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kinlock wrote:In 1904, the General Electric Company's Railway Engineering Department recognized the potential of the gas-electric car.quote from: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27345
The best engine for their specifications was built by Wolseley of Great Britain. The Delaware & Hudson lent GE a Barney & Smith combine for experimenting. An ALCO motor truck was added on the front. Two 75 h.p. traction motors and a 600-volt generator were added. Once the huge engine was added, the baggage compartment was filled and the car weighed 68 tons. A trial run from Schenectady to Saratoga showed D&H 1000 (sometimes referred to as GE No. 1) could go 40 mph.
The designers decided their next car needed: light weight, greater power,
single end control, and a more dependable engine. The engine was the most difficult to accomplish. In 1906, a Gas Engine Department was formed. A new V8 was developed that required an explosive charge to start. It weighed 3,900 pounds as opposed to the 7-ton Wolseley. GE No. 2 was an all-steel from Wason Mfg. Co. of Springfield, MA. The final weight was less than half that of car no. 1. This car trialed on the Lehigh Valley; Chicago Great Western; Dan Patch Lines; and the D&H. It was extensively damaged by hitting a locomotive on the Rapid City, Black Hills & Western. Car 2 was later sold to the Dan Patch Lines where it was destroyed in a 1914 fire.
A third GE demonstrator was built which incorporated even more improvements such as a 125 h.p. engine with compressed air starter. Car 3 eventually traveled 50,000 miles in demonstration service.
An attempt was made in 1909 to break into the street railway business. New York's Third Avenue Railway Company had several "horse-powered" lines. Not wanting the expense of electrification, they had a "bake off" between the GE car and a battery powered one. The battery won.
By 1909, orders were coming in. Southern; Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh; Frisco; and Dan Patch Lines. Many improvements were made by Hermann Lemp. In 1910-11, the Gas Engine Department moved to a new plant in Erie, PA.
Before production ceased in 1917, almost 100 motorcars were built. Several were oddballs. One for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie was only 42 feet long (as opposed to 70-foot normal). It was designed to pull a trailer. One was built as a line car for the New York, Westchester & Boston. It was the only GE (except no. 1) without a Wason body. Some cars built for southern railroads had two doors - to comply with "Jim Crow" laws.
Operating costs ranged from 12 to 17 cents/mile. Cost of the cars was between $20,000 and $30,000. They usually ran with a crew of two (not withstanding labor agreements requiring more). Don't forget though gasoline only cost 7 cents/gallon.
My source: Motor Cars to Diesels (mostly General Electric)
http://www.lakemirabel.com/Railroad/Tro ... #MotorCars
Keilty's book also has a photo of GE's first railcar, D&H 1000 built in 1911, which was very different from the bullet-nosed cars built the following year. With wood sides, arch-windows, and a clerestory roof, it looks for all the world like a combine (or a pole-less interurban with a baggage section) with a lot of weird piping on the roof. It too had an open rear platform.quote from: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/r ... 11,1404362
