Finding the odd diesels can be fun
As a kid, I’d often write letters to railroads, ask- ing them to please send me any literature — and any photos — that they could spare. Being fasci- nated with trains at a young age — model as well as prototype — I wanted to start a “photo library of trains” that I could study and use as a reference when I needed it.
Back in the early 1960s, when railroads carried passengers and, therefore, were beholden to pas- sengers, they would often send this material when requested, and I still have the material in my files, many years later. Some of the railroad presidents even sent me a personally signed letter along with the material. While a couple of railroads never bothered to answer me, Union Pacific was especial- ly helpful and sent me not only reading material, but a packet of six 9½ x 11½-inch all-color pho- tos of its passenger trains, freight trains, and diesel locomotives.
I remember being very curious about one UP picture in particular of a strange-looking locomo- tive with three units: two very long E unit-type bod- ies with radiator fans and atypical exhaust stacks on the roof, and a steam engine tender. “What was that?” this 14-year-old kid asked.
As a result of this picture and some of the oth- ers UP sent me, I’ve been attracted to the colorful, bright yellow and gray passenger cars and diesels with red striping. Even more so, as time went on, I realized that Union Pacific was an innovator rail- road, constantly experimenting with unusual mo- tive power.
UP’s trackage ran through Utah and Wyoming mountain ranges in the West, calling for some su- per-powered locomotives. The UP first experiment- ed with General Electric steam turbine locomotives as early as 1939. Two 2,500-hp steam turbine units, housed in carbodies similar to the early streamlin- ers, generated steam, which operated a two-stage, cross-compound turbine.
UP placed an order for ten 4,500-hp GTEL gas turbines in March 1951. These units were supple- mented shortly after with 15 additional gas tur- bines, and in 1955, UP placed an order for even more turbines, but with 7,000-hp at the rails. However, the UP power parade didn’t end at this. The road also rostered 27 double-engined 5,000- hp DD35Bs and 15 A units. The E-built 5,000-hp U50Cs introduced between 1969 and 1971 looked very unusual with their high rounded noses; how- ever, they did not hold up well in service.
38 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
In May 1969, the 6,600-hp gigantic Centennials arrived — “the world’s most powerful land vehicle.” The first unit took charge of the Golden Spike Centennial Special for its run to Promontory, Utah, to celebrate the 100th anniver- sary of the transcontinental railroad.
So as a youth, I’m seeing these UP locomotives being tested on the prototype roads, and I’m thinking about mod- el railroading, and how cool would it be — how cool it is — when modelers run a variety of diesels on their layouts or modules.
There were other railroads besides UP that also experi- mented with diesel power, running numerous interesting and/or unusual units of varying length, horsepower, and design. Jersey Central operated six Baldwin-built double- ended DRX-6-4-2000s with their peculiar design; the odd- looking BL-2s were sent to 10 railroads in the late 1940s; and Baldwin again supplied bidirectional, high-horsepow- er locomotives for slow-speed transfer service with the company’s twin-engine, 2,000-hp center-cab dubbed the DT-6-6-2000. Southern Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Western experimented with the 3,450-hp diesel-hydraulic Krauss-Maffei engines, and the 139 Pennsy GG-1 electrics were large, unusual power that captured the imagination with their 4,620-hp traction motors.
When I head out to layout tours during a model railroad convention, or just visit layouts when an invitation comes along, I always look for the unusual motive power on the layout.
A lot of contemporary modelers have F3s and E-units, as well as GP35s and SD40s and ES44s on their layouts. These are all fine, and I like to see them and run them my- self, but I’m always drawn to the odd diesel locomotive that you don’t always see. These engines spark my interest, and in a sense renew my faith in the “all things are possible” philosophy of model railroading. We can even run the odd stuff because we’re model railroaders and because we are driven to represent all the prototypes that were operating at one time.
The next time you visit a layout, look for the equivalent of Union Pacific’s experimental units or the Penny’s ma- jestic GG-l electrics. Or, if you’re the brass hat of a model railroad, search out one of these “special” diesels to add interest to your trains. It’s another way to put more fun into model railroading.
Don Heimburger Don Heimburger, who publishes S Gaugian and Sn3
Modeler magazines, worked for the Illinois Central Rail- road for seven years in IC’s Public Relations Department in Chicago and has authored 10 railroad books.
PERSPECTIVE
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