|
Trains Magazine 1959 September No more steam No more mountains to climb
Trains Magazine 1959 September
September 1959Volume 19 Number 11
NEWS - -5
NEWS PHOTOS - -8
WHERE THE WEST BEGAN - 16
TRAINS GOES OVERSEAS - 4 18
MIXED FROM MAGDALENA - 23
THE MORNING AFTER STEAM 27
BORN, BURIED IN 6 MONTHS 34
PHOTO SECTION- - - 40
Railway post office 52
Second section 56
Stop, look & listen 56
Running extra 57
Interchange58
COVER: Norfolk & Western Y6 2-8-8-2 leads coal east over Blue Ridge. John M. Robinson Jr.
"DIESELIZATION" IS TOO GLIB
AS the advertisement on page 3 indicates, TRAINS staff has been occupied with the preparation of a book -a de luxe pictorial devoted to modern steam locomotives. Not the weary old Mikes which were so often unfairly compared with new diesels during the postwar locomotive revolution, but the super engines . . . the big-boilered, roller-bearing, high-pressure jobs. The GS-4's and Y6's and Ji's. These locomotives were an extraordinary technical achievement. A single power unit could produce and harness enough steam to exert 5000 to 6000 horsepower at the drawbar, sufficient force to hold the average American rail freight charge to a penny a ton-mile for many years.
And yet we were surprised and often stunned in our research to discover how far and fast U. S. railroading has traveled since steam - since modern steam. It's a story we tend to gloss over and which most Americans never heard of. For example, we were once amazed at those Northern Pacific 4-8-4's which ran the 1008 miles between St. Paul and Missoula, Mont., without change - a record for coal-burning power. Today NP's diesels roll clear to Seattle, 1892 miles, without change, then take a Portland turn before hurrying back home. And we don't blink an eye. Nor do we express surprise at the fact that two engine crews, road and helper, can now tote with diesels exactly double the tonnage up the west slope of the Sierra Nevada on Southern Pacific that they could with the powerful AC-class 4-8-8-2. Or consider the hood unit, so ubiquitous as to be commonplace in 1959. Yet it is the dream engine, the universal engine - the locomotive that can switch or work the peddler or handle six or seven coaches at 60 per . . . or just merge into the middle of a multiple-unit locomotive producing 7000, 8000 or 9000 drawbar horsepower.
The breed itself is improving as we watch. Ten years ago the most powerful single-unit diesel on rails was a 911-foot, 2971/2-ton cab unit optimistically rated at 3000 h.p. whose sales popularity was limited to purchases by two U. S. roads. Today a hood unit which weighs less than 200 tons and measures between 60 and 67 feet produces 2400 h.p., and it can and is bought by roads ranging in size from Jersey Central to Santa Fe.
Moreover, the 27,585 diesel units at work January 1, 1959, were handling as many passenger-miles as and more ton-miles than the average of 42,316 steam locomotives owned during the 1936-1940 period. In such statistics is the cause for the railroads' survival in spite of inflation, competitive inroads, and rising taxes.
We sum all this up too glibly as "die-selization" . . . and a public which never heard of steam trucks or planes simply nods and wonders why we even mention it. We suspect the miracle is overlooked because we haven't delineated the diesel in terms of what it means superimposed upon the flanged wheel riding the steel rail. It means that trains grossing the weight of a Liberty ship can maintain 40 to 50 mph with a five-man crew, that the locomotives capable of such a feat can pile up 70,000 miles a year or more in such service, and that in terms of effective utilization of fuel the railroads have pulled ahead of most industry. Finally, the diesel has had total application in railroading. Unlike Big Boy or Missabe's 2-8-8-4's, the diesel can and does do as much for a Central of Georgia as it does for a Union Pacific.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
US Shipments: Ebay will add $1.25 each additional items, there are a few exceptions.
Ebay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and forwarded to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs / import fees. Refunds may be issued if you add multiple items to your cart and pay with one payment. For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping varies by weight.
Payment options
Payment must be received within 7 days. Paypal is accepted.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us first. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.
Thanks for looking at our items.
| 
