Pity that Baldwin's handsome, Loewy-styled "sharknose" DRs and RF-16s weren't more successful or popular. But their refusal to standardize components, iffy DeLa Vergne powerplants and their weird air-throttles that didn't play nice with ALCo and EMD multiple-unit setups doomed them
In 1967, the Monangahela Railroad purchased seven A-units and two cabless B-units, the last remaining units from the retired New York Central fleet. By 1971, all but two of the units, 1205 and 1216, had been cut up. The final pair were to be scrapped in 1974, but were saved when the Delaware & Hudson purchased both units from the scrap dealer. They were used in freight service and in passenger excursion service on the D&H until late 1978, when they were purchased by Illinois-based Castolite Corporation. The pair was leased for use on the Michigan Northern in 1979, where both units suffered mechanical damage (broke crankshaft on one and a grounded-out traction motor on the other by all reports) and have reportedly been stored since 1981 on the Escanaba & Lake Superior, inside a warehouse that is inaccessible to the public. The units have been photographed outside of the building as late as 2012, with roofs and prime movers removed.
One of the last photos of 1205, now kept under lock and key after some "railfans" stole a bunch of components off of it.
1216 getting a repaint after D&H purchased them
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern ended up with Baldwin's demonstrator units after their work for the manufacturer was done.
Wow, next time you're against a wall with a car project, think about doing a nut & bolt resto on some behemoth as big as your garage!
Happy 426 Day!!
914Driver said:Wow, next time you're against a wall with a car project, think about doing a nut & bolt resto on some behemoth as big as your garage!
And that's relatively small, as far as locomotives go. Those guys still have the same issues as us, too. Like losing parts
When they were attempting the aborted re-restoration of Pennsylvania K-4 #1361, one big holdup was that somehow they main connecting rods got lost. How the hell do you lose something so big?
If you want weird, try the C&O turbine. The last gasp of steam. Traditional bioler ran a steam turbine, turning a generator to power traction motors. 106ft long weighing 856,000 pounds generating 6,000hp.
914Driver said:Happy 426 Day!!
Trivia: One day, I was assigned a '63 Belvedere with the Stage III 426 and was told that my job that day, after setting valves and baselining the tune, was to road teat it to verify operation. Which involved WOT pulls on some local restricted-access roads.
"Today is a good day", I thought that morning.
That afternoon, after said WOT pulls, I came to a realization. Old high performance cars are not as fast as nostalgia would have you believe. Sure, the Ramchargers may have been first to break into the 9s or whatever but this does not correlate to assembly-line vehicles...
So this showed up since Tuesday afternoon. I wondered why they weren't in the hydraulic press like last year, and there's a nest there too. Crap. I'm going to need those wheels eventually.
Yes, she was making vroom noises. She can also reach the shifter...
In reply to RevRico :
I hope she's already sat on your lap and 'driven' around your subdivision or similar.
Big fire industry show in Indy.
Adrian_Thompson said:In reply to RevRico :
I hope she's already sat on your lap and 'driven' around your subdivision or similar.
She did in the vic. The miata and ranger don't leave a lot of room between me n the wheel.
she has a thing for cars and cooking, I'm perfectly fine with that.
So today must be 4/28 day!
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