GE PowerHaul Locomotives

[Allen Hazen]

Thanks again! The TE-1 in the photo looks as if it is lovingly cared for: somewhere in Russia there is a railroad museum that puts most of ours to shame!

As for how they got a modified 539 up to 1200 hp... The entry in "Jane's World Railways" doesn't give any details (other than that the uprated engine has a speed of 750rpm instead of 740).

(I wasn't thinking of Alco's hypothetical 1200hp engine as an alternative to the 8-251 in the 1960s: more something that could have been built in 1950 to produce a switcher competing with EMD's SW-7/SW-9 and BLH's S-12: I think Kirkland's Alco book says that some thought was given to uprating the 539, but that resources for development were limited and it was felt that perfecting the 244 was higher priority.)

[Allen Hazen]

Three comments on the PH37ACmi design:
(i) Fuel tank profile reminds me of the Genesis passenger locomotive. Perhaps GE has decided to follow that design's use of a tank built integrally with the frame as a weight-saving dodge?
(ii) Radiator fan housings look as if the fans are above the radiators, EMD-style, rather than below as on most GE mainline locomotives from the 1950s-2000s.
(iii) I ***like*** the cab roof profile! Obviously the British loading gauge had more influence than pure aesthetics, but it reminds me of the roof lines of the old U- and DASH-7 series. Which, as an aging GE locomotive aficionado, I find sympatico.

[GEVO]

There is also some info on the GE website.

GE Transportation News

[ekb]

how is GE doing on getting this locomotive built and tested? I know it will be using a newly designed jenbacher engine, and I wonder if anybody has seen pictures of it...

[Allen Hazen]

ekb--
Pictures of the engine and of a model of the locomotive should be at one or another site linked by earlier posts.
As for how GE is doing... They apparently want the design to serve as a basis for a locomotive for European as well as British markets; there was a press release a few weeks back saying thay had agreed with a Turkish company to set up production in Turkey.

[ekb]

I saw a news item indicating that they would be partner with Tolumas in Turkey for the manufacture of this loco. They are supposed to start delivering these locos to Freightliner in the UK by the fourth quarter of this year, and so I wonder how they will be able to meet this schedule if there's no indication that they'r testing this model right now...don't forget it has a newly designed jenbacher engine in it...

[GEVO]

There are pictures of the engine HERE near the bottom and on the top of the next page.

[talltim]

There's a first pic 'in the flesh' on this page http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=175

[GEVO]

Wow, looks like something right out of the "Thomas the Tank" show.

Freightliner has a Powerhaul Twitter page with the status of the locomotive.

[GEVO]

Here's a short video.

[v8interceptor]

Wow, looks like something right out of the "Thomas the Tank" show.

Freightliner has a Powerhaul Twitter page with the status of the locomotive.

Which makes sense given that the Thomas equipment was modeled after UK protottypes and this locomotive is built to UK specs..

[GEVO]

Another Video of the Loco in testing.

[Allen Hazen]

Note (it's clearer in one of the other U-tube selections U are offered at the end of the shot) the temporary siderails: British practice apparently doesn't involve anyone going out on the walkway beside the hood except in shops.

[GEVO]

The first 2 Powerhaul Locomotives were shipped from Erie last week. There are some videos and pictures through the Twitter link above. Certainly looks a lot different in Yellow and Geen paint scheme.

[MEC407]

Citing its success with Freightliner in the U.K., GE is now looking to entice other railroads in other countries to give GE's PowerHaul locomotives a try:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-tra ... _news_stmp