Why Amtrak's Early Locomotives Sucked

Comments · 379

• TE

  @tedneb3459 · 10 months ago (edited) · pinned

  Puts into perspective how brilliant the designs of the E and F units were, especially considering they were decades older. And interesting that the E units succeeded with a 6-axle design, albeit with unpowered center axles.

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• SI

  @SignalMan9292 · 10 months ago

  The SDP40F sound like a model train problem every model railroader has

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• T1

  @t1m3f0x · 10 months ago

  It wasn't that no North American manufacturer offered a passenger version of an electric locomotive, it was that that the E60 was the ONLY electric locomotive offered by a North American manufacturer.

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• ZA

  @ZachCalgher · 10 months ago

  Amtrak SDP40F 644/BNSF SDF40-2 6976 is now living at Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois.

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• PI

  @Pillowbiter84 · 10 months ago

  The SDP-40F major flaw was the water tanks where mounted up inside the carbody near the back of the locomotive...causing the locomotive to sway in curves and no baffles didn't help. Most derailments happened when the rear trailing locomotive truck would pop off at high speeds. Had EMD put the water tank down below like the E-units.....things could have been successful

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• ST

  @sterlingjk9k9 · 10 months ago

  The AEM-7 was the greyhound of the northeast corridor electrified rail service under Amtrak, these engines would glide at 125 MPH and had exceptional service records while in service. As you said, the P30CH was based on a GE U-30 C freight locomotive, having myself worked in locomotive maintenance, all GE Utility series (called them U-Boats) were well known for being noisy and loud.  6 axle locomotives, (called them 6 packs) were known as gage splitters, were banned for usage in the northeast due to the wide turns they take on curves of the northeastern rail area, 6 wheel designations worked better on long, flat, straight trackage that is found on the freight railroads out west.

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• AD

  @adventuresofamtrakcascades301 · 10 months ago

  if there’s one thing many passenger railroads have learned, it’s that 6 axle locomotives are no good

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• MA

  @markrhuett · 9 months ago

  I remember taking the Sunset Limited from Pamona to Tucson on a regular bases and they used the P30CH's at the time, and those  seemed to break down at least once every trip.

  6

• ER

  @ericcriteser4001 · 4 months ago

  I remember taking the train out west and back in 1990 and Pooches were still being used on postcards of the Sunset Limited. Never saw one in the wild though.

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• GR

  @graphtonix6607 · 10 months ago

  I really wish we still had the GE P30CH locomotives.

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• MR

  @Mr.Quacks · 9 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C_zyxLUI6M&amp;t=306">5:06</a> hopium

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• 84

  @844SteamFan · 10 months ago

  Fun(?) Fact, the first SDP40F wreck happened in Ralston, NE. I’m not exactly sure where specifically it happened, but I wasn’t expecting it to be somewhere so close to me, and maybe somewhere I’ve been.

  3