can anyone give me any information on DD35As DD35 Bs and GEU50 double diesels and any information on Southern Pacific double diesels and ALCOs locomotives of this period? I think it was 1964 and 1965
Is the DDA40X much different?
thanks
Leaving aside the oddballs like the Krauss-Maffei Hydraulics, and the Alco Hydraulics, there were seven models built.
EMD built the DD35, the DD35A, and the DDA40X.
GE built the U50, and the U50C.
Alco built the C-855, and the C-855B.
The railroads were pushing for more horsepower in one package, particularly the UP and the SP. EMD responded with two DD35s which were displayed at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York sandwiched between a pair of GP35s. The UP was very interested and bought the set and ordered 25 production DD35s. GE responded with the U50, which was two sets of U25B machinery on a single frame, but their locomotive had a cab. GE built 3 demonstrators and sent them to the UP to try, they convinced the UP to buy the demonstrators and 20 production U50s. The UP went back to EMD and asked for a version with a cab. EMD had to shorten everything to fit a cab on the same frame as the DD35, this is why the radiators on the DD35A are flared, to get the same cooling capacity in a shorter radiator. The UP bought 15 of these. Alco built 2 C855s and 1 C855B. these were the least successful of the double-diesels, they made very few successful trips. Seeing all this the SP bought 3 DD35s and 3 U50s to try themselves. The SP decided that these were not what they were looking for and switched to SD45s when they became available. The UP asked the builders for something even better when they introduced their new locomotives in 1966 and 1967. EMD’s response was the DDA40X Centennial. The UP was very impressed with the improvements the Centennial brought over the DD35 series and bought two batches for a total of 47 locomotives. GE&#
thank you that was lots of help
where can i get pic of a U50
What do you mean by “get a picture” ?
You can look at these-
Thats one goofy lookin’ unit…
[#ditto]That is a uuuugly unit !
A 8,000hp DD60M or DD70MAC would have been cool too!
Except for the asthetics of those units…they’re a neat concept. HP wise anyway…maybe there’ll be an AC12000 (NOT!) from GE next year. Imagine that…a 12000HP EVO unit…LOL!
Hmmm a 12,000Hp GevO huh? Does that mean that one of the three PMs would break down? I guess 2 outta 3 aint bad!
So then take an AC6000 and make it out of those! Two of those bad boys would sound mean in one unit! Plus it’d be long as heck!
the DDA40X WAS 98 feet 5 inches and 18 feet longer than the modern SD80MAC and the SD90MAC
For anybody in the midwest who may be interested, the ILLINOIS RAILROAD MUSEUM (IRM) has a DDA40X on display in Union, IL and she is a real monster!
What determines how long a carbody - passenger car, freight car, or locomotive - can be?
85’ over the pulling faces of the couplers has been a standard length for a passenger car, although Colorado Railcars made some “Ultradome” cars that were 89’. I guess if you restrict the area of operation, 98 feet is not too long for a locomotive, but there must be some practical limit with regard to overhang and also width of an extended-length car.
I read on Railway Age that Alan Cripe before his passing had a company called Trailblazer Technologies that was promoting the Fastracker DMT - essentially the United Aircraft TurboTrain but with Diesel instead of turbine power. The concept was that the carbodies were those guided-axle type of shorter length, and this offered some reduced overhang that he was going to go over 11’ on the width and perhaps offer 3+2 or even 3+3 seating for commuter service. The 85’ Colorado Railcars coaches and DMUs are no more than 10’ on the width.
So I am thinking that if you go with short articulated cars that you could go somewhat wider, if you have too long of a carbody you have to narrow the width below 10’?
Beaulieu.
That was a great little write up. I have always wondered about those mosnters and the programs behind them. I just learned a whole lot from your post. Thank you for that.
Enclosed autoracks that are built on TTX flat cars are very long too, 89’ or so.
The problem with a hypothetical ES12000AC (or whatever you want to call it) is that even with a DD truck configuration such a beast would far exceed the amount of useable Horsepower per traction motor. Railroad experience shows that even 1,000 HP per Axle (SD90/AC60) is pushing it. In Europe they do have some electric locomotives that are rated at 10,000+ HP with 6 axles (actually typically 3 B trucks) but that is for a much different set of operating conditions (extreme highspeed with relatively light trains, at least from the standpoint of North American practice). …
I merely was postulating that it’d be neat to see, not practical.
You could always have Pedro’s friends in Brazil build it into a D-D+D-D.[;)]
Ooh…that’d be cool. Do they make an ‘E’ truck?
