BNSF ES44/ET44C4

[nicola86]

Hello; Can someone explain to me why BNSF is the only company [aside from FEC, which joined many years later] that ordered and built the ES44/ET44 variant with only 4 of the 6 driven axles, unlike the other companies? And furthermore, they use them on the heavier trains hauling grain, oil, iron ore, and other unit trains? Perhaps part of the explanation could be that they have so many of them that they don't know where to put them, so they're used on the most diverse services just to have them?

 

[c44d9w]

This is an opinion: I think the C4 units are a failed experiment. BNSF thought that they could save a bit of money by eliminating two traction motors (and the associated electrical gear). They though that, when needed, the weight-transfer could compensate for the reduced tractive effort of only 4 driven axles. That might work for starting a train, but on a long grade a C4 is inferior to the units with 6 powered axles.

 

[JCitron]

The BNSF most likely also found that while the units worked well in the flatter Great Plains with rolling hills, they didn't do well when the lines reached the Rockies and Cascades. This is a stark contrast to the FEC which has a relatively fairly flat and straight route from Miami (Homestead) to Jacksonville.