Western Railroad Discussion > SP Diesel-Hydraulic runs on main line

From the Southern Pacific 9010 Group: 

One small step for a 1964 Krauss-Maffei diesel-hydraulic...Last Monday, with the help of visiting UK volunteer Rob Fern, we took SP 9010 out for a test under power.  What's noteworthy is that it's the first operation of KM Chassis 19106 under self-power on an SP mainline route since 1968!  We've had the unit under power on yard trackage before, but this was the first operation with clearance on the main since the No. 2 Maybach V-16's upper deck rebuild and the buttoning-up of all the motor hoods. The clear stack appears after a bit of run-in, and makes us quite happy.  The new alternator is charging properly, and the compressor is maintaining air. There's still more work to be done. But this short 'reel-size' clip is quite the record of an ongoing, 67-foot long, 167-ton miracle on six axles.

In 2008, when the unit came to us, who'd have believed it?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/24 11:21 by GenePoon.

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Amazing!  Thanks for your post and congratulations to all involved.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

How would you describe the interior ergonomics and head/elbowroom?   This front view makes the cab look roomy with exceptional forward visibility.   Is that my wishful thinking or did the German's deliver a crew friendly interior?

I think the Rio Grande yelled at them over the room in the first run of units, it got better as production
progressed. Mass props to Howard and the guys for getting that angine running. We did a pump drive
off the back of a Maybach going to Yugoslavia and between the injection setup and the weird torque
curve it was a pain to deal worth with. At least it wasn't as big as in the unit, just a smaller direct
cousin. 

Out 

My congratulations to the crew at the museum for all of thier work! Nice to see it running again....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Great post gene and a hugecongrats to Mr. Wise and his friends!

Milwaukee Wrote:
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> How would you describe the interior ergonomics and
> head/elbowroom?   This front view makes the cab
> look roomy with exceptional forward visibility. 
>  Is that my wishful thinking or did the German's
> deliver a crew friendly interior?

Despite the outward appearance, it does not seem to be quite as much room as you'd expect. The video will give you a good look around. You'll have to cut and paste the link (or highlight and right click "go to [link].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBMM03ZVsqo&pp=ygUQU3AgOTAxMCBjYWIgcmlkZQ%3D%3D

Posted from Android

Wasn't the cab also restricted by the driveshaft between the diesel and the transmission?  They were gone by the time I started at SP.

The front driveshaft is well under the cab floor and contained by a couple of 1" thick safety loops.  The vertical clearance inside the cab is plenty for a 6 foot person.
Howard

Wasn't the complaint "too much sun" in the cab?

SD45X Wrote:
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> Wasn't the complaint "too much sun" in the cab?

Yes, it could get pretty toasty in there.  The SP tried to mitigate this in the 1966 rebuild by lowering the top of the cab side windows by 9.5" and extending the front "brow".  During our rebuild, we installed a layer of hi-tech boiler insulation glued to the inside of the cab's roof and side sheets.  This plus the original layer of fiber glass has produced a noticeable difference in the cab temperature.

Howard