Charlie,
I am sure that you are correct and the discussion in the RR offices, probably followed a similar line of thought. Since they only ordered 3 B units the Q's E5s, it would seem that they weren't too enamored with passenger B units even in the very early 1940s. The Denver Zephyr train was significantly lighter than the CZ consist and the DZ required 3000 hp. They probably thought that a 4000 hp consist wasn't sufficient. Later, when E8s and E9s became available, the two unit hp increased to 4500 for the E8s and 4800 for the E9s, thus matching or exceeding the hp of the three F3s. The Q received their E8s between 1950 and 1953, so from a hp standpoint, they had an alternative to the F3 consists a year after the CZ was introduced. It would be interesting to see Q paper work that was associated with decisions about powering the train, both initially and later as the F3s were replaced. For instance, did they make test runs to see if the Es could manage the train and the schedule?
Bill Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:36 am (PDT) . Posted by:Bill-
I am sure that may have been a consideration, but they could have easily
ordered E7B units as I don't think at that stage they had the pooling and
flexibility of using only A units in mind, at least to the degree they had
after 1950. The esthetics of elephant E's would probably have overruled it
on the new train even if nose MU was installed.
I think the initial calculations indicated that two Es would be a strain.
HP balancing was a consideration as they seemed to try to match what was
needed closely. Once they had E8s and E9s available in numbers they were
not as frugal with the power.
Charlie
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Posted by: William Barber <clipperw@gmail.com>
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