Western Railroad Discussion > U30C vs. U34CH

Are there any visual differences?

The U34CH has wings and looks like a U33/36C. It also lacks the air intake on the long hood behind the cab. Only Erie Lackawanna (later Conrail and NJ Transit) had them. AFAIK, they only wore NJ Department of Transportation dark blue and silver with red pinstripes or the NJT "disco" schemes, except for one that was renumbered 1776 and received Bicentennial colors.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/15 08:41 by CPR_4000.

CPR_4000 Wrote:
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> The U34CH has wings and looks like a U33/36C. It
> also lacks the air intake on the long hood behind
> the cab. Only Erie Lackawanna (later Conrail and
> NJ Transit) had them. AFAIK, they only wore NJ
> Department of Transportation dark blue and silver
> with red pinstripes or the NJT "disco" schemes,
> except for one that was renumbered 1776 and
> received Bicentennial colors.

When the "wings" first apeared on the original U series we called them Bat Wings. Of course, now virtually every GE freight unit ises that design. IIRC, the U34CH was a head end power-equipped U-Boat. I think that is one model I do not have photos of.

Yes. I think the U34CH was the first HEP equipped passenger unit built in the US. Whoops, maybe not, I think there were a few MILW E9's built with HEP for use with bilevels in the early 60's. However, those E's had separate HEP packs, while the U34's took hotel power off the main engine. That idea has fallen out of favor due to the need to keep RPM's up while providing HEP, which sucks up a lot of fuel compared to separate HEP equipment.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/15 09:48 by CPR_4000.

Think of the U34CH as a U36C with a HEP alternator that took 170 HP to run, leaving 3430 HP for traction....when HEP is in use.

I'll never forget their sound accelerating from a stop; all the better if up a slight grade and there were solid objects ( buildings, concrete abutments etc ) for the sound to bounce off of. Almost exactly like the cadence of hard working steam locomotive _almost_ approaching track speed.

NYC_L4a Wrote:
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> Think of the U34CH as a U36C with a HEP alternator
> that took 170 HP to run, leaving 3430 HP for
> traction....when HEP is in use.
>
> I'll never forget their sound accelerating from a
> stop; all the better if up a slight grade and
> there were solid objects ( buildings, concrete
> abutments etc ) for the sound to bounce off of.
> Almost exactly like the cadence of hard working
> steam locomotive _almost_ approaching track speed.

This is pretty much exactly right the were eseentially U36C's but they preceded that models production by a few months.  As a note the EL used these on freights on the weekends giving the full 3600hp for traction.   Also a few (1 or 2) were leased to SEPTA in Philly with at least one getting the roads solid blue paint.  I concur with the sound of these guys and if it was dusk they were good for shooting flames 3-4' out the stack.  Unfortunately their performance diminished in later years as I can attest to many delayed trips while commuting in the late 80s.  Funny always on the way home.  I think there is only one left and it was recently moved to Boonton NJ for resoration.  Some did go to Mexico and maybe Brazil but I don't know the dispostion of those units.

> Think of the U34CH as a U36C with a HEP alternator
> that took 170 HP to run, leaving 3430 HP for
> traction....when HEP is in use.

170 hp for HEP would supply... two or three cars?

When supplying HEP, the FDL16 runs at... 900 RPM, wasn't it?
That's why the 3430 hp, which was its output before
HEP was subtracted.


 

Didn't Erie Lackawanna number its U34CH units right behind its U33C units in sequence?

timz Wrote:
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>
> 170 hp for HEP would supply... two or three cars?
>
Regularly had 6-7 cars in consist.  7 was max though because of platform lengths. 

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Didn't Erie Lackawanna number its U34CH units
> right behind its U33C units in sequence?

No 3351 to 3382   at the time U33C were numbered 3301-3315 36C follow 3316-3328

pal77 Wrote:
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> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Didn't Erie Lackawanna number its U34CH units
> > right behind its U33C units in sequence?
>
> No 3351 to 3382   at the time U33C were numbered
> 3301-3315 36C follow 3316-3328

thanks!

IIRC, and based on the Mark I video, the E-L (NJDOT) U34CHs were the first purpose built passenger units that employed HEP as part of their orignial design.  Prior to the U34CH, the HEP was added to other diesels as a modification after the fact.

Marty Harrison
Knob Noster, MO

I don't remember EL using the U34's much in weekend freight service; I was still in high school when the first ones were delivered and had to rely on Dad's few-and-far-between offers to take me out to Croxton. I think in the beginning they were used on freight, but NJDOT had a problem with that. The only time I saw them in freight service was in the early months of Conrail, when they were used between North Jersey/Port Jervis and Binghamton. Not sure if they ran west of Bingo in freight service.

Before the GE's arrived, it was common for EL to use commuter GP7's and Alco road switchers on weekend freights. Then again, EL owned the older units, while the state of NJ owned the U34's.

Bob Malinoski had an article in a very early issue of Railfan about the "Bluebirds" being used in weekend freight service for Conrail. As I recall the story, they could only be used on former E-L lines, and not west of Buffalo. And they had to be back in Suffern and Waldwick etc in time for the Monday morning rush. I believe the deal required them to be rated as 3000 hp units, as well.

The loans ended as Conrail received new power, and junked some of the junkers it had inherited.

NYC_L4a Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Think of the U34CH as a U36C with a HEP alternator
> that took 170 HP to run, leaving 3430 HP for
> traction....when HEP is in use.
>
> I'll never forget their sound accelerating from a
> stop; all the better if up a slight grade and
> there were solid objects ( buildings, concrete
> abutments etc ) for the sound to bounce off of.
> Almost exactly like the cadence of hard working
> steam locomotive _almost_ approaching track speed.

No the HP output at 904 RPM was 3430. 904 RPM was necessary to achieve the proper cycles. 170 HP would not handle more than two cars.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/15 05:06 by NYSWSD70M.

Kinda funny talking about a decidedly Eastern locomotive on the Western board!

NJDOT 3372 (CR/NJT number 4172) is in the United RR Historical Society of NJ collection at Boonton, NJ. http://urhs.org/blog/help-restore-u34ch-3372/

livesteamer Wrote:

> IIRC, and based on the Mark I video, the E-L
> (NJDOT) U34CHs were the first purpose built
> passenger units that employed HEP as part of their
> orignial design. 

How about the Fairbanks-Morse P12-42 "Speed Merchant" locomotives built in 1957-58?  Their prime movers ran at constant-speed so they could be tapped for HEP to light/heat ACF Talgo trainsets.  FM only built four of the locomotives for New Haven and Boston & Maine, and they didn't last long, but as Robert Aldag, Jr. put it in his March 1995 article in Trains Magazine, "When you see an FL9 lowering its third-rail shoes eastbound into Harmon on the Hudson or when you're catching an Amtrak train and the big F40PH eases by with its engine pounding away at eighth notch speed, give Fairbanks-Morse credit.  We were the first to do it all."

To circle this back to the original post the last U34CH produced was done so from the remains of a CNW U30C 934 that was wrecled and rebuilt into a U34CH for New Yorks MTA for service on EL line to Port Jervis.  However the unit was not delivered till after C-day and it wore the CR number of 4183.    Neat thread but clearly fell onto the board.