The gravel piercer up close, apparently actually called a tamper.
The gravel piercer up close, apparently actually called a tamper.
In reply to Recon1342 :
Yeah, those Y6s were not of this earth. I find it interesting that the N&W didn't go with a 2-axle trailing truck to make a Yellowstone with a larger firebox. I also recently learned that N&W #611, that streamlined 4-8-4, did not roll out of the N&W's Roanoke shops until 1950. At that point in time, Alco and Baldwin had not built steam engines in 2 years, Lima had built their last steam engine a year prior and was championing a 4-8-6 that would find no buyers before becoming the short-lived Lima-Hamilton and manufacturing a handful of diesels before ceasing to exist.
In reply to EvanB (Forum Supporter) :
Yep, it picks the tie up, tamps the gravel underneath and can make roadbed adjustments to bring the rail back into level and then sets the tie back down.
MoW stuff is neat!
Erie #750A and #750B hooked up to an A-B set of EMD F7s. What are these odd-looking units? They are one of two A-B sets of GE UM20s built. These were an early GE prototype that used the Cooper-Bessemer 8-cylinder 7DL engine (1800hp A-units, 1200hp B-units) that would become the 16-cylinder FDL engine in the U-boats. They did a lot of testing for GE and then were leased to the Erie from 1954-1958, numbered #750A, #750B, #750C and #750D, before later being re-engined with FDLs and sold off to Union Pacific, who scrapped them in 1963. By the time GE decided to fully enter the markets, the carbody was fully passe, so they went straight into road switcher-style locomotives.
Uncle Pete also ended up with the original GE U25B demonstrator. At the time that GE was developing the U25B, road switchers typically had a high front hood, like an Alco RS-11 or an EMD GP7. So the original U25B was designed to have a high hood, but by the time they began to enter the market, the trend had shifted towards low front hoods, like EMD GP30s and Alco RS27s, so the remainder of the demonstrators were built with low noses, as were most production models. High-nose holdouts Southern and Norfolk & Western would order some U-Boats with high noses but they were in the minority and those units were essentially custom builds.
Very cool.
A friend of mine worked for Harsco for a long time. He was one of their "putting out dumpster fires" guys.
NickD said:Erie #750A and #750B hooked up to an A-B set of EMD F7s. What are these odd-looking units? They are one of two A-B sets of GE UM20s built. These were an early GE prototype that used the Cooper-Bessemer 8-cylinder 7DL engine (1800hp A-units, 1200hp B-units) that would become the 16-cylinder FDL engine in the U-boats. They did a lot of testing for GE and then were leased to the Erie from 1954-1958, numbered #750A, #750B, #750C and #750D, before later being re-engined with FDLs and sold off to Union Pacific, who scrapped them in 1963. By the time GE decided to fully enter the markets, the carbody was fully passe, so they went straight into road switcher-style locomotives.
The Austrailian Connection: While the GE UM20/UM20B never entered production in the US, or anywhere else in the world, the carbody for them was reused for the Class 43 locomotive built for the New South Wales Government Railway in Australia in 1956. NSWGR placed an order for 6 locomotives from GE, who reused the UM20 carbody. But at that point in time, the FDL engine was not ready for primetime, so GE was forced to turn to Alco, who they had dissolved their partnership with in 1953, and purchase 1750hp Alco 244 V12 engines for them. While the Class 43 was not popular with crews, it did pave the way for a long line of Alco-built Australian exports, a fact which must have galled GE.
Another Australian tie-in, is that Victorian State Railway used the exact same yellow and black wings and stripes livery as the Erie Railroad. When applied to their EMD-built Class A locomotives, which strongly resembled a double-ended F-unit, it looked like the Erie lived on in the Land Down Under
Formerly Erie, now Erie-Lackawanna, Alco FAs and an EMD SW9 at Croxton Yard in '64. While Erie-Lackawanna adapted the DL&W's yellow, gray and maroon with the combined E-L logo, the the Erie black and yellow livery also lingered around on units for a while, just receiving the updated E-L logo
They also rostered the beautiful, long-nosed Alco PA
Check out this 10-mile long 7-1/2" gauge "backyard" railroad!
So, Nick, is it tonight or tomorrow night you get to be the driver?
In reply to Duke :
It is at 11:40 today
You'll need to log in to post.
