Worst and Best looking Locomotives of all time

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Just curious as to what you guys (and gals) think is the worst and best looking locomotives of all time:

My top six worst locomotives from most ugly to least (not to be confused with venerable):

  1. BL-2
  2. The Atlantic and Hudson version of Milwaukee Road’s Hiawatha (I know I don’t know how to spell)
  3. GP-30
  4. Any Baldwin Diesel
  5. The box that Amtrak’s current diesels come in that they apparently forgot to take off.
  6. NYC Mohawk version of its Hudson (Its regular Hudsons were beautiful though)

My top seven best looking locomotives of all time from most attractive to least:

  1. PRR’s T-1
  2. N&W J Class
  3. NYC Niagara
  4. SD-9 (I know I am unusual on this one)
  5. RS-3
  6. F-3
  7. Any Berkshire

Anyone else what to join me in this sophomoric exercise and give me your list?

Gabe

2

Best:
Royal Hudson 4-6-4 in Canadian Pacific Colours

Worst:
SD70ACe in any color.

3

Until I can think of anything else, I will concur with your selection of the BL2 in diesels. For steam it’s hard to find anything uglier than the camel-backs (steam version of a center-cab locomotive). As far as best looking, it’s hard to narrow it down.

4

Personally I think the best looking diesel’s were the GP7/GP9 and the Alco RS11. These locomotives just looked like workhorses from day one.

My personal least favorite are the current Amtrak Genesis P42’s. They are just plain ugly, and they run through my town 4 times a day.

Ron

5

Well this will be an obvious opinion thread because every one is different.

I like the GP-30 low nose. The GP-30 high nose however, that just looks odd.

Adrianspeeder

6

The BL2 is pretty homely…but there are some others …

the Ingalls 4-S
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_gmo1900.jpg

this thing…
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/rl_up20.jpg

and of course the KM diesel-hydraulics
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/sp9002.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_sp9016.jpg

7

Best Looking: Diesel - GP9 with d/b
Electric - CSS&SB Little Joe
Steam - MILW Class A 4-4-2 (original Hiawatha power)

Worst Looking: Diesel - GE Genesis locomotives
Electric - MILW Bi-Polar
Steam - D&H 1403 (the triple-expansion 4-8-0)

8

Best RS3

Worst LWT-12

9

MILW Bi-polars…

Didn’t Milwaukee Road name these locomotives…

E1 Trainfinder22
E2 Kissmycaboose
E3 Detective_cinderdick

etc…

10

I like classic old locomotives, and my choice of best looking locomotive is Maria #6
at the MCRR at Mt Pleasant, Iowa . Maria is an awesome machine under steam!
http://www.mcrr.org/new_page_1.htm or my own picture at:
http://k0bkl.org/midwest.htm

11

best- GE P42
worst: Metra’s last order of F40PHs, with the slanted windshield

12

Ladies and gentlemen, I was hoping this would be a close contest. But the undisputed heavyweight champion of worst looking locomotives has just unequivocally been posted (the first listing).

If I am ever important enough to have a funeral train, I hope they pull me in that thing. Death would not be enough to overcome my urge to get out and walk.

Gabe

13

Best looking steamer - a toss-up between Canadian Pacific’s Jubilees and Nigel Gresley’s Mallard class in Britain.

Worst looking steam - the poor maligned 0-6-0 that Irish State Railways tried to convert to burn peat. (Sorry I don’t have a link to hand for this poor beast. - imagine a fairly standard British outline 0-6-0 festooned in large diameter pipes to blow peat into its firebox.)

Best looking diesel - Tie between MLW’s FPA4 and the Alco PA, though the original Zephyr/Minuteman is definitely in the running.

Worst looking diesel - nearly any of Plymouth’s industrial ‘critters’ - but especially the early ones. So homely, they make the BL2 and the Ingalls S-4 look like streamliners.

14

Don’t forget the BQ23-7 of the Family System Lines as one of the worst looking. By the way were any of them saved or all scrapped???

15

oooooh …I forgot about those…coyote ugly…CSX was using them as B units for awhile with the glass plated over.

Rumor has it crews were only allowed to look at those with mirrors, lest they be turned to stone…

16

Best Looking
UP Big Boy
UP Challenger
BNSF Dash 9 Warbonnet

Worst Looking
U36 (might be U32 that i am thinking of but its one of the 2)

17

My favorites (in no particular order):

Non-streamlined:
NYC Niagara
C&O Greenbrier
B&M R-1-D
L&N M-1

Streamlined:
Pennsy S-1 (Raymond Loewy) Just too revolutionary for many
NYC J-3 (Henry Dreyfuss)
CM&StP Atlantics and Hudsons (Otto Kuhler)

Diesel:
EMD E-9
Alco PA

18

Best:

NYC '41 Empire State Limited Hudson (noses out '38 20th Century Hudson)
PRR BP20 (passenger shark) in pinstripes
D&H PA
NYC E8 in lightning stripes
Amtrak HHP8

Worst:

UP rebuilt SWs with that hump
WM chop nose GP9s with number boards in the short hood
NW low short hood SD40-2 with F on long hood end - that’s just plain wrong!
LV “hammerhead” RS3
PRSL GP38 - black with 3 red logos - never washed…ever.

19

Well…I don’t know if the BL-2 was ugly or silly. But it gets my vote for the worst as well. I’m not big on Gp 30s either. Alco DL 109s are a mixed bag. From some angles they’re good, and others they’re bad. I can’t think of an ugly steam locomotive, or electric one for that matter.

Some of my favorites:

GG1
New Haven EP3.
South Shore Line 800s (Milwaukee Road Little Joes.)

E-8s or 9s in an A-B-A lashup. Especially IC or Santa Fe
Torpedo GP 7s and 9s
SDP 35s
High Hood SD-40s (long hood first)

Streamlined PRR K4s
NYC Steamlined Hudsons
PRR T-1

Merry Christmas everyone!
Mitch

20

Best: J’s, Pacific’s, Decapods ( I just like em), GP-9’s and any Berkshire ------ Worst: mohawks, Sharkes, and Amtrack Diesels