Old member but new username

[BlackDiamond]

Hi,
I was previously known as AmtrakMaineiac but since I have now relocated from Maine to the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania I felt I needed a new name.

During my days at Lehigh University in the late 1960s my friends and I used to railfan the area and the now fallen flags in the area - the Reading, the Lehigh Valley, and the Central RR of New Jersey. Although their passenger service was gone, I always liked the Lehigh Valley freights with much Alco power still in evidence. So I decided to adopt the name BlackDiamond being one of the name trains of this railroad.

I will still keep up an interest on happenings in Maine.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Maine is on my bucket list and I remember seeing photos of Lehigh Valley operations in magazines. Alco's seem to be dying out these days but still a few around.

 

[joelkfla]

Are you hanging up your motorman's hat? Looks like the nearest trolley museums are about a 3-hour drive.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Are you hanging up your motorman's hat? Looks like the nearest trolley museums are about a 3-hour drive.

Not sure. I did requalify for 2024 at Seashore. Electric City in Scranton is only about an hour from where I now live, I'll have to check it out..

 

[caravanman]

Plenty of Diesel Electric Alco derivatives working in India!

 

[jis]

Plenty of Diesel Electric Alco derivatives working in India!

Alcos are progressively becoming scarcer as older diesels are retired or donated to other countries, Bangladesh has a whole bunch of them now. EMD (WDG5, WDP4, WDP4D) and GE (WDG4G) diesels are more prevalent now, and even they are slowly becoming endangered species as India reaches the goal of 100% electrification.

 

[caravanman]

This video may be quite old, but if anyone needs a "fix" of diesel exhaust fumes, try this:

 

[jis]

This video may be quite old, but if anyone needs a "fix" of diesel exhaust fumes, try this:

Some of those Alcos put out more soot than a Steam Engine They used to be diesel mainstay in India but now they are slowly being relegated to branch line and shunting duties and then onto the scrapyard. Almost the same as what happened to the magnificent WP Steam locomotives in their waning days.

 

[Asher]

Some of those Alcos put out more soot than a Steam Engine They used to be diesel mainstay in India but now they are slowly being relegated to branch line and shunting duties and then onto the scrapyard. Almost the same as what happened to the magnificent WP Steam locomotives in their waning days.

It’s amazing how much smoke those 4 stroke engines produced.
EMD & GE with a quicker and more efficient two stroke engine, better manufacturing put the Alco’s out of business in the 60’s. I don’t know if they reduced the level of pollution though, they don’t call them
2 smokers for nothing.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Plenty of Diesel Electric Alco derivatives working in India!

Hell of a difference between Maine and Mumbai.

It’s amazing how much smoke those 4 stroke engines produced. EMD & GE with a quicker and more efficient two stroke engine, better manufacturing put the Alco’s out of business in the 60’s. I don’t know if they reduced the level of pollution though, they don’t call them 2 smokers for nothing.

Pollution improved over time but was not taken that seriously until Tier 4, which represents a tiny fraction of all locomotives. Outside California most railroads maintain vast fleets of low tier locomotives that still belch smoke and fumes like there's no tomorrow. India is jumping ahead by building out electric transmission and industrial renewables. Even fossil fuel plants can operate more cleanly than diesel electric locos by always running in the design sweet spot.