Listers
The group of SD-9's #440-459 was built in Augsut/September 1957 with only a
single set of controls (on the right side of the cab). Anyone know why?
Some immediate thoughts were centred on economy and experimentation, but I
would have thought that the reduction in cost would have been insignificant in
the overall cost of the units, so economy doesn't seem a likely reason. I don't
think this could be an experiment or it would have been tried out by using only
one set of controls on a unit from the previous series, and buying 20
"experimental" units seems unlikely.
The "next" group of SD-9's - #330-339 with two sets of controls and just 270 lb
heavier - was built in October 1957 compared to the August/September dates for
the 440-459 series. However, the builder's numbers for the two groups show the
opposite to be the case.
Operationally, being uni-directional would appear to be a disadvantage unless
they were MU'ed back to back.
Any suggestions? And were any converted later to two sets of controls?
Rupert
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
|