We are familiar with the idea of building new steam locomotives to historical designs of which none were preserved: at least one British project has come to fruition ("Tornado," the 51st of a class of 50 express Pacific locomotives, is in service as a rail tour engine), and the American project of building a new PRR T1 has progressed at least to the stage of making some parts, including driving wheel centres.
How about diesels? The Wikipedia article on the British Rail Class 24 (ten were built, all were scrapped) says that there is a project afoot to recreate one. (Take the carbody of a Class 37 -- a more numerous class of BR locomotive from the same builder as the Class 24 -- and heavily modify it to make a Class 24: this involves cutting it into three parts and reassembling to create the shorter Class 24 body. Install the one Class 24 engine that was saved: a unique type, never used in other locomotives. Mount on trucks from a Class 20, another more common locomotive type from the builder of the 24 and 37.)
Surely, whatever the Limeys can do, American rail fans can do bigger and better! (Snark.) A number of older (first generation) diesel locomotive types have been scrapped to the last exemplar. Which would you like to see recreated?
--One of the 60-ton switchers GE built for the Bush Terminal Railroad? (I know of no original components, and the Ingersoll-Rand diesel engine may be hard to find, but its a fairly small unit of hood configuration, so might not be as hard to duplicate as some designs…)
--Alco Dl-109. (There are enough S-2 and S-4 switchers remaining that it should be possible to find engine "donors.")
--GE-Fairbanks-Morse "Erie Built"? (There is a genuine pair of Erie built trucks remaining: perhaps when Doyle McCormack's Alco PA is under repair some year he'd lend us the trucks.)
--Alco "Black Maria"? (Maybe we could cheat and use a 12-251 engine-- the original 241 engine probably had a distinctive sound, but I doubt anyone remembers it.)
--EMD SDP40F? (Or is one of the ones the Santa Fe got to use in freight service still in existence… in which case the task of the "recreators" is just to modify the front end back to the original Amtrak configuration.)
--GE U30CG?
--Baldwin fans can add to the list!
How about diesels? The Wikipedia article on the British Rail Class 24 (ten were built, all were scrapped) says that there is a project afoot to recreate one. (Take the carbody of a Class 37 -- a more numerous class of BR locomotive from the same builder as the Class 24 -- and heavily modify it to make a Class 24: this involves cutting it into three parts and reassembling to create the shorter Class 24 body. Install the one Class 24 engine that was saved: a unique type, never used in other locomotives. Mount on trucks from a Class 20, another more common locomotive type from the builder of the 24 and 37.)
Surely, whatever the Limeys can do, American rail fans can do bigger and better! (Snark.) A number of older (first generation) diesel locomotive types have been scrapped to the last exemplar. Which would you like to see recreated?
--One of the 60-ton switchers GE built for the Bush Terminal Railroad? (I know of no original components, and the Ingersoll-Rand diesel engine may be hard to find, but its a fairly small unit of hood configuration, so might not be as hard to duplicate as some designs…)
--Alco Dl-109. (There are enough S-2 and S-4 switchers remaining that it should be possible to find engine "donors.")
--GE-Fairbanks-Morse "Erie Built"? (There is a genuine pair of Erie built trucks remaining: perhaps when Doyle McCormack's Alco PA is under repair some year he'd lend us the trucks.)
--Alco "Black Maria"? (Maybe we could cheat and use a 12-251 engine-- the original 241 engine probably had a distinctive sound, but I doubt anyone remembers it.)
--EMD SDP40F? (Or is one of the ones the Santa Fe got to use in freight service still in existence… in which case the task of the "recreators" is just to modify the front end back to the original Amtrak configuration.)
--GE U30CG?
--Baldwin fans can add to the list!
