I’ve always liked locomotives that aren’t everyone else’s favorite. It seems like all steam buffs like Northerns; I like Berkshires. People like Big Boys and Alleghenies; I like 2-8-8-4s and 2-6-6-4s.
With diesels, I always preferred the “chug” of an SD38 over the “whine” of an SD40.
Is there anyone else here that is like that?
Speaking of “chug”, there was nothing better at the end of a day of study at Rutgers (Newark, NJ campus) than to stand trackside as an Eire Lackawanna U33ch dug in while accelerating West bound from Convent Station (on the Morris & Essex line.) It would put a smile on your face no matter how bad the lectures were that day. If I remember right, my rail fan buddies gave the U boat an honoree name of “son of John Deer.”
I’ve preferred the no-nonsense look of E44’s and EL-C’s over GG1’s.
Personally I have always like the 2-8-2 Mikados and the SD70M’s nose. Also, I can not get over how ugly the U-boats and B-boats are along with the Genesis. The Winnebagos F59PHis, and F125s have much better streamlining compared to the Genesis. The Siemens Chargers also look cool with the lights on the side.
A lot of railfans don’t like the whine of a turbocharged EMD all that much compared to some other sounds. I suspect the majority prefers how a GP38-2 and the like sounds, but perhaps I’m mistaken.
I like when the -9s make the whoop sound. shrugs
That’s the air compressor starting, right?
I’ve always liked the turbocharged EMD sound better, but there’s nothing like watching some roots-blown straight pipes rev up for the first time after sitting around idling all day (guess you might disagree if you live nearby):
In general, one could argue that everyone on this forum likes stuff that isn’t all that popular. After all, the general public doesn’t have that high a opinion of railroads and smoky diesels.
My favorite memory is from my first year on the Northern Pacific as a clerk near the middle of Northtown Yard–10 or so below zero and seeing a SOO Line eastbound freight struggle up the hill from the Mississippi River valley on the west side of the river and over the Northern Pacific’s Northtown Yard. Or listening to the whine of dynamic brakes on an eastbound GN ore train stopping for the switchtender territory before proceeding onto the GN Twin City Terminal trackage. The line from Northtown to St. Cloud was joint NP-GN. That ore train came off the present day Hinckley Sub.
Ed Burns