|
Southern Pacific Motive Power Annual 1972 SP by Strapac 64 pages
Southern Pacific Motive Power Annual 1972 SP by Joseph Strapac
64 pages
Soft COver stapled
Streamliners, Covered Wagons, Black Widows: these were the code words describing an era in Southern Pacific locomotive history - an era now almost gone. For more than three decades between 1937 and 1972, the Southern Pacific and its associated companies operated a fleet of nearly eight hundred Electro-Motive cab and booster units in freight and passenger service. Among them was the first diesel to operate on the Espee. These locomotives did the most to dieselize the system, and in the process accumulated more miles, rebuildings, renumberings, and reassignments than the rest of the fleet in total. Only a handful are left as this is written, and those which are still running are soon to be repainted and reassigned by owner Amtrak.
At one time or another, practically every mile of Southern Pacific trackage was trod by the F's. The Covered Wagons were conceived prior to today's thirty-five tons-per-axle loadings, and weren't particularly demanding of bridges. Almost every branch saw their use; lines in Oregon, the Northwestern Pacific, and the Pacific Electric were the most apparent exceptions to this rule. But from Portland to San Diego, from Los Angeles to New Orleans and up to St. Louis, those seven hundred seventy-plus F's were the backbone of Espee and Cotton Belt freight service for more than fifteen years.
The Southern Pacific System, including the Cotton Belt, was by far the largest owner of the F7 model, of which 3,849 were built between November, 1948, and December, 1953. SP, T&NO, and SSW together owned 573 units, an impressive fifteen percent of Electro-Motive's total production. Even though a relatively late arrival at the F-unit party, Espee still ranked third (behind Union Pacific and Southern) in ownership of the earlier F3 units, as well. Only twenty of the nearly 1,100 FT units built rode Cotton Belt rails, however. The peak buying years were from 1949 to 1952, when most of the F7's were delivered in batches of up to 112 per order.
If you were running a railroad in 1940 and foresaw the need for a rapid expansion of your freight locomotive fleet, your options would be limited. All through World War II there was a production crunch at Electro-Motive, while the steam builders had no such problem. For instance, Alco built all twenty of Union Pacific's first "Big Boy" order during the month of August, 1941. Espee was able to take delivery of Cab-aheads from Baldwin at the rate of one every third working day. Lima had the smallest, but most modern, facilities and enjoyed a similar production rate.
Over at La Grange, Electro-Motive could not hope to match this pace. The diesel freight locomotive, although evolutionary in general features, was completely new in detail from the ground up. The prime mover, for instance, was the first attempt by Electro-Motive to build the 567 engine in a sixteen-cylinder configuration. In November, 1939, the FT prototype was rolled out - and spent the most of 1940 in tests and demonstrations. As far as the Western railroads were concerned, the FT did not exist until the Spring of 1940 - and deliveries did not begin for almost another year. In 1941, only four Western carriers were able to obtain 41 FT units: Santa Fe (20), Great Northern (9), Western Pacific (8), and the Milwaukee, with four. The year 1942 saw the Rio Grande join the parade, but it wasn't until 1944 that the Northern Pacific and the Cotton Belt received any.
Other negative incentives kept Southern Pacific away from the FT. There were well-founded opinions in the Motive Power Department that saw the FT as only a small performance improvement over the fleet of near-new AC's; that Santa Fe had been caught with a depleted roster of high-capacity freight locomotives; and that the FT had too many engineering problems which couldn't be resolved until the design could be "unfrozen" after the War. The money counters were quick to point out that many new facilities had been built for the AC's - and that the cab-aheads themselves ought to be able to earn their keep until at least 1960. Diesel fuel was expensive, and retraining shop crews more so.
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.
|
