On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 12:08:19 -0600, Charlie Vlk wrote
> Based on the recent and excellent Exposition Flyer Bulletin, the passenger
> F3s were not bought to match the D&RGW and WP purchases. First of
> all, the D&RGW did not buy F units for the train, they purchased
> PA/PB/PA sets. The speculation is that the Q felt that two E units
> would not be enough to power the train and three would be
> overkill.... the most likely reason for the unusual (for the Q) choice.
> Charlie Vlk
>
There may be more to it than that . . . when passenger traffic still
mattered, railroads paid attention to what the other lines were doing . . .
the AT&SF, western pioneer of A-1-A diesels, gave them up & equipped all
Chiefs with F units after acquisition of the PAs . . . Closer to home, the GN
bought a couple of E units for the dieselized Empire Builder and then
switched to Fs . . . and I don't think the NP *ever* bought an E.
The surprising part is not that the Q bought Fs for the CZ, but that it
didn't abandon Es . . .
That (I speculate) is because the Q did *not* have major grades (remember -
the steepest mainline grade on the Q was the 5 miles of 1.0% from the
Burlington depot to the West Burlington shops) . . . and the A1A trucks of
an E unit didn't "buck" as much as a B-B on level track (and who would have
learned that earlier than the CB&Q????)
Marshall Thayer
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