Does the GE passenger loco’s monocoque-body make it the modern-day equivalent of first generation cab bodies such as the EMD Es and Fs, and Alco FAs and PAs. I guess GE did this to reduce weight. Cowl-body EMD locos have a non-structural cowl, and retain the rigid frame of hood units. I assume that EMD-powered commuter locos built by MPI are cowl-body too. I doubt any freight line would want any P40/42s if Amtrak retires them some years down the road. Probably less adaptable than even cowl-bodies, and I doubt anyone’s going to do to a Genesis what Santa Fe did to their F-units in the 70s. Imagine a streamlined P40/42 stripped of it’s cabbody and turned into a Gevo-powered B-B road switcher. I guess P40/42s could be used to haul business cars or for excursions, though EMD Es, Fs and even F40s are more classy. After NS’s purchase of F-units last year, the only Class I that doesn’t have dedicated business car power is BNSF. Most likely, Amtrak would simply give them back to GE as trade ins for new Tier-III+ power sometime after 2010.
Actually, when the new GENESIS engine hit the rails, my buddy and I immediatley started calling them SHARKS, because they do have the basic lines of BALDWIN’s famed RF-16s.
I guess my answer would be “sort of”. The monocoque-body is very different from the way E and F units were built…so the external result is similar, but the actual construction isn’t.
Do they have to cut apart the body shell to change a power assembly – I understand that a common maintenance procedure on a Diesel of this sort is to unhook the crankshaft connection and to swap out the entire cylinder, piston, and connecting rod and replace it with a reconditioned or a new one. With car engines, most people just throw the car away rather than “rebuilding” the engine after 100-200 thousand miles, but for a locomotive racking up millions of miles, you need to replace high wear elements of the engine.
Or can they do a power assembly change inside the carbody? Do crews hate doing this? In tradeoff for the bad aerodynamics and more industrial look, what a hood unit does for you 1) helps with crew access to things on the locomotive and on the train, 2) provides a clear view for backing moves, and 3) has door panels for easy access to power assemblies. For heavier maintenance, the whole hood lifts off.
I guess with this reasoning an F40PH could have been considered the same thing. Nothing will ever really replace classic F units.
Maybe not exactly the same (different body types structurally) but they are as close as you’re going to get today outside of a museum.
Not sharks, more like fiberglass bricks.