Oops I forgot to update this blog didn't I. Well, here's a little post about one of the newest members of the EMD family featuring the vastly successful 710 family of engines. Oh and by the way, if you don't know this already, traditionally EMD has named its engines by cylinder displacement (this doesn't apply to the metric H-engine), therefore 710 engines have 710 cubic inch displacement cylinders (yup, it's big enough for my head to fit into).
A repowered GP9 demonstrator with her 8 cyl. 710 engine drawn on the side
So far, Canadian Pacific is the only user of this little EMD (well, really Caterpillar now, but what the hell). The GP20C-Eco isn't built as an entirely new locomotive in the traditional sense. They are what's called re-manufactured locos. The buyer sends older generation GP locomotives to Caterpillar, depending on the specific model, certain parts are retained, and the rest are built from scratch. In CP's case, the GP20s used GP9 "cores", the trucks were rebuilt and reused, the rest completely new. With the 8 cylinder 2 150 horsepower 710 engine, this new GP20 also came with electronic brake valves, microprocessor control systems, and a new, larger, and more comfortable cab.
The finished product looks quite different from the demonstrator indeed
So, GP20C-Eco, quite a complicated name. To be honest, I still haven't quite figured out what the C stands for, but the rest is pretty obvious. GP for general purpose, i.e., 4 axle unit, 20 for 2 000 tractive horsepower, Eco for lower emissions, EPA Tier 0 in this case.
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M-NL said…
Interesting concept. However in Europe rebuilding like this would not be possible for the majority of models, because a major rebuild is considered the same as a new build. Therefore the rebuild has to meet the same requirements a new loco has to. A lot of those requirements can either not be retrofitted at all or at a price point that makes a new build more justified.
Last week, we've identified the Janney coupler and briefly looked at its elegant design. This week, let's, again, very briefly, look at the different types of Janney coupler that are widely used today. I will only talk about the head of the coupler, and ignore anything that the general public may need to trespass onto railroad property and get in a unsafe situation in order to have a good look at.
As far as coupler heads are concerned, there are 3 types in used today. Type E, F, and H. Types E and F are used on freight, and H used on passenger equipment. Since the withdrawal of passenger service in North America by private railroads, the Type H standard is no longer maintained by the Association of American Railroads, a trade group formed of major freight railroads, but is under the control of the APTA, the American Public Transportation Association.
Now let me introduce another term, slack. Slack is an allowed gap between two coupled up couplers. In other words, when most AAR…
Let's having some Italian again and Ferrovie dello Stato means State Railways I believe. The ETR 200 (Elettro Treno Rapido, or Rapid Electric Train) is one of the pioneers in world high-speed train development. She was 3 car articulated electric multiple unit designed in the 1930s by Breda for Italy’s newly electrified Milan-Naples main line. The first ETR 200 was introduced in service in 1937 on the Bologna-Rome-Naples line and had a top speed of 100 mph and was featured in the Universal Exposition in New York. In 1939, one of the ETR 200 sets set a speed record of 126 mph.
This week I'm trying to write, again, about something I'm not entirely familiar with, a steam locomotive (How Steam Engines Work). The nostalgia and romance the steam train brings is unrivaled, however, I cannot say, as someone born in the late 1980s, that the steam locomotive is something I have much emotional connection to. Nevertheless, they are charming machines, each with their own personality and character. Evolution of the steam locomotive is no doubt a powerful testament of Victorian ingenuity and has brought revolutionary changes to the landscape of transport around the world.
The star featured today then is a locomotive from Japan, the Japanese National Railways Class C62. The C62 is the biggest and fastest passenger steam locomotive Japan has ever built for its Cape gage railroad network (we shall revise that Cape gage is 3 ft. 6 in., considerably narrower than the standard gage of 4 ft. 8.5 in.). These locomotives were built in 1948 and 49 for hauling express train…
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