I know this might seem like a goofy question, but would a prototype railroad ever tie a six-axle (say a SD, or a Dash, etc) to a four-axle locomotive? I’ve currently got a GP40-2 that I’m going to be painting in its current CSX colors (was originally a B&O engine), and I’m going to start buying up some engines, Dash 8s, 9s, GE AC units, and EMD SD’s, and I was wondering if I could “prototypically” MU the 40-2 to the back of one of the six-axle locos.
Yes
Yes, but you can be more creative. Why not try an SD9 with an F7B, etc.? On the other hand…a lot of diesels, especially in the early diesel-age decades, could not be MU’d. For instance, most early switchers and virtually every industrial switchers didn’t have MU connections. (SP MU’d some of its early switchers to be used in road/freight service.) Most “covered wagons” such as F3s and Es didn’t originally come with MU connections on the front ends of A units. Baldwin used an air-actuator for its MU connections which were not compatible with other manufacturer’s electrically controlled systems.
Railroads did try to reasonably match the gear ratios and other performance aspects of various diesels. This would affect the combined units’ minimum and maximum speeds as well as adhesion. Thus, you’d probably not want to match a slogging SD9 with a high-spirited E unit.
Isn’t this fun?
Mark
The GP-40 will be right at home with almost any six axle locomotive. Just don’t MU it with any Baldwin/BLW locomotives. Baldwin used a pneumatic MU system whereas the other builders Alco, EMD, FM, GE and some others all used electrical MU control.
I’ve seen C44-AC’s MU’d to GP7’s on the CNW.
As pointed out earlier, the MU systems have to be compatible. Some 1950’s and 1960’s railroads had different plug arrangements on their systems so were incompatible with other roads. Most, but not all, Baldwin locomotives had an air operated MU system that was incompatible with any other manufacturer.
Depending upon your era, any locomotive on a railroad’s roster could be seen in multiple unit operation with another. The era you are speaking of is easily beyond “field loop cables” no m.u. or any other restrictions. Locomotives of a given railroad’s roster were generally of all the same or very similar gear ratios for a given service, so that multiple unit operations were possible.
Your GP40-2 and anything of a later variety will all have a standardized mu receptacle and cables, so it is not only possible, but probable. Check this website. You will probably find all the six and four axle combinations you could care to see:
As often as not on the way to/from work I see CP using an MP-15 and an SD-40(-2?) together working the hump in Pig’s Eye yard in St.Paul MN.
The Minneapolis Northfield and Southern would sometimes have a train with an SW-1200, and SW-1500, and an SD-39 together.
Thanks everyone. I kinda figured that you could as long as the units were close to one another along the lines of capabilities. I just haven’t seen any come through my area that way (which my area is Troy, Al, and I’m modeling the same, and modelling the modern era). The GP40-2 is an Athearn blue box, which I’m going to add a decoder to (since it was purchased before the days of DCC), and of course I’m going to start buying at least DCC ready engines for the layout if not just purchasing some engines that are around the age of my current 40-2, so making them run together won’t be trouble. Again, thanks y’all.
True enough… However many early Alco’s had a funky system that wouldn’t talk to EMD’s. Additionally some different railroads early geeps didn’t want to play together. noteably Rock Island’s and the Rio Grandes.
Also just because there are locomotives together in a consist does not always mean that they are used as power. When we send a geep back to a outlying point from the shop it goes either second in the consist if it does not have alignment control couplers , or if it does it just goes at the rear of the consist. but we send them isolated and idleing even though they have all the jumpers and air hoses connected. Hope this helps
Yeah, I knew that not all of them would exactly be providing power even if they were hooked into the consist, but its normally a better idea that if you’ve got the engines, then they might as well be helping. Also all of my units are going to be either GE’s or EMD enignes (modeling the modern era), so from what I know, they’ll talk to one another and be just fine.