1945 Introduction to Diesel Electrics

 

Here is another selection from the Scranton-based International Library correspondence course on diesels. A modern perspective (once explained to me) is that electric locomotives have the luxury of being extremely powerful (per unit of weight) because they don't have the burden of toting around their own generating facilities.

Here is a historical contrast. In the era of this book, published almost 80 years ago, steam locomotives and streetcars were the commonly-seen self-propelled rail vehicles. Consequently, the 'helpful perspective' you'll read below is that diesels are like streetcars. However, they don't require catenary, power stations and wayside electrical switching gear wherever they operate. 

History and more history.

While some of the actual technical operating details are very practical and probably too dry for your on-screen 'pleasure reading time', these books are quite interesting as historical documents. They were written at the dawn of a period of dynamic technological change on US and Canadian railways. Elsewhere, World War Two was ending in Europe and then Asia. People were leaving the armed services to return to civilian life. Automobiles and the new suburban housing developments would allow some urban workers to raise their families away from the industrial coal smoke of the cities. So a lot was changing as these books were published.

Who might order these self-instruction books? 

Often it would be highly-motivated workers. Train crew and shop staff would receive the compulsory railway company and/or manufacturer's training. In some cases, the material in these books might be prescribed, with a company-designed examination to follow. 

Beyond that, people seeking promotion were probably well-advised to demonstrate that they saw 'the big picture' - not just the well-worn career progression steps which others usually followed. This type of book offered a convenient after-work option for self-study - particularly in small railway settlements where there were few opportunities for specialized formal education.

Should I hitch my wagon to a diesel?

In the 1940s, there was probably a lot of skepticism among experienced employees whether diesels would ever do more than tow pretty streamliners. Would they ever be as powerful and reliable as steam freight locomotives? 

Some contemporary accounts describe experienced steam engineers having one over-the-road session with a company trainer (likely with a company supervisor also in the cab) during one of their scheduled passenger runs. After this they were proficient - that's how good diesels were! As clean and simple as driving a bus! Was it really this quick and easy to get employees converted to diesels?

First, anyone on a passenger run would have years, if not decades, of railway operating experience - including excellent knowledge of the physical characteristics of their piece of the railway.

Second, hauling a relatively light passenger train with a brand-new diesel, and a company rep at your elbow who saw to it that the power was babied - was not 'the railroad of the future' ...

Once the power was maintained by the railway's newly-trained shop staff ... the engineer (or fireman) would be expected to solve most problems if a diesel failed during a run. A persistent flashing light, an annoying deafening bell, a problem with brakes, pulling power or steam for train heat would be the responsibility of the engine crew. With new locomotive models, there might also be class-wide problems which would be revealed only after operational experience had been gained. In other words, the first edition operators manual might be of no help to the newly-fledged diesel hogger with a problem out on the road. At night. In a snowstorm. Etc.

Just enjoy today.

Fortunately, all of that stress is still in the future. Below, the reader is being given a nice general overview of some of the developmental history of internal combustion on the rails, the characteristics of the modern diesel-electric and a quick introduction to switch engines. 

Diesel switch engines operating within a yard are nice to start on, because 'there will always be someone around who can help you'. 

You hope.

The diagram below comes from another book in this series.

GM EMD's GPs and SWs - Locomotive Specifications from the Late 1960s

These images and data all come from an undated booklet I received from GM EMD in the late 1960s. You can find other illustrations from this set by selecting the 'Railway Technology' link to the right.

This second generation of diesel-electric technology reflected US and Canadian railways' general preference for higher horsepower 6-axle units in order to pull longer and heavier trains. The following 4-axle road units were generally preferred for secondary lines. 

As always, there were notable exceptions to these generalizations - particularly in later years as new anti-wheelslip technology helped 4-axle units maintain their footing while starting heavier trains.

New switcher locomotives were less in demand during this era. As locomotive consists of 5 or 6 first generation road locomotives were replaced by higher horsepower units, the former began to replace first generation switchers in yard service. 

Some railways altered their old first generation road power for efficient flat yard or hump yard service through regearing ... and/or connecting a regular unit (sometimes known as a 'cow') to a cut-down yard slug (sometimes known as a 'calf''). 

... The slug was generally a first generation road unit with its diesel engine, generator and original hood removed. The slug's traction motors efficiently used the surplus electricity produced in this type of service by the regular unit's generator.

Watching trackside in Montreal during the introduction of second generation freight power, the novelty of larger, more powerful units pulling longer trains was not the first thing which came to mind. Instead, what was notable was the 'snub nose' design of the new units. 

... A decade or so later, working primarily with the new unit design in Schreiber, it was quite a different experience to get the odd GP9 on the Paper Train. The (short) high hood blocked out a very large area of the forward field of vision to which one was accustomed. 

For people interested in understanding 'the human experience' of steam railroading, probably spending some time on CNR first generation roadswitchers - operating long hood forward to maintain the traditional crew collision protection - would have been quite revealing. That arrangement would have simulated very well the experience of looking down the 'barrel' of the boiler in front as one tried to spot signals, switchpoints and obstructions on the track ahead.

A westbound at the old Lachine station in the early 1960s.
This location was near the intersection of today's 32nd Avenue and Rue Victoria.
More or less, the old GTR/CNR main line became Rue Victoria.

By the late 1960s, I was doing my own photography.
Here is an early morning image of a westbound at Grovehill - taken during our Easter school holidays.
Grovehill was a station for commuters, located at the north end of 40th Avenue, Lachine.

*  *  *

SWITCHERS