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Diesel locomotives are one of those things where the engine can be well over 50 years old and no one bats an eye since it's just not that unusual nor has the st

Diesel locomotives are one of those things where the engine can be well over 50 years old and no one bats an eye since it's just not that unusual nor has the styling changed that much to make it obvious. These EMD E9's are now used for tourist trains but there's plenty of other diesels pre-dating these that are still just doing their run today. eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa-Sapulpa_Union_Railway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa-Sapulpa_Union_Railway is running on diesels from the 1950's, not as a museum piece but just as their expected day to day operations. It's one of those fun things when you know enough to spot a 70 year old locomotive yet the general sentiment from non-buffs is just that that's perfectly in-line with expectations and not interesting.

Lammy 4y ago
> not as a museum piece but just as their expected day to day operations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escanaba_and_Lake_Superior_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escanaba_and_Lake_Superior_Rai... run a 1951 FP7A as well. Gorgeous power even when it's pulling freight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMybdRb1EtA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMybdRb1EtA
SoftTalker 4y ago
Chicago Metra was running EMD E9 units in daily service into the 1990s.
ChuckMcM 4y ago
There was a joke that went "The only thing that holds its resale value better than electronics test equipment is a diesel electric locomotive." I'm not sure how true that is but the commonality is that they can be maintained to do the same job they were designed to do, as well as they did it when they were sold. The only reason they go down in value is because the jobs aren't there for them any more. Interestingly the evolution of chips has been much harder on "old" test equipment as equivalents can be made one, two, and sometimes three orders of magnitude more cheaply. As a result a "new" thing which has the same capability but usually takes up much less space and power, can do the job of the "old" thing just as well, and then the old thing loses its value.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  Eh, they can certainly go down. Newer diesel locos meet more stringent emissions standards and consume less fuel, and the cost of diesel fuel is pretty expensive.
- flyinghamster 4y ago
  In a way, EMD was a victim of its success; one of their biggest competitors became rebuilt EMD locos. Ultimately, several years after GM unloaded it on a private equity firm, it was sold to Caterpillar-owned Progress Rail, a company that made its name as one such rebuilder.
pengaru 4y ago
This speaks more to the lack of technological progress in US rail than anything else. Foreigners from nations where state of the art HSR is commonplace probably do bat an eye upon seeing such things, in the supposedly modern and progressive USA of all places.
- lazide 4y ago
  HSR has nothing to do with efficient pulling of freight? Similar locomotives are the common the world over.
  - pengaru 4y ago
    That's fair, I mistakenly apple-and-oranged this one.
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    US freight locos are different, if only because US rail safety regulations until recently prioritized buff strength whereas European and Japanese regulations do not. (Buff strength is a terrible way to maintain safety. We moved away from it in automobiles decades ago for a reason.)
    - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
      Your comment reeks of typical internet crumple zone worship. You absolutely do need “buff strength” in the parts of a vehicle that hold the occupants. Cabins have only gotten stronger and more rigid with time.
    - Panzer04 4y ago
      Seems like there'd be a big difference between a train with a thousand tons of carriages pushing it along (ie. Not Going To Stop) and a car that will stop, necessitating a crumple zone to drag that stop over the longest possible period.
      - bobthepanda 4y ago
dieselgate 4y ago
Steel is real! Size of the engine and “fleet” maintenance certainly helps with longevity too - my diesel truck is older than I am
- cameron_b 4y ago
  Mass and torque are engineered with very different constraints than speed and responsiveness, so the engine in your truck ( and mine ) simply doesn't turn over as fast as four cylinder car. The car has also faced optimizations for weight in nearly every detail, where nearly the opposite is likely true for your truck.
caf 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Shorthaul_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Shorthaul_Railroad runs early 1950s diesels based on the EMD F-class in mainline service.
- throwaheyy 4y ago
  V/Line still uses some on intercity trains too, though they have of course been rebuilt since the 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/Line_A_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/Line_A_class
King-Aaron 4y ago
> Diesel locomotives are one of those things where the engine can be well over 50 years old and no one bats an eye since it's just not that unusual nor has the styling changed that much to make it obvious Well hey, look at aircraft. The 747 was only just retired but that's a design from the late 60's.

Lammy 4y ago

> not as a museum piece but just as their expected day to day operations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escanaba_and_Lake_Superior_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escanaba_and_Lake_Superior_Rai... run a 1951 FP7A as well. Gorgeous power even when it's pulling freight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMybdRb1EtA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMybdRb1EtA

SoftTalker 4y ago

Chicago Metra was running EMD E9 units in daily service into the 1990s.

ChuckMcM 4y ago

There was a joke that went "The only thing that holds its resale value better than electronics test equipment is a diesel electric locomotive." I'm not sure how true that is but the commonality is that they can be maintained to do the same job they were designed to do, as well as they did it when they were sold. The only reason they go down in value is because the jobs aren't there for them any more. Interestingly the evolution of chips has been much harder on "old" test equipment as equivalents can be made one, two, and sometimes three orders of magnitude more cheaply. As a result a "new" thing which has the same capability but usually takes up much less space and power, can do the job of the "old" thing just as well, and then the old thing loses its value.

bobthepanda 4y ago
Eh, they can certainly go down. Newer diesel locos meet more stringent emissions standards and consume less fuel, and the cost of diesel fuel is pretty expensive.
flyinghamster 4y ago
In a way, EMD was a victim of its success; one of their biggest competitors became rebuilt EMD locos. Ultimately, several years after GM unloaded it on a private equity firm, it was sold to Caterpillar-owned Progress Rail, a company that made its name as one such rebuilder.

pengaru 4y ago

This speaks more to the lack of technological progress in US rail than anything else. Foreigners from nations where state of the art HSR is commonplace probably do bat an eye upon seeing such things, in the supposedly modern and progressive USA of all places.

lazide 4y ago
HSR has nothing to do with efficient pulling of freight? Similar locomotives are the common the world over.
- pengaru 4y ago
  That's fair, I mistakenly apple-and-oranged this one.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  US freight locos are different, if only because US rail safety regulations until recently prioritized buff strength whereas European and Japanese regulations do not. (Buff strength is a terrible way to maintain safety. We moved away from it in automobiles decades ago for a reason.)
  - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
    Your comment reeks of typical internet crumple zone worship. You absolutely do need “buff strength” in the parts of a vehicle that hold the occupants. Cabins have only gotten stronger and more rigid with time.
  - Panzer04 4y ago
    Seems like there'd be a big difference between a train with a thousand tons of carriages pushing it along (ie. Not Going To Stop) and a car that will stop, necessitating a crumple zone to drag that stop over the longest possible period.
    - bobthepanda 4y ago

dieselgate 4y ago

Steel is real! Size of the engine and “fleet” maintenance certainly helps with longevity too - my diesel truck is older than I am

cameron_b 4y ago
Mass and torque are engineered with very different constraints than speed and responsiveness, so the engine in your truck ( and mine ) simply doesn't turn over as fast as four cylinder car. The car has also faced optimizations for weight in nearly every detail, where nearly the opposite is likely true for your truck.

caf 4y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Shorthaul_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Shorthaul_Railroad runs early 1950s diesels based on the EMD F-class in mainline service.

throwaheyy 4y ago
V/Line still uses some on intercity trains too, though they have of course been rebuilt since the 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/Line_A_class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/Line_A_class

King-Aaron 4y ago

> Diesel locomotives are one of those things where the engine can be well over 50 years old and no one bats an eye since it's just not that unusual nor has the styling changed that much to make it obvious Well hey, look at aircraft. The 747 was only just retired but that's a design from the late 60's.