Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX ES44DC locos

Have these units started arriving yet? Thanks in advance for any info.

I don't think so. CSX has an order for about 100 or so.

I noticed that BNSF, NS and UP's new engines had moon trucks on them. Just wondering if anyone knew why the radial trucks were not used. Can't see why a DC motor won't fit on radial trucks. So who knows what's going on?........tanks

i haven't seen any of them yet, i heard the first 100 will be here toward the end of summer and another 250 are suppos to arrive next year. but i'll tell you they needed them yesterday, right now they are so power short some trains are running a week behind!

aaca-yd Wrote:
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> I noticed that BNSF, NS and UP's new engines had
> moon trucks on them. Just wondering if anyone knew
> why the radial trucks were not used. Can't see why
> a DC motor won't fit on radial trucks. So who
> knows what's going on?........tanks

I can only speculate that it's a parts commonality issue. Take the UPRR. They like the EMD radial truck, and continue to order it on the SD70ACe even after a less expensive nonradial truck (which looks very similar to the HT-R truck) was made available.

With the GE fleet, the UP already had a substantial number of non-radial "Rollerblade" trucks under its C44-9's and early C44AC's (and those of both models that were inherited from CNW, and later, SP). GE came out late in the game with its radial truck. Therefore, NEW GE customers (KCS sticks out first in my mind), who had no previous investment in a large number of Hi-Ad "Rollerblade" trucks went ahead with the superior radial truck. CSX did not, I believe, have a HUGE number of Rollerblade trucks on the property, either, so it was easier for them to start ordering radials.

I think if GE had had its radial truck ready when the Dash Nine/C44AC line was launched, you might have seen more RR's order these trucks. But all the RR's you mentioned already had rather large fleets of GE's with rollerblade trucks, and parts commonality dictated continuation of this truck under new engines, even though the radial truck is superior. It was a tradeoff between parts commonality and the advantages (which are actually quite significant in terms of adhesion and reduction in rail wear)...and mechanical parts commonality won out with regards to the bottom line.