I recently acquired a lovely little GE 45-ton switcher from Bachmann, to go with my GE 44-tonner. I was very surprised to note that the 44-ton switcher is significantly larger and bulkier than the 45-ton. Anybody know why?
The 44 ton engine is a ‘railroad engine’. The 45 ton engine is mainly for industrial use. It has a short close clearance cab for working in confined areas The 44 ton engine also has 4 traction motors vs 2(with side rods) on the 45 ton engine.
Jim
Jim is correct. The 44 ton loco was built specifically to eliminate tonnage pay rates to loco engineers. There was also the elimination of a fireman on any loco below 45 ton. The 44 ton was not very liked by the brotherhood unions but did the job very well.
Just a little history on them.
http://www.riverraisinmodels.com/libraryData/ge44ton.pdf
Funny how the 45 ton was smaller but needed 2 people in the cab to be union legal.
Pete
Industrial switchers do seem to weigh a lot more for their size than most. Have you seen the GE 25-ton critters? They’re only about 1/3 the size of the 44-tonners!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_44-ton_switcher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_45-ton_switcher
Everyone, store the links in Favorites or Bookmarks. That way, people will have links to look at for more info.
Rich
Hi, Jim, Please inform us of the weight limits between the two locos that were referenced ( 44 Ton ; 45 Ton). I always thought that the “44 Tonner” was designed so that only one man would be needed to operate it. (99,000 lb. Rule?) I hope we will meet at the May show at the State Fairgrounds. Good stuff there, sometimes.
Regards, Jimmy in Burnsville.
Did you read the two links I provided?
Rich
No.
I appreciate all the info, guys, but what, specifically, makes the 45 ton switcher so much smaller than the 44 ton, while weighing 2,000 pounds more? Extra weight in the frame? I would think that with the smaller cab and fewer traction motors, it would weigh less, not more… [*-)] ??
45-ton locomotives were given extra ballast weight to improve their pulling ability, much like model train locomotives are given heavy frames.
The 45-tonner is about as big as that style could get. Lighter ones were made.
The 44-tonner is a lightweight version. Other, heavier models were available, by way of a thicker frame and more ballast in other areas.
Gary,First you are talking about 2 different locomotives meant to do different types of work…The 44 tonner could be used on urban locals and on short lines while the 45 tonner was built for industrial use.
One key to remember is when the 45 tonner was built freight cars still had friction bearings so, ballast was added to the 45 tonner to increase tractive effort no more no less since the 45 was equipped with a 390 hp prime mover…
A bubnch guys with slide-rules in the nerd office at GE. (I can say that Dad was a heat-transfer engineer) [swg]
In all
Precisely, and you are right, but the 44ton chassis is not weighted to the maximum it could be. The highest I’ve seen is an 80ton version, so don’t let that number hang you up. SAince there’s only one traction motir in the trucks, there’s room for ballast there, in the cabs,. in the tanks hanging under it. It’s the same principles we go through on our locomotives, namely, how can I design the weight to maximize tractive effort for that engine? Part-for-Part, it is lighhter, but sme (design) engineer took the shell off, and mesasured out how much room he had in spots, and began casting his sheets of metal to fit there. Then he probably went and weighed samples of metal (or not, maybe they just default to steel) to fond the heaviest composition, and used that.
Alternative view, the 44tonner is twice th size of the 45ton, but is comperably for a piece of machinery, the same weight. (2,000 poundsis a lot for us, but for a locomotive…) Shouldn’t the 44tonner weight twice as much? But it doesn’t because the designers cut weight from it.
That, or he went through a LOT of Steel BBs…
All you have to do for the answer is read back in this thread. 44 toners were born to get around union rules of having 2 men work the loco for those over 45 ton.
That was to do away with the fireman-there was still a 4 man crew-engineer,brakeman,head brakeman and conductor.
The fireman didn’t really “work the locomotive”…He joy rode and when needed pass hand signals to the engineer.