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Diesels of the Reading Company Volume 1 by Paul K Withers
Diesels of the Reading Company Volume 1 by Paul K Withers
Hard Cover
320 pages
Copyright 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements II
Before The Invasion. V
Wartime and Post-War Modernization . XXII
Economies That Can't Be Ignored ..1
Reading Diesel-Electric Roster Summary 1926-1956.. 14
Reading Diesel-Electric Fleet Strength 1926-1956.. 15
System Map. 16
Early Model Switchers
ALCo-GE-IR Boxcab (0E-1).. 17
ALCo-GE-IR Boxcab (0E-2).. 19
EMC SW (0E-3)21 ALCO HH900 (0E-4)26
EMD SW1 (0E-5)..29
Fairbanks-Morse Centercab (0E-6).. 38
Baldwin Pre-VO (0E-7) .40
Baldwin VO-660 (0E-7) .42
ALCO S-1 (OE-8) .. 47
EMD NW2 (0E-9)51
Baldwin VO-1000 (0E-10) 60
Baldwin DS4-4-1000 (0E-10). . 74
ALCO S-2 (0E-11). 83
Baldwin DS4-4-1000 (0E-12) .. . . 87
EMD SW900M (0E-13) 105
Cab Units
EMD FT (DF-1) 109
EMD F3 (DF-2) 125
ALCO FA-1/FB-1 (DF-3) 132
EMD F7 (DF-4) 141
EMD FP7 (DP-1) .159
Early Road Switchers
ALCO RS-3 (RS-1). 173
Baldwin AS-16 (RS-2) 230
EMD GP7 (RS-3) . 260
Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 (RS-4). 296
DUST JACKET INTRODUCTION:
The Reading Co. was so closely associated with Pennsylvania's anthracite coalfields that it is easy to overlook the railroad's early exploration of diesel-electric locomotive technology and economics. By the end of 1939, a year most railroad historians associate with the beginning of mainline dieselization, the carrier already had 15- oil-electrics, as Reading referred to its internal-combustion locomotives, in revenue service.
As World War II drew to a close, 63 diesel switchers were at work, primarily in the Philadelphia area. It was then that Reading management turned its attention to speeding up freight traffic. While steam locomotive rebuilding programs addressed many of the carrier's concerns, the road's newest steam locomotives were restricted from the Catawissa Branch, a major artery for the road's growing bridge traffic. To improve train speeds on this line, as well as to eliminate the use of steam helpers, Reading ordered its first mainline freight diesels, EMD's FT cab unit.
It quickly became apparent that the economies offered by the diesel-electric locomotives could not be ignored and within five years, Reading implemented a program to eliminate all steam power. While cab units were initially the favored design for both freight and passenger service, the roadswitcher design was soon adopted for both mainline and branch-line duties.
Effective utilization of the diesel fleet resulted in the railroad claiming that it was 100 percent dieselized by the end of 1954, even though Reading retained 50 of its newest steam engines as protection power. In early 1956, steam again returned to Reading's rails, but a small order for diesels and a downturn in traffic again sent steam power to the storage tracks by March 1. 1957.
Join us as we take a brief look at the final steam locomotives to polish the Reading's rails, and an in-depth look at the diesel-electric units that pushed them aside.
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