Nostalgia & History > EMD light-weight power for branchlines?

Did EMD offer anything other the SDL39 for branchlines, light-weight track and bridges? I'm thinking RSC14, RSC13 on the MLW side. RSC-2 and 3 from Alco.

The BL (Branch Line) 2

Off the top of my head I recall the EMD BL2.....

One of the weirder designs of all time!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Also the GMD1 (Canada-only model) and the RS1325 (only C&IM bought them).

The TR series of transfer locomotives were also marketed at branchline power. example: the TR6 demonstrator set on the NWP.

EMD offered all sorts of lightweight branch and secondary power to the export markets and were successful,, just didn't
catch on in the US. Light rail got overtaken by heavier freight cars at which point llightweight locomotives weren't the solution.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> EMD offered all sorts of lightweight branch and
> secondary power to the export markets and were
> successful,, just didn't
> catch on in the US. Light rail got overtaken by
> heavier freight cars at which point llightweight
> locomotives weren't the solution.
>
> Out 

Well, there's "light weight" and then there's the really light weight which is the nitche the EMD export models filled.

There were a lot of early Geeps built without dynamic brakes and absurdly small fuel tanks to try to keep weight down for marginal trackage.

In Canada, CN used EMD export units on very light track such as Vancouver Island, and ex-interurban London & Port Stanley had some. Most GMD1s were built on 3-axle A1A trucks making them very light-footed. CN also had stripped-down Geeps with Flexicoil trucks. Reducing fuel load made a big difference. In the US, Columbus & Greenville had a pair of stripped-down SD28s for their horrible track. It seems like the American solution to light-rail branchlines was generally to just abandon them.

SPMW5771 Wrote:

> Off the top of my head I recall the EMD BL2.....

"BL" may have stood for branchline, but in the spirit of the original poster's question, the BL-2 wasn't any lighter on its feet than an F7A.

wpamtk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In Canada, CN used EMD export units on very light
> track such as Vancouver Island, and ex-interurban
> London & Port Stanley had some. Most GMD1s were
> built on 3-axle A1A trucks making them very
> light-footed. CN also had stripped-down Geeps with
> Flexicoil trucks. Reducing fuel load made a big
> difference. In the US, Columbus & Greenville had a
> pair of stripped-down SD28s for their horrible
> track. It seems like the American solution to
> light-rail branchlines was generally to just
> abandon them.

Or upgrade the track if the branch was worth saving.

You've all missed the NW3 and NW5 models, mostly purchased by GN but there were some others, I recall Southern getting an NW5.  These were essentially elongated NW2's and were
probably lighter than a GP7.  However, the GP7 was so versatile EMD dropped the elongated NW's.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA