Nostalgia & History > 3 DD40X's at Cheyenne

In August '75, a trio of DD40X's powered a westbound van train into Cheyenne, WY.
JB

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I think this is a great slide and of course a great subject. For being nearly 30 years old! Good exposure and contrast I think...Thanks for posting quality stuff.
Roger Beckett

Awesome! Hope that train has good couplers cause it's gonna need em with all that power.

Phil

Thank you.
JB

Hey JB, another great shot. You sure got around to a lot of places back then for your shots - were you working for the railroad in those days? Must have been quite an adventure traveling around to all of those places.

Hired out in '78. Unless I leave the state, I don't consider it a vacation!
JB

Nice power shot JB
Brian Stevens

Really VERY nice. Now,,,,,,,,,,lets all remember that the correct EMD model designation is DDA40X.   Thanks for the nice photo of three of them together.

Was there ever talk of DD40-b's?

Good thing there's somebody willing to reach back all those years just to make you feel stupid, eh JB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

dan Wrote:
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> Was there ever talk of DD40-b's?

No.

santafe199 Wrote:
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> Good thing there's somebody willing to reach back
> all those years just to make you feel stupid, eh
> JB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Yet you went back over a year to whine about it?

HotWater Wrote:
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> dan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Was there ever talk of DD40-b's?
>
> No.

Thanks,  what did your EMD bosses think  when you diagnosed the alco 855's?  I think that is the  model?

dan Wrote:
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> HotWater Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > dan Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Was there ever talk of DD40-b's?
> >
> > No.
>
> Thanks,  what did your EMD bosses think  when
> you diagnosed the alco 855's?  I think that is
> the  model?

Yes, the Century 855 was the model. My boss, nor any of the other higher-ups, thought much about it, until the UP Assistant Chief Mechanical Officer, the Late Austin Snyder, happened to complement the EMD General Service Manager for my efforts, then when THAT "rolled down hill" my immediate boss was quite complementary.  Besides, I had more than enough to do trouble shooting the DD35 units, over at the Council Bluffs Diesel Shop.

what was up with the dd35's?

dan Wrote:
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> what was up with the dd35's?

What does THAT mean?  The DD35 units were exactly what the UP desired, at the time, i.e. 1964/1964. The plan was for 15,000 HP, with a consist of GP35-DD35-DD35-GP35 (the EMD demonstrator was configured that way), and that was generally the way EMD delivered them, and UP dispatched them. Later on, the UP requested that a cab be added to the DD35 design, thus came the DD35A (the added cab was a modification of the existing DD35 design).

With the engineering development of a higher HP 16-645E3 engine and the modular electrical control design in 1967/1968 (which would eventually become the Dash-2 series of 1972), the UP was agreeable to purchasing the "experimental" DDA40X units. By then the UP had had their fill of B Units.

What faults came from La Grange that you had to deal with  those units?

dan Wrote:
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> What faults came from La Grange that you had to
> deal with  those units?

No faults directly from the plant, however there were program switch "issues" which controlled transition, and occasional contactor relay failures which affected transition or changing from forward to reverse. Mostly all minor electrical control issues.

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A beautiful shot.  Thanks for sharing! 

~Joe P.
Hainesville, IL