Pat: Thanks for the info. I was under the impression that Reisdorf had the blocks completely rebuilt before they were installed in No.112. As for sending it up to the mill, I knew that it would have gone up there only if there was something up with the guts of the primemovers, the A&A could have handle pretty much anything else.
TJ: ANY engine smaller than a GP is at a premium price right now. Unless you count the GenSets, NO ONE is making switch engines. The gensets are being built on the frames of scrapped engines. Once those frames are gone, either bigger or newly-built frames will be needed.
BR&P: No, that would not be an option. Without sufficient safety interlocks, there would be nothing to prevent the little (and not so little) monsters in town from screwing with the engine. A few months back a shortline in Ohio had some delinquents break into their shop and take their engine for a 12-mile joy ride.
All: The real answer to the A&A's tractive question is not a 'bigger engine' per-say. Its a mother-slug set. Only a mother-slug fits the A&A's operational characteristics. A bigger engine could move more cars by itself, but would necessitate selling/trading off both operational centercabs. So what happens when only one or two cars is headed for the mill? Why burn the fuel of a huge 16-cylinder diesel in a GP9 when the centercab is sufficient?
The A&A's real quandry isn't horsepower, its tractive effort. And tractive effort is created by two main things: adhesive weight and points of contact. A centercab has a maximum of 22,000 pounds of tractive effort, which is only a few thousand pounds less than No.18 which has only 28,400pounds.
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__ J. D. Gallaway __
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