What ever happen to G.E.'s U-50s?
All I ever seen of them was in “N” gauge about 20 years ago.
The first U50’s (UP 31-53 & SP 9950-9952) ran their 15 years, more or less, and were sold for scrap. They were designed primarily for UP and were rarely found off-line. Some were leased briefly by C&NW in the early 1970’s but they were not well-suited for C&NW’s track.
The U50C’s (UP 5000-5039) were a variation on the double-diesel concept. Their aluminum wiring was major weakness and they were retired and scrapped with less than 15 years service and relatively low mileages.
Don’t forget about the few owned by SP. Although they were gone by late 1978.
Didn’t GE have two versions of a double locomotive?
Yes although they were both U50’s. One had two 3-axle trucks the other had four 2-axle trucks.
My favourite diesel locomotive, and there are plenty of them in brass H O on e-bay. Are there any preserved???
Wouldn’t four 2-axle trucks make a locomotive bind the wheels on a sharp curve?
All U50s and all U50Cs have been scrapped.
A span bolster was used to link each pair of 2-axle trucks.
I really am surprised UP didn’t save a couple of the U50’s, as well as the much loved C855 A-B-A set. I’d like to see one of the U50’s person!
they certainly were unique. i’m not a big fan of the nose design, but i’ve always loved those BB+BB locomotives. and because they were unique, i agree one should’ve found a new home in a museum. but there’s not much we can do about it now.
The correct wheel arrangement notation is B+B-B+B, the “+” indicating the span bolster under each end.