Union Pacific Modelers...

viperman

Active Member
The guy at IRM I was talking to said the only other one is owned by UP (who else?) and is located in Cheyenne, WY. I thought he was talking about the one they have on display next to the bigboy.

How big were the Turbines? I thought the plaque said they were 166ft, and had 10,000hp, or are you not counting that, since its not a proper diesel?

Oh, and btw, that picture you took is nearly identical to one I took! I want to see them restore it real bad, and have actually thought of applying there, just to work on restoring that beauty
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Dang Deano, that DD40AX is one AWESOME and AMAZING engine, and at 95' long, I cant imagine anything getting bigger then that beast :eek:

Steven, welcome back :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 

Triplex

Active Member
How big were the Turbines? I thought the plaque said they were 166ft, and had 10,000hp, or are you not counting that, since its not a proper diesel?
A gas turbine wasn't a diesel. The larger ones could generate 10000 hp, but could only deliver 8500 hp to the rails. Maybe they were, in fact, 166' long, but I don't consider that comparable because they weren't a single unit. The sections couldn't be operated separately, I admit, but it still isn't a fair comparison.
 

viperman

Active Member
No, definitely not a fair comparison, I agree. The turbines were two seperate units together to make 166ft, and sure they made 10,000hp, but they weren't true diesel engines. So that is why I agree that the DD40 is the longest and most powerful diesel
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
For the record...
Steven, the Gas Turbines you are referring to was the 3rd, the LAST set of gas Turbines UP had, you CAN NOT compare those to the DD40's, they are not even close to being the same animal:winki: .

the Turbines were just that, Turbines, NOT diesels, so there is nothing to compare between the two. HOWEVER, the last set of Turbines had three Units to them, the first DID IN FACT have an 850hp diesel engine in it:eeki::winki: , this was used to move the engines through the yard without turning the turbines on, that would be a total waste of power. the 2nd unit had the actual "Turbine" in it:winki: , and the 3rd piece of the set was the tender, these tenders were modified tenders from steam engines that were converted to hold bunker C fuel oil. when the Turbines first came out Bunker C was REAL CHEAP, but in the late 60's-70's became quite expensive, thus that brought the demise of those AWESOME engines:frowns: . they used an excessive amount of fuel and the tremendously loud turbine sound they omitted was also a problem, the sound was so loud they were banned in many California cities:eeki::frowns: .
:deano: -Deano
ME.JPG

DSC02648.JPG
 

jbaakko

Active Member
NICE LS&I RSD12 in the background there!

Those tenders, 3 still exist, two sloped, and one round, for use with the 844 & 3985. There may be more then 3, but thats all I've ever seen.
 

Triplex

Active Member
HOWEVER, the last set of Turbines had three Units to them, the first DID IN FACT have an 850hp diesel engine in it
mysmilie_35.gif
mysmilie_57.gif
, this was used to move the engines through the yard without turning the turbines on, that would be a total waste of power. the 2nd unit had the actual "Turbine" in it
mysmilie_57.gif
, and the 3rd piece of the set was the tender,
That confused me for a moment. I don't think of the 8500 HP turbines as the last. Okay, they were the last UP gas turbines, because the last one was a coal turbine. http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_up80B.jpg In this case, the lead unit doesn't just resemble an Alco PA - it is one, though clearly modified. The second unit is the turbine, about 100' long with a 2-D-D-2 wheel arrangement. It was built on the frame of a retired GN W-1 electric.
 

CNWman

CNW Fan

Well well well! I think this is one of those new Gen-Set Engines UP has. When I first learned of these in Scale Rails (an advertizerment for brass models of them, but to expensive!), I thought they looked suspiciouly similar to a peticular series of engine. This pic comfirms it: The new Gen-Set loco's look like the early ALCO RS units!

Just went through this thread, and man, some good shots by everyone!:thumb: I gotta ask a question, however. Deano, is this thread strictly UP only or is it for UP and railroads it aquired?
 

Triplex

Active Member
I really don't see the resemblance. Sure, the configuration is the same, but you could say that about a C420 and a GP60. The 3GS12B is much larger and more angular, and the nose isn't even the same height as the long hood. It doesn't have the good looks of an RS-2/3, though it's certainly better-looking than a RB20BD or Green Goat.
 

jbaakko

Active Member
Well well well! I think this is one of those new Gen-Set Engines UP has. When I first learned of these in Scale Rails (an advertizerment for brass models of them, but to expensive!), I thought they looked suspiciouly similar to a peticular series of engine. This pic comfirms it: The new Gen-Set loco's look like the early ALCO RS units!

Just went through this thread, and man, some good shots by everyone!:thumb: I gotta ask a question, however. Deano, is this thread strictly UP only or is it for UP and railroads it aquired?
Notice, that only one engine, the middle, is running too...
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
They used an excessive amount of fuel and the tremendously loud turbine sound they omitted was also a problem, the sound was so loud they were banned in many California cities.
:deano: -Deano
Are there any sites that have sound recordings of this unit operating that you know of? Sounds like it'd be pretty neat to hear.

In this picture...
What is that half a pentagon shape (for lack of a better description) in front of the UN? It looks like it was an afterthought add on. Also, I think you need to get the WDOT out to erect a stop sign at that intersection. The last thing you need is a LPB lawsuit 'cause some railfan wasn't paying attention and caused an accident!
 

Triplex

Active Member
What is that half a pentagon shape (for lack of a better description) in front of the UN? It looks like it was an afterthought add on.
A sandbox. I'm pretty sure they were there as-built. It was on the DD35 that such sandboxes didn't come originally, but were retrofitted in the 1970s.
 

MilesWestern

Active Member
Well well well! I think this is one of those new Gen-Set Engines UP has. When I first learned of these in Scale Rails (an advertizerment for brass models of them, but to expensive!), I thought they looked suspiciouly similar to a peticular series of engine. This pic comfirms it: The new Gen-Set loco's look like the early ALCO RS units!

Just went through this thread, and man, some good shots by everyone!:thumb: I gotta ask a question, however. Deano, is this thread strictly UP only or is it for UP and railroads it aquired?

CP and CN have showed alot of interest, and BNSF already uses the battery-diesel engine hybrid units. Up is I think the most prevalent user of the new "green" locomotives.

I must admit, UPY 2005 is my favorite BY FAR, due to it's resemblance to an ALCo C-415. That one's very cool too! It really does look like a modern RS-1. :eek: I got to see ALL of UP's "green" locomotives in one place as they blasted down the coast line (in CA) headed for LA at night..what a sight! :eek:
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Freelancer, THANK YOU!, for posting that GREAT SHOT of that gas turbine:thumb::thumb::mrgreen: .

TrainNut, i am sure there probably is sound recordings of the gas turbines online, but i don't know where any are:frowns: . i have about 11 UP vids, and 3 of them has footage with sound of these beasts:winki::mrgreen: , quite loud they were:eeki: .

Nscaler711, looks like you done a nice job on the weathering:thumb: . man you are braver then me:winki: , i still don't have the guts to weather my more expensive engines:eek:ops: .

CNWman and Miles, i guess those Hybrid engines do somewhat resemble the old alco's, i loved the old Alco's, but am not really a big fan of the hybrid engines:roller: , though if they sold them for a reasonable price i would get one:toug::119: .

:deano: -Deano
 
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