EMD never, truly recovered after losing its top spot in the 1980's, which led to its sale by General Motors in 2005. Unfortunately, it couldn't establish a foothold after a decade and gave up (but is still in business today). It became a leader of the opposed-piston marine engine and decided to enter the diesel market during the 1940's. Fairbanks-Morse was a bit of an outlier with a history tracing back to the 19th century. They had produced thousands of high-quality locomotives during their heyday but unfortunately could never make the successful transition to diesel technology.Īlco was the last holdout, finally closing in 1969. The former had been the longstanding "Big Three" steam manufacturers. During the early days there were more than just two builders.Īfter Electro-Motive opened a new motive power market many joined in, including Alco, Lima, Baldwin, Fairbanks-Morse, and later GE. Today's models, manufactured by Wabtec Freight (successor to General Electric) and Progress Rail (successor to EMD), are equipped with comfort cabs, air conditioning, and advanced electronics. He allowed McKeen to setup production of the McKeen Railcar Company in 1908.ĭiesels have come a long way from the EMC and Alco-GE-IR boxcabs of the 1920's. The first unit, listed as #M-1 and given the name "Windsplitter," was completed at UP's shops in Omaha, Nebraska during March of 1905.įollowing a refinement which featured a longer frame and marine engine (producing twice the horsepower), Harriman was impressed.
Louis they came up with an aerodynamic design powered by a 100 horsepower, gasoline engine manufactured by early pioneer, Riotte.
In Brian Solomon's book, " The American Diesel Locomotive," the idea for this concept came from William McKeen, Union Pacific's chief of motive power.Įven by the early 20th century railroads were attempting to cut costs on lightly patronized branch lines and UP's leader, the legendary Edward Harriman, approached McKeen in 1904 about developing a self-powered railcar for use on these secondary corridors.Īfter many tests at the Electric Railway Test Commission in St. The early boxcabs are often credited as the first with a diesel engine although the very first railcar to utilize an internal combustion engine was the McKeen Car. Once more, GE did not give in and spent many years fine-tuning its design until it had overtaken EMD by the 1980's.
Fairbanks morse scale 700# series#
While a commercial success the series was not particularly reliable (many of these so-called "U-boats" had a lifespan of only a few decades). In time, the Schenectady builder continued to lose market share against Electro-Motive, spurring GE to launch its own "Universal" line in 1959. It did remain involved, however, by partnering with Alco providing it components (such as traction motors) while also pioneering early electrification systems and locomotives. Ironically, despite the company's pioneering ways it never launched its own formal locomotive line until the late 1950's. It eventually sold to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (#1000) where it spent many years in switching assignments around New York City.
Fairbanks morse scale 700# trial#
This latest trial carried GE electrical components, a prime mover from Ingersoll-Rand (capable of 300 horsepower), and a carbody provided through American Locomotive (Alco).Īs the late historian Jim Boyd notes in his book, " The American Freight Train," the 60-ton boxcab was finished in 1924 and proved a success. Undeterred by this experiment's lackluster performance the company pressed forward with a new design in 1923. This is not the case.Īmerican Locomotive Company (Alco): Production Totals, Photos, Specifications & MoreĪ History Of The American Locomotive Company, AlcoĪlco's Canadian Arm, The Montreal Locomotive Works Today's newest models offer even great advancement, heavily computerized to monitor almost every aspect of a locomotive while in service.Īs a result, the "old school" ways in which an engineer operated theirs has been taken away through technological improvements in models like the SD70ACe-T4 and ES44AC.Ī diesel-electric's mechanics are rather straightforward although it is commonly mistaken that the diesel engine propels the locomotive. The demonstrator set toured the country, convincing skeptic after skeptic that diesels were not only efficient and reliable but could also outperform the iron horse. This changed after General Motors successfully demonstrated the diesel's viability during testing of its FT freight design in 1939. The industry remained skeptical of the diesel for many years, relegating it to secondary status while steam remained the preferred choice for main line assignments.
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