by Allen Hazen
Typewriters---
Certainly I would assume that SD38 with DC/DC transmission would be electrically similar to SD35 (so with transition and field shunting), but once people start disagreeing I feel uneasy about ASSUMING anything about locomotive designs: too many surprises! ... I do recall seeing a list somewhere-- maybe in some incarnation of the old "Diesel Spotter's Guide"-- that more SD38 were built with DC than with AC/DC transmission but that almost all -- maybe only one exception -- SD39 had AC/DC. My impression is that it is now generally felt that AC/DC is hands down the better technology... was it an extra cost option on early 38 and 39, or were some customers just very cautious about anything new?
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As for my thought that the Santa Fe might have had SD45 set up for permanent parallel operation at a time when other customers got them with transition: I checked what I thought might have been my source and didn't find any mention of it. So maybe I imagined that one.
Certainly I would assume that SD38 with DC/DC transmission would be electrically similar to SD35 (so with transition and field shunting), but once people start disagreeing I feel uneasy about ASSUMING anything about locomotive designs: too many surprises! ... I do recall seeing a list somewhere-- maybe in some incarnation of the old "Diesel Spotter's Guide"-- that more SD38 were built with DC than with AC/DC transmission but that almost all -- maybe only one exception -- SD39 had AC/DC. My impression is that it is now generally felt that AC/DC is hands down the better technology... was it an extra cost option on early 38 and 39, or were some customers just very cautious about anything new?
--
As for my thought that the Santa Fe might have had SD45 set up for permanent parallel operation at a time when other customers got them with transition: I checked what I thought might have been my source and didn't find any mention of it. So maybe I imagined that one.