Thanks for sharing the rare image of this unique locomotive.
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Not the most photogenic locomotive ever built that's for sure. Had not seen this engine before, thanks for showing us.
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Nice catch. Odd to see a one-off locomotive design find its way onto the roster of a major railroad. Looks a bit like a Krauss-Maffei ML 4000 and every bit as "appealing". Thanks for sharing!
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| Posted by mmi16 on April 4, 2017 | |
Suspect that was the locomotive's 'from the factory' paint job.
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I remember reading about this locomotive in the original Diesel Spotters Guide and recall Ingalls Shipbuilding, similar to other companies such as Fairbanks Morse, looked to locomotives to expand into other markets after WWII.
This locomotive was supposedly powered by a 1,650 HP Superior engine which would have made it pretty competitive with other manufacturers at the time. It also had provision for a steam boiler to handle passenger trains. The turret cab would have provided some visibility when operating in reverse and the rear, looking more like an interurban, would have provided a good riding location for ground personnel. https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8750/28004957510_56c72931b5.jpg
There is not much information about Superior Diesels on YouTube but I found the following showing a smaller operating engine from the period with clear covers over the crankcase access holes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBK_EYmW7g4
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That machine was delightfully ugly. I'm sure it frightened children.
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| Posted by FSWood on April 7, 2017 | |
Y'all ought to see one scratchbuilt in February in garden railways scale by a member over at the Large Scale Central forum. Oh my gosh it looks good. Is in topic Early diesels of the 30's and 40's. Its beginnings are interesting, "Used an Aristo-Craft FA, a Bachmann coach's monitor roof, parts from my scrap box, a good amount of putty and a lot of phantasy to receive an ungainly start"
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Conceptually its not all THAT far removed from EMD's BL2, and probably designed for the same purpose.
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| Posted by mmi16 on April 9, 2017 | |
Similar to SCL's 'crew cab' locomotive https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f5/1e/8b/f51e8b9423e54e375df96b526ee10b8c.jpg
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