Readers of this blog may remember my mentioning the electric 3kV DC locomotives that an Italian Consortium, GAI, delivered to Chilean State Railways. Marelli delivered class 17 Bo’Bo’ steeple cab for shunting/switching, a main line class 30 Bo’Bo’ for passenger traffic and a main line class 32 Co’Co’ for freight traffic. The issue was that these clearly were US locomotives: that stairway to the roof -high-voltage heaven- next to the left-hand cab entry door was in that respect unmistakeable. Another recognition point was the bogie/truck under these machines: These were typical US drop-equalizer traction trucks of a 1950’s/60’s GE design, which tallied with the fact that Baldwin and Westinghouse closed shop in 1953/54. The Chilean locos were recognisably based on the New Haven Ep-5 and its predecessor, the Netherlands Railways class 1200. Yet a more definite link than these historical and design features was required to obtain some certainty.
Ferrocarriles Del Estado de Chile class 32 Co’Co’ number E3209.
I stumbled on the electric Co’Co’ machines that General Electric delivered to the Taiwan Railway Administration. I recognised similarity of truck features under the Taiwanese GE machines. Notably the fairly light and curvy build of the drop equalizer bars, the placement of the primary suspension at the far outside ends of them and most of all that they had shock absorbers between the truck frame and equalizer bars. See these same identifying features on the GE-built FF CC Del E, the White Pass, General Belgrano and TRA machines. So far I haven’t found this particular kind of motion damping equipment on similar other manufacturer’s trucks.
Drawing of the above machine, note the placement of the DC traction motors.
White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad 93, a narrow-gauge GE locomotive of 1950’s shovel nose design. Photograph Bryan Flint, English Wikipedia.
GE U12C on the narrow-gauge Argentine Linea Belgrano Sur network. Photograph Eduardo Canga & Maximiliano Alegre.
The 25kV 60Hz AC Taiwan Railway Administration narrow gauge class E200, 300 and 400 electric locomotive below, designed and built by General Electric between the early 1980’s and early 1990’s. The chopper driven DC traction motors are smaller, but the way they are mounted into the shorter and lower truck is precisely the same as those in the Chilean, Alaskan and Argentine machines. In the narrow gauge trucks, however, we see the reduced space to fit them in the longer inboard section where two traction motors sit opposite each other, versus the shorter outboard section where we’ll find only one traction motor. But notice those two primary coil springs, the inboard one mounted further inside the truck than the outboard one, sitting at the far end of each equaliser bars and the shock absorbers in the same place. Similar at both locomotives. The curve with which the equaliser bars rest on the axle boxes is rather similar between the two very different locomotives. I have no problem to state that the Taiwanese locomotives an existing truck design had been used. And that the Chilean locomotives have quite a large gulp of US General Electric DNA in their system, however much they were built in Italy.
TRA 3ft 6ins/1065mm narrow gauge electric Co’Co’ locomotive for 130km/h, series E400.
This begins to solve an issue that kept me busy looking things up in literature and on the internet ever since I noticed the Chilean locomotives. I sincerely hope that at least one of those has been kept from being scrapped. Somehow I would dearly like to see the still existing machines to be brought together in a special exhibition somewhere. Too bad the PRR E2c and E3b and the New Haven Ep-5, the machines that started it all, won’t be there. The earliest preserved US loco is the Virginian El-C/Conrail E33. And that really is the end of it; a definite book manuscript (electronic or print) will be in the making if the pandemic just keeps wagging its tail.
The German Minden Deutz (MD) passenger vehicle bogie.
Another history I would like to describe is the well-known German MD bogie, mentioned already when discussing the Japanese Shin Kansen series 0 high speed trains. The original design started in 1948 to re-equip the depleted West German rolling stock. The objective was weight reduction and replacement of the pre-war Görlitz types, the factory of which ended up in the Russian occupation zone. The ride had to be as good as the pre-war types. The design work involved Westwaggon out of Köln (Cologne) Deutz and the Bundesbahn design office in Minden: hence the Minden Deutz (MD) indication. The first series application started from 1951 onward. The typical distance between the axles in the frame is 2.5 metres. The excessive length of the bogie frame was found a disadvantage for application under high-speed stock with skirts and shortening of the frame was taken in hand. The MD bogie was used in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Romania, the USA and various South American nations, notably on narrow gauge. The US version was derived from the European high-speed version MD58 and identified as MD72 (for high axle loads).
The late 1970’s high-speed version of the original type, fitted with axle-mounted disc brakes, electric track brakes and yaw/nosing/hunting dampers for 200 km/h (125 mph) use.
Narrow-gauge version with disc-brakes.
Spanish broad gauge version with original clasp brake-blocks. Notice that a yaw damper has been removed between bogie frame and bolster.
A Romanian air-sprung version under a Diesel multiple unit. Max speed 120 km/h (75 mph).
The MD light version with disc brakes under a German carriage of the 1960’s. 120 km/h max.
Short-frame MD replacement for original type. Maximum speed 140 km/h (88 mph)
The initial short-frame high-speed development, retaining the steel secondary suspension. This set-up was used for a number of further high-speed developments. Resilient wheel-tyre failure under this type was the cause of the catastrophic Eschede crash on the 3rd of June 1998, with 101 fatalities
The US Amtrak Superliner version, visibly based on the previous German version but with a rather simplified secondary suspension. Amtrak replaced many with US types of bogie due to the high maintenance demand of this import.
Later light-weight high-speed type with steel secondary suspension under IC2 EMU, maximum permitted speed 300 km/h (188 mph). The double axlebox location springs are the only clue.
An updated version for medium speeds. No electro-magnetic track brake, rubber primary suspension, air secondary suspension and combined yaw damper and anti-roll bar.
The final high-speed version with four disc-brakes per axle and electro-magnetic track brake, steel primary and air secondary suspension with shock absorbing and suspension stiffness equipment. Notice the four traction rods on top of the bogie frame to hold the bolster on the air bellows in place. The track fasteners (Alkmaar type) are classical Dutch; where was this picture taken?