Nostalgia & History > Early GE,s notorious oil leakers! Watch your step.

In the 1970,s I carried my camera with me on some trips. We were called to deadhead from Clinton to Boone Ia. Then as now dh crews rode the trailing units, this time a oil throwing UP U-30c. Had to be carefull walking the sides or you would be buying a new shirt or worse! And if the iead unit threw oil it was all over the cab windows on the trailing units. If I remenber right this is coming into Boone from the north side of the train. I was carefull and kept my shirt THIS TIME!!   

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Thanks for sharing this story! I can only imagine what the walkway and handrails were like as well.......

I remember the old 700s at Amtrak.  They were notoriously filthy with oil leaking from every crack.  Not bad riding at 50mph plus.  Horrible riders at less but just filthy engines.

I thought Alco's were notorious oil leakers.

I was firing out of Emporia in the early 80'S. I would throw my grip on the side of the lead unit, catch the rear unit on the fly, and walk through the consist checking fluids, motor & DB cut-outs, see what was loading, etc. One night, the rear unit came by, I climbed on, and suddenly became aware of black lube oil everywhere, including a coating all over the head cars. I tip-toed through it to the start station, and found an inspection cover missing, I could look on and see the crank shaft revolving. I found the dip stick, and it had lost about 100 gallons of oil since leaving KC. We had to shut it down, and took it to the house when we got to Wellington. I remember it was a 20 cylinder EMD, and they held about 460 gallons of lube oil. Of course my boots, pants & gloves were a mess.

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Had a BN U30C splatter a new white t-shirt from above once.

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The oil mess on the GEs was just the beginning of their annoyances. There were the narrow walkways, the protruding fasteners that would snag and tear your shirt as you walked by, the small and short doorways that one had to squeeze amd duck through, the vertical steps, the low headroom in the cabs, the toilet compartment in the rear wall of the cab that couldn't contain the stench. Then, of course, was the legendary slow loading, the noise, the rough ride (particularly with the B-B units, especially the -7 models), and other countless irritations. As a fan, I loved hearing their bark and seeing the show of smoke trackside. As a trainman though, I quickly found their "charms" to be heavily outweighed by their annoyances and shortcomings. I don't miss 'em.

trainjunkie Wrote: As a
> trainman though, I quickly found their "charms" to
> be heavily outweighed by their annoyances and
> shortcomings. I don't miss 'em.

AMEN!!!