old b33-7s and b36-7s weren't so bad, at speed you had to predict when they would be under power because they were so slow. I loved the B40-8s,real speed merchants. I probably prefer the C40-8s above all, no computers to interfere with my decisions, great pullers, control stand where it was meant to be, close enough to get your head out the window where it belongs. 2 c40-8s do the job of 5 SD40-2s around here(south -central Indiana).
Just please remember we aren't trashing ALCO, EMD, or any other locomotive builder. I respect your opinion, but as said before, don't trash other builders on this thread. Please.
Besides that, I'm an EMD person.
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