[Date Prev][Date Next]
[Chronological]
[Thread]
[Top]
RE: (erielack) EL in Railfan and Railroad
Thanks, Paul, I picked up this issue at the LHS today, and had the same reaction; "why hasn't this
been mentioned on the list?" It's a great article and as always, Preston the photographic magician
outdoes himself. A good buy.
SGL
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Brezicki [mailto:doctorpb_@_bellsouth.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 9:52 PM
> To: EL Mailing List
> Cc: Keith Robbins; Smtimko_@_aol.com; Stephen Twarogowski
> Subject: (erielack) EL in Railfan and Railroad
>
> I don't recall this being discussed previously. The cover of the current
> issue (June) of R&R caught my eye at the Strasburg RR retail store
> yesterday; the cover story is a Preston Cook reminisce about his 3 years
> (1971-74) as Marion-based Service Engineer for EMD. The seemingly limitless
> supply of EL photos never ceases to amaze me, and most of the photos were
> new to me. Of course, Preston had unfettered access to the property and took
> many photos. The most interesting paragraphs dealt with the oft-discussed
> crankshaft problems of the 20-cylinder SD45/SDP45's. The problem wasn't the
> shaft itself but the "welds that held the crankshaft supporting A-frames"
> developing cracks and eventually coming loose, causing the crankshaft itself
> to fracture due to lack of support. The replacement crankcases and those on
> the Dash-2's had more robust welds that corrected the problem. So there was
> nothing inherently flawed with the long 20-cyl crankshaft per se, but the
> damage was done as far as most RR mechanical people was concerned, and the
> SD40-2 far outsold the 45. I wonder how differently things would have turned
> out if there was no A-frame weld issue.
>
> He mentions Sunday's "Ashland Turn", departing in late afternoon with a
> brace of RS3's to be set out (along with their blocks) at several auto parts
> plants east of Marion. I've always wondered if this was another name for
> FB-1 and FB-2 (Fisher Body) or was this a Sunday-only extra?
>
> A few errors crept into an otherwise excellent article. The joint trackage
> with the Big Four extended from the east end of Marion yard to Galion as
> stated in a photo caption, not Galion to Mansfield, which appears in the
> text. He reversed the symbols for Dayton-97/98; the EB gets the
> even-numbered symbol. Finally the WB UPS symbols were A/CX-99 and CX-99, not
> NY-99, which was the primary WB schedule for general TOFC/COFC business.
>
> Finally I'll mention the photo of BN power, presumably on NE-74, dated March
> 1973, which I believe was close to the end of the BN power pool. They're
> shown being fueled on the main in front of the depot, fouling the busy
> interlocking. Evidently the locos were fueled at St Paul and were not
> refueled by either BN or EL at Chicago. Was this common practice for this
> hot train? I thought only passenger trains were refueled at AC. I assume a
> trip to the Marion engine facility would have incurred unacceptable delay.
>
> Thank you Mr Cook, and I highly recommend this article for those interested
> in EL's west end.
>
> Paul B
>
>
> The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
> http://EL-List.railfan.net/
> To Unsubscribe: http://Lists.Railfan.net/erielackunsub.html
>
>
>
>
> E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.0.1.441)
> Database version: 6.12630
> http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.0.1.441)
Database version: 6.12630
http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
http://EL-List.railfan.net/
To Unsubscribe: http://Lists.Railfan.net/erielackunsub.html
------------------------------