A Question about EMD "E" Units

[AJ_Fox]

The EMD E series units had two diesel engines. Here's the question: Could the engineer operate the two diesel engines separately, or did they operate only together? For example, while in a depot, could one engine be throttled down to idle while the other ran at a higher RPM to generate power for the passenger wagons?

Cheers

AJ

 

[bdaneal]

From the cab, I believe both engines can only work together. When walking through the engine room you can manually throttle one up by playing with the lay-shaft.

Keep in mind, these were built long before HEP, back when each car had an axle-driven generator (or did some get small diesel generators? I know some stuff I work with has those, but I'm not sure how early that came along) with batteries to keep power up during short station stops. Most HEP conversions I can think of just put a separate diesel generator in the space formerly occupied by the steam generator(s) instead of getting power from the locomotive's circuits.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[AJ_Fox]

Thanks Ben

Excellent response.

Cheers

AJ

 

[BN1970]

AJ

Having worked with the 'E' units in my RR career, I can tell you that even tho you can work the layshaft on each diesel engine, the engineer's throttle powers both engines at the same time.

The reason for the 2 engines is that each engine had a separate main generator that powered each truck separately. Back in those days, in order to get enough amperage to run the 3 traction motors on the truck, each truck needed a main generator; and one diesel engine could not handle 2 main generators under load so another diesel engine had to be added. In order for the amperage to be consistent to all traction motors though, the 2 diesel engines had to operate simultaneously with each other, maintaining equal rpm's between the two as the engineer went though the throttle notches.

 

[backyard]

A1A+A1A

The US-American roster of Electro-Motive Division E's were all 2-motor bogeys with a non-powered center axle.

That's what kept the E-units from being assigned to the Santa Fe Super Chief(all Pullman) & Santa Fe Chief(all coach)...too many long grades.

In a hard pull, the center axle allows the pulling axles to spin-out, so they were assigned to less severe terrain areas & F-units were used for the Super's

 

[SUS_pilot]

The US-American roster of Electro-Motive Division E's were all 2-motor bogeys with a non-powered center axle.

That's what kept the E-units from being assigned to the Santa Fe Super Chief(all Pullman) & Santa Fe Chief(all coach)...too many long grades.

In a hard pull, the center axle allows the pulling axles to spin-out, so they were assigned to less severe terrain areas & F-units were used for the Super's

You sure about that? I know that latter-day (prior to the FP45's) versions of the train had F's, but I'm sure I've seen photos of both trains with E3's (and steam helpers on the Mojave Sub, to your point).

 

[UPRails834]

You sure about that? I know that latter-day (prior to the FP45's) versions of the train had F's, but I'm sure I've seen photos of both trains with E3's (and steam helpers on the Mojave Sub, to your point).

Take look at the Wikipedia articles for the Super Chief and the Chief and scroll down to the "Equipment used" section for a timeline of what was used and when.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Chief
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_(train)

Also if you saw photos of Santa Fe passenger trains on the Mojave Sub you weren't looking at the Super Chief or the Chief because you don't go over the Mojave Sub between Chicago and Los Angeles. The Mojave Sub (Tehachapi) would be traversed by trains heading to and from Northern California.

 

[AJ_Fox]

Very nice responses all. Please keep them coming. Here's my favorite from one of the links:

"Menu

The Continental cuisine offered aboard the Super Chief went beyond the typical American fare found on other trains, and often rivaled that served in many five-star restaurants, befitting the train's upscale clientele. A "Wake-Up Cup" of coffee was brought to one's private bedroom each morning, on request, a service exclusive to the Super Chief. Breakfast and lunch were served à la carte, while dinner could be ordered either à la carte or table d'hôte.

The elaborate dinner offerings generally included caviar and other gourmet delicacies, cold salads, grilled and sauteéd fish, sirloin steaks and filet mignon, lamb chops, and the like. For the truly discerning palates, elegant champagne dinners were also an option. Ironically, one of the Super Chief's most popular signature dishes was the AT&SF version of pain perdu, simply and appropriately named Santa Fe French Toast"

Sounds like my kind of train trip.

Cheers

AJ

 

[backyard]

The Santa Fe wouldn't support you if all you had to sell were A1A's...

They tried the EA, E6, E8 as well as the PA...but LA or Chicago you usually see photo's of the F3's & F7's, that they had an overabundance of for this kind of service, with steam generators in the B-units. The FA's used the GE752 traction motors, famous for taking heavy loads up long grades at lower temperatures, only generated 51,000lb-tractive effort.

By the time the E8's came out, the road had decided that old school F's were best in the long hard pull. You could tack-on several Private 6-axle varnish & 14 company cars & with the standard 4-unit A-B-B-A setup, you were covered. Later on it was A-A-B-B to keep an A-unit on front if needed. In fact if you see five of any combination you are looking at a long Super Chief!

To pull a heavy train like that you would need more than three E-units & would still need a helper in a few locations. That's how it was figured as I have learned.

The CF7 Rebuilds used F7's, including the F2, F3 & F5-conversions to F7's.

My favorite part of the History of the Santa Fe is the Harvey Girls...!:hehe: