Locomotive classification

I recently took train 2 from Vancouver (leaving 3.i.2010) to Edmonton, and looked at the power during the Jasper station stop. VIA seems to have followed the CN system in assigning class designations to its locomotives: of the two F-40 locomotives on the train, the 6407 was lettered GPA30a (beneath the unit number on the cab side) and the 6442, form a later order, was GPA30c.

I haven't had the opportunity to look at other classes of VIA power. Are the General Electric P-42 units classed EPA42? And, back when the LRC locomotives were still in use, were they MPA-something? (Maybe MPA37, but I'm not sure how the power rating for their engines compares to that used in assigning locomotive classes.)

Allen Hazen wrote: I haven't had the opportunity to look at other classes of VIA power. Are the General Electric P-42 units classed EPA42? And, back when the LRC locomotives were still in use, were they MPA-something? (Maybe MPA37, but I'm not sure how the power rating for their engines compares to that used in assigning locomotive classes.)

Yes, the P42 units are classed EPA-42a, and since there was only one order, they are all in the "a" series.

The LRC's I really don't know...I've been looking at a bunch of reference photos (including some inside the cab), and haven't been able to spot a classification anywhere on the locomotives.

Timberley--
Thanks for confirmation on P-42 class. As to the LRC... "MPA" would be the appropriate prefix. When they were introduced an engine horsepower was quoted-- significantly over 3600-- but I've never known whether that rating was the "input to generator" rating standard for locomotives in North America or not. ... I suppose it is possible that, as "power cars," they were never assigned a locomotive class (compare British Rail's wavering as to whether HST power cars were to be called Class 43 locomotives or given numbers suggesting they were D.M.U. cars), though, of course, they were sometimes used as locomot6ives hauling non-LRC cars.

VIA indeed uses (inherited) the same locomotive classification as CN. They rated the LRC-3 and LRC-2 locomotives at 3700 horsepower total with 2700 hp for traction and 1000 hp allocated for HEP. These were given a MPA-27x classification. I don't have any information on the ex-Amtrak LRC-1 models.

This link might be of interest in determining locomotive classifications:

http://cnlines.ca/CNcyclopedia/loco/clas_diesel.php

NS VIA FAN wrote:This link might be of interest in determining locomotive classifications:
http://cnlines.ca/CNcyclopedia/loco/clas_diesel.php

Thanks for the link I use to guess at what the codes were and was not sure if VIA used the ones CN does I see now they do.

First place to look for diesel locomotive photos on the WWWeb is George Elwood's marvelous "Fallen Flags" site, so...

There are a few pictures of VIA LRC locomotives there, some early (first year or two after delivery), some late (1990s): it seems that they never had a class designation lettered on the cab sides. (Since the LRC locomotive is low-slung, it may have been felt there wasn't room to put further letters below the unit number.) ... Apparently VIA's first and second orders were called LRC-2 and LRC-3 by somebody: maybe Bombardier, since I'm guessing the unsold prototype was (at least retrospectively) the LRC-1.

Given the small size of the total VIA locomotive fleet, it wouldn't have been surprising if they had decided that they didn't NEED class designations, but if they have assigned EPA-42 to the new GE units they obviously haven't officially given up the practice. So somewhere, on some piece of paper, there was probably a reference to the LRC locomotive as MPA-something. But it doesn't seem to have been publicized!

What is even more interesting is that even to the newest power Via has ordered(the P42's), They still include "A" in the CN derived class designations. There hasn't been a B unit on the Via roster since 1990, and I doubt there ever will be again, so this ongoing little throwback to the cab unit era is interesting.