Hello, one of my favorite locomotive type is the EMD E series, I love 6 axle car body diesels but after a quick look on Wikipedia I found out the E's were exclusively for passenger trains, I'm a freight guy and I was wondering, did they use them for freight (occasionally/rarely)? Are there any pictures of them hauling freight?


Thanks.

Well Radu, I dont know about history but Union Pacific uses their executive E units on occasional freight runs. Ok while trying to find this picture, it seams some other Railroads did also.

SCL and BN may also have used Es on a limited basis for freight runs. Someone with more knowledge than I will need to confirm this, however.

Cheers!
Marc

I can't remember where I read it but the Erie Lackawanna had developed a "science" on the use of Es in freight service. When they quit the passenger business they increased the weight of the Es by pouring concrete on the engine compartment floors. Also the engineers discovered a "science" to MUing an Eunit with an Funit .It said there is a difference between how Es and Fs load up and there was a difference in wheel diameter between the two which had to be cosidered. I'm sure some of our engineers and maybe some oldtimers out there probably know alot more than I do about this. Also the E units were not six axle they were considered A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. Meaning A = Powered . 1 = unpowered.

Thanks guys for the quick answers, why did the engineers chose to make them with un-powered axles? The distance between the axles is pretty large, they could of fit a traction motor, I'm wondering why, how much did the locomotive weigh? Considering all of this, the F-Units had more tractive effort?
Also what E-Units did run freight, E8's?

Thanks!

The E7's were originally made in 1945 and were the first 6 axle loco's that I have records of.

The first 6 motor 6 axle loco was the SD7 in 1952 according to my information.

Derek

Distribution of weight only. Keeping in mind that the initial designs are from the 1930s, my guess is that passenger cars didn't weigh enough to justify the added expense in engineering a heavier truck to contain the extra traction motor or options in gearing.

Cheers!
Marc

Speaking of E units, here is a beautifully restored UP E9 I found last week at the Western Pacific RR Museum in Portola, CA...

Steve

Probably on temporary loan from UP. This is the same locomotive that normally resides in Cheyenne. The unit in the picture in the second post is 951's sister, 949, which is also located in Cheyenne.

FWIW, the unit is not completely restored to original. It only has one engine, and the controls have been changed those used on the GP38-2s (the engine may also be from a GP38-2...I don't recall off hand). Also note that the front access door is missing. It was welded shut and feathered into the car body a just few years back.

Cheers!
Marc

Hello Steve,is the E9 you photographed in a museum near you now? I would be interested to see more photos of it if possible.

Thanks.

The UP E9 is just a visitor to the portola museum. They have a good relationship with UP and they send it to Portola for Railroad days and other functions. It was copletely rebuild and sports one engine inside (instead of the 2 originals) and is a 2000 HP 645. It has been rebuilt to GP-38 standards. Just for info, in the second post, first picture, UP 951 is the unit on the other end facing the freight.
The reason for its visit was probably a stopping point on its way to Dunsmuir RR days. The museum always sends a special train including UP and WP engines. And of course the museum enjoys the company of the E unit with their F units any time. Its interesting to see the "X" in the number board for extra. 952 doesnt usually carry the X. I think the Portola folk had a hand in that. ( they actually crew the unit when its there with UP employees that are museum members)

Radu, there is a scad of photos at this site. http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php...7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C

Thanks for the response Tom, I'm looking for high-res reference photos for any American locomotive I can find, but I haven't found a site that offers such images yet. I'm mostly interested in F Units (ATSF Super Chief, yellow bonnets, blue bonnets), E units, EMD SD9's (in SP scheme preferably), EMD SD45 and EMD F45/FP45 (ATSF) for 3D modeling purposes, reference photos from all angles so I can see all details I need to model, a good site I found is this (It has many reference photos of vehicles, airplanes, cars, and so on), however they do not have the locomotives I mentioned, so I'm looking for anyone that lives near those engines and is kind enough to help me with pictures, if it's not too much to ask.

Thanks for your time.

Radu,

Unfortunately, I don't live near that museum, we drove 500 miles to spend three days there...

Go to the museum website for pictures of the Western Pacific F units in their collection, google WPRRM. Also, the Orange Empire RR museum in Perris, CA has a UP E unit (942 I think). I will shrink and post more pix of this 951 unit when I have time.

Steve

Anything less than 2000 pixels is useless for me, that's the reason why I posted the link, so you can see what I need, railpictures.net has photos of any locomotive, I'm looking for reference pictures not thumbnails.

Thanks.

Radu,

My pictures were taken with a 12 megapixel camera and are about 3mb in size until I downsized them with a jpeg resizer program.

Here are some more WPRM shots...

Radu, Iwould recomend this book. I have it and it has good info. http://www.amazon.com/Model-Railroader-Cyc...s/dp/0890245479

Santa Fe, Great Northern and Northern Pacific to name a few realized better adhesion with the 4 axle truck, thus the us of F units on there varnish thru the mountains. EMD manufactured a pair of locomotives for Santa Fe that used a 3 axle truck with a 1-B configuration, they were simply known as No.1 and No.2 according to the Diesel Spotters Guide and were manufactured in 1935 with the classic E units following in 1937, starting with the EA model for the B&O

Thanks, I have 2 more questions, I did a bit of search and turned up with nothing, strangely Wikipedia doesn't have this covered.
What's the difference between SD45 and SD45R, from what I can tell they look the same, I assume the change is internal?

And does anybody know here I can find more pictures of the Yellowstone AC-9 (the reverse Cab-Forward)? link

There isn't hardly anything regarding this locomotive, even after a couple days of searching, maybe I missed a site or something, hopefully there is more.

Thanks!

The "R" in the SD-45R is a designation for rebuilt locomotive with internal modifications to the power plant and or electrical systems. It was not uncommon to replace the 20 cylinder power plant with a 16 cylinder due to crankshaft issues and fuel economy

What about the SD45X? Reliability? And the SD7R, did they replace the engine as they did with the SD45R? What engine did they put in, an how much horsepower.


Thanks.

CB&Q, used extensively the E series for their Twin Cities, Denver, California and other Zephyrs, i.e., KC Zephyrs. On Denver Zephyrs, they used only two units, typically A & B, or A & A. Early 60's, prior to Amtrack, we would see the DZ and CZ pulled by three units of the E series, usually all "A" units.

When each of the various Zephyrs arrived back in Chicago, all "A" units were dispatched to commuter operations through out the day/night, pulling the heavy double decker commuter consists, each pulled by one unit only. Course each rotated back to the Zephyrs runs, as dispatchers warranted/scheduled.

Rode on one DZ that was in two sections, due to Annual Boy Scouts Jamboree, held in Denver some years. Both consists, were powered by three E Locomotives each, both sections never further apart from each other an hour, if that long.

The Budd passenger care were not as heavy as the old tri-axle'd standards and Pullmans, but they were not lightweights either, as the Vista Domes (CZ - 5 ea. DZ up to 4 ea., and the TCZ often carried 4 ea.) were heavier than the standard Budd coaches/sleepers/diner cars, to lower the CG's.

My recollections of the EMD E series, from the E3, E5 all the way to E9's, never saw them employed in freight operations, as the "Q" had ample inventories of Geeps, and the SD series of freight engines during that era.

For those interested in pic's: Click here

Hope this adds to some interest! ; - { )