Tom, You are mostly correct--- the CNW did roster a few Alco FA's and I
think they also tried a DL of some kind. The MILW unit was damaged in a
wreck, so it received a new E unit body--I wonder if it improved it's
dependability.
Both the Rock and the MILW found their DL locos disagreeable enough to
tack woman's names to them--or perhaps it fit more closely the
temperament of a mule!
During my AF days, I went down to the tiny yard in my home town to check
out the two MILW roads switchers automatically believing them to be
GP7/9's. I was so disappointed to see the Alco builders plate mounted
on the side. At that time Gilbert's T&P coloring on the Gp7'swas close
enough to the MILW's. In junior high, a visit to Arizona running across
Texas let me see the PA's in action on the Santa Fe (probably the Texas
Chief) and then the El Capitian. I had a single ATSF PA so that was a
thrill to see something that I also owned.
Bob Werre
PhotoTraxx
> Bud,
>
> The discussion about ALCO motive power reminds me: Back in the days in
> Minnesota, plenty of roads had ALCO switching units: S-1, S-1, RS-1, RS-2,
> RS-3, but almost no roads in the Upper Midwest had any ALCO road units.
> Well, the Rock Island had some FA-1 in three-unit A-B-A sets, and way out
> West the GN had some four-unit sets of FA units, but they never got as far
> east as Minnesota. And the SOO LINE had four ALCO FA-1 units in A-A
> formation. When the SOO needed a booster, it simply took a GP-7 and placed
> it between the two ALCO units.
>
> The most regretable part of the story is that no railroad operating in the
> Upper Midwest had any PA units. Wouldn't it have looked neat to have seen
> C&NW PA units hauling the "400" or Milwaukee Road PAs on the "Twin Cities
> Hiawatha"? My father-in-law who worked as an engineer on the Milwaukee
> between Minineapolis and LaCrosse, Wisconsin, regaled me with stories about
> the two ALCO DL-series passenger units used on the "Hiawatha". He hated the
> things, said they were not up to the two EMD E-6 units the Milwaukee had, so
> I guess that's the reason the Milwaukee turned to EMD E units for most of its
> passenger power.
>
> Oh, and how about two silver PA units on the "Twin Cities Zephyr"? I guess
> AF had the Q in mind when the company turned out silver PA units with the
> broad red no-real-road emblem on the nose, sort of looked like Q insignia but
> no cigar.
>
> Tom
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
