| Posted by Kibu on January 23, 2015 | |
I remember reading somewhere that while the turbines were relatively efficient when it came to pulling heavy loads over long distances, when in yard type situations, or at very slow speeds, the engines themselves proved to be less efficient than UP would like. To deal with this, it was common place for each turbine to have a locomotive mated with it (usually just for one run) which was used to move the turbine around while in the yard, or in the engine service facilities.
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This was a very serious locomotive. Imagine being in the cab at full throttle and the sounds contained therein. Take a good, hard look at it. Look at the size of the fuel tender. Indeed a strong portrait.
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Why is there a tank car between the two locomotives?
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Ry, that is the tender for the turbine.
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At idle, the UP gas turbines burnt almost as much fuel as when at full throttle, hence UP preferred to keep them on the road hauling freight as often as possible
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The turbines were real fuel-guzzlers, though it was cheap fuel -- molasses-thick Bunker-C. They ran at full-blast, or they were shut down (A small auxilliary diesel provided power for movement around the engine terminal). As long as the railroad got a lot of mileage out of them, they were fine engines. But the fuel was not kind to turbine blades, and they spent a lot of down-time. Still, for those of us at track-side, it was fun while it lasted.
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