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  • NJT E44's

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey

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 #137618  by BigDell
 
There was a "What if...." thread recently about what would happen if NJT didn't retired its old equipment.... this caused many of us to wax poetic about the wonderful potential lashups of new and old equipment and how great it would be to photograph, etc...

Seeing a recent picture of contributor E44's actual restored E44, I was wondering what ever happened to the CR units NJT inherited way back when. Were they all scrapped? I see from hobokenterminal.com that they were all sold to Amtrak and renumbered but I don't know anything about them beyond that...

Is the E44 that was "restored" just a cosmetic restoration or is it runnable? Just wondering how many are still out there and what their condition is....
BigDell

 #137705  by E-44
 
I think (but not certain) that its last status was 'stored serviceable' which might indicate something close to or even in running shape. They were pretty rugged (as rectifiers go) - thankfully this one is not an Ignitron unit and is really not that old (1963) and it had the (a) upgrade designation.

Would probably still be hauling today if NJT had found them acceptable or CR hadn't decided to de-electrify their freight-only operations. 5000 hp - nothing to sneer at even today.

I suspect that the current restoration is cosmetic only.

 #137733  by BigDell
 
Thanks E-44... BTW - where is that restored unit? Looks great in the photo.

If Amtrak still has them stored, I wonder where they are?
BigDell
 #137850  by n01jd1
 
BigDell wrote:There was a "What if...." thread recently about what would happen if NJT didn't retired its old equipment.... this caused many of us to wax poetic about the wonderful potential lashups of new and old equipment and how great it would be to photograph, etc...

Seeing a recent picture of contributor E44's actual restored E44, I was wondering what ever happened to the CR units NJT inherited way back when. Were they all scrapped? I see from hobokenterminal.com that they were all sold to Amtrak and renumbered but I don't know anything about them beyond that...

Is the E44 that was "restored" just a cosmetic restoration or is it runnable? Just wondering how many are still out there and what their condition is....
BigDell
The E44 that was restored is cosmetic only. They had to remove the transformer prior to being shipped off the property due to the PCB's. As far as I know the E44 in the railroad museum of PA is the only one saved. All of the rest were scrapped.

 #138235  by BlockLine_4111
 
I am not sure what NJT envisioned when they bought the E44s as possible replacement for the GG1s.

The cab visibility of these beasts would have made commuter railroading tough. Perhaps chop-nosed, back to back, E44s would work. But could the hose have been chopped and a HEP package installed somewhere in the body?

Too bad they couldn't use them on the M&E for work-train service. IIRC they could run off 25kV.

 #138378  by E-44
 
I'm pretty certain that thay ran only on 11Kv/25 Hz.

Run short hood forward, cab visibility had to be at least as good or better than a GG-1. That might have meant reversing the (or installing a new) control stand.

I'm sure that a steam generator was out of the question, but tapping off HEP power was probably do-able.

And I'd guess they would have needed re-gearing for better acceleration and cruising speed.

On paper, I'm sure that the E-60 looked like the answer. But there's a long way to go from the drawing board to the rails. Just ask Alstom :wink:

 #138433  by msernak
 
As far as I know, NJT did not actually purchase the E44's. There was some type of law that required major carriers to provide equipment to state owned commuter lines if they needed equipment. I cannot remember where I heard this but that is what I was told. The E44's were not used because of the tunnel clearances. I did read about a trio that pulled a coal train throught the tunnels as a test back in the Pennsy days. When NJT decided not to use them, they went to Amtrak where they were painted silver and black but as far as I know were never used. The only one left in existance is the one at Strasburg. There was an extra cab in Amtrak paint laying out back two years ago when I last visited.

 #138471  by BlockLine_4111
 
The E44s IIRC were rectifiers and easily convertable to 25kV/60Hz. IIRC the GG1 book by Zimmermann mentioned this.

 #138545  by Jtgshu
 
I THINK i remember reading somewhere that NJT had the E44's for their guts........I DO remember reading in an old, mid 80's edition of Railfan and Railroad, that NJT was considering building a "dual mode" diesel/electric loco, using the carbody of an E Unit (diesel cab unit "covered wagon"), upgrading ONE prime mover, removing the other one, and putting the necessary electric loco guts (presumeably from the E44) on to the E units frame -

THAT would have been interesting!

 #138550  by Alcoman
 
I have seen the NJT E-44's in E-Port and I recall that at least 1 was fully painted in silver with the 2 stripes. Most were kept inside the shops, which are now gone, but I recall hearing that they would use them in work train service.
I have photos of the shomewhere which I will post when I find them.

 #139282  by BigDell
 
Alcoman.... PLEASE FIND THOSE PHOTOS! I've never seen the E44's in silver and am VERY CURIOUS!
Thanks.................
BigDell :-D

 #139288  by nick11a
 
BigDell wrote:Alcoman.... PLEASE FIND THOSE PHOTOS! I've never seen the E44's in silver and am VERY CURIOUS!
Thanks.................
BigDell :-D
How much ya got? :wink:

 #139348  by BlockLine_4111
 
IIRC a Tri-Stater from eons ago mentioned NJT looking to pan the E8s sort of like a panned FL9 but that never materalized.

 #139711  by transit383
 
Found this link showing some photos of the E44s as well as this photo showing 4461 with a coach in non-electrified territory.

I have seen a photo of a silver E44 somewhere but can't seem to locate the link.