RE: (erielack) EL E Unit Conversions

["Paul R. Tupaczewski" <paultup_@_comcast.net>]

> Of the three Es in the Columbus Day photo only
> 812 is on the list. (The other two were 822 and
> 830.) So I guess some were just getting beaten up.
> LOL

Yep! After a while, they just took whatever ran.

 
> If I remember right, the late Vernon Smith explained (in 
> "Diesel From D to L," which is available in reprint if anyone 
> is interested) that regearing involved dropping the trucks 
> and replacing the movable teethed gears on the axles. That 
> sounds like a fairly straight forward job. Does anybody know 
> what EL shop might've done the work?

From what Preston Cook told me, it wasn't as straightforward as regearing.
He said there were other changes that needed to be made (what they were
escapes me right now)

I believe that Hornell did the work on these.


 
> The other thing that occurs is, by the 1970s some of the 
> first generation diesels were getting pretty worn out.

Yes, they were (which is why you saw them in groups of 3 or 4 :), but Greg
Maxwell said if CR wasn't coming around that the EL was going to rebuild its
remaining F-units (!!!). Go figure.

 
> Again I believe I read this in DIAMOND -one of the Buffalo 
> switching roads was leasing power from EL.
> Crews were complaining that an EL GP-7 they leased was a real 
> dog. When they load tested the unit it was barely putting out 
> 1000 HP. I think their motive power guy said for that reason 
> he preferred to lease 1000 HP yard type locomotives which 
> seemed to more reliably produce their rated horsepower. 
> Except EL usually didn't want to lease the yard engines. They 
> wanted to lease the older Geeps.

Was this the Buffalo Creek, by any chance? They had a fleet of S-2 and S-4
switchers, and I think their crews were very familiar with the operating
characteristics of the Alcos, moreso than an EMD.

	- Paul


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