01-01-2011, 12:44 PM
I think part of the problem for the LAJ is that they are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Santa Fe now owned by BNSF. They are really a poor "step child" with some of worst track anywhere in North America. A friend of mine who is a conductor or engineer depending on where the LAJ needs him told me a few years ago that they had derailments almost every day somewhere on the line that resulted in delays and extra work for crews on a daily basis with attendant overtime pay. Management response to the problem has been to tell train crews to "be more careful!"
I think there are two reasons why the old timers loved the Alcos so much. I think the Alcos were a lot like the Ge "u-boats" in that they have a lot of low end "punch" for kicking cars. The local Santa Fe switching crews on many of the local branches were really sad to see the Santa Fe get rid of the U23B units because they loved the combination of a U23B with a chopped nose Gp7 or 9. The u-boat had the low end punch to get a train moving, and the EMD had better high end power to keep the train moving once it started. On the LAJ, they don't need the high end because the track is so bad that the speed limit system wide is 10 mph. That brings up the second reason why they liked the Alcos. I think the short wheelbase yard switcher type unit is more forgiving of rough track than the longer detuned road switchers. I think an EMD sw might work as well as the Alcos, but I think the Alco S-4s were the last Sw type locomotives on the Santa Fe other than the "Beep" that was used at the Argentine yard for hostling dead engines around the shop. By the way the "Beep" got that name because they started with a Baldwin switcher, and put an EMD prime mover in it with a Gp7 or 9 long hood!
I think there are two reasons why the old timers loved the Alcos so much. I think the Alcos were a lot like the Ge "u-boats" in that they have a lot of low end "punch" for kicking cars. The local Santa Fe switching crews on many of the local branches were really sad to see the Santa Fe get rid of the U23B units because they loved the combination of a U23B with a chopped nose Gp7 or 9. The u-boat had the low end punch to get a train moving, and the EMD had better high end power to keep the train moving once it started. On the LAJ, they don't need the high end because the track is so bad that the speed limit system wide is 10 mph. That brings up the second reason why they liked the Alcos. I think the short wheelbase yard switcher type unit is more forgiving of rough track than the longer detuned road switchers. I think an EMD sw might work as well as the Alcos, but I think the Alco S-4s were the last Sw type locomotives on the Santa Fe other than the "Beep" that was used at the Argentine yard for hostling dead engines around the shop. By the way the "Beep" got that name because they started with a Baldwin switcher, and put an EMD prime mover in it with a Gp7 or 9 long hood!