A comparison of Official Guides from a couple years either side of '64 may provide insight. Passenger runs were being discontinued during that period. What trains were combined or cancelled then which would have reduced the need for passenger power? Management always looks at the financial sheets, and cutting a couple trains and two locomotives would be a way to make the numbers better for the stockholders.
Bill
Leo_Ames That would fly if I was asking why they never ordered new passenger power after their last E9 was delivered in 1961, But they did place an order for two E9's in early 1964. So lack of faith in the passenger business and considering it a waste of money doesn't seem likely. Those would be reasons why you wouldn't place an order in the first place. So there must be something more to it than that to precipitate such a last minute decision like success in a train-off application that suddenly reduced their demand for passenger power, a management change that saw a last minute reversal of a predecessor's decision, etc. Was hoping someone had some specifics. Anyone know why the last minute change of plan?
That would fly if I was asking why they never ordered new passenger power after their last E9 was delivered in 1961, But they did place an order for two E9's in early 1964. So lack of faith in the passenger business and considering it a waste of money doesn't seem likely. Those would be reasons why you wouldn't place an order in the first place.
So there must be something more to it than that to precipitate such a last minute decision like success in a train-off application that suddenly reduced their demand for passenger power, a management change that saw a last minute reversal of a predecessor's decision, etc. Was hoping someone had some specifics.
Anyone know why the last minute change of plan?
Could they have had some management changes during the time between the placing of the order and the actual construction of the units? I don't even mean the President or Chairman but officers in charge of Motive Power?
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
My suspicion is that if you look at the progress and timing of the NRPC legislation that created Amtrak, you will have answers to the 1969 questions. I can easily see replacing E7s with E9s late in the game. But buying expensive new cowl-unit power just in time for it either to be turned over to the Government or have to be used in freight service makes relatively little sense...
Looks like there's some question that an order was ever placed for the FP45's. But EMD did set aside builders numbers for them. Apparently that sometimes happened on speculation when they felt an order was in the bag so at the very least they must've seriously considered it.
Illinois Central cancelled an order for five EMD FP45s in 1969.
Just a guess on my part, but I suspect with the passenger train dying by the mid-sixties an order for passenger locomotives was probably considered a waste of money. Better to put the money into freight units and try to keep the existing passenger units alive as long as possible.
Just a guess, mind you.
In early 1964 they placed an order for a pair of E9's and 12 EMD GP28's. The Geeps were built and delivered but the E's never were. Does anyone have any particulars on the cancellation of what would've been the final two E units? Reason for cancellation, was the order shifted to another model, etc?
Of course, this didn't conclude their additions to their E unit fleet. In 1969 they traded 5 retired E7's to Precision National for the five former FEC E9's. And then there are their four executive E's from the late 1990's.
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